Deputy President Jacob Zuma is to resign as a Member of Parliament, his spokesperson Lakela Kaunda said on Tuesday.
She was commenting on an African National Congress statement accepting an offer by Zuma — made in an earlier statement — to resign his seat.
Kaunda said Zuma would sit down in the next day or so to write a letter to the Speaker to inform her of his decision.
”The bottom line is you won’t see him in Parliament again, at least not as a member,” she said.
In its statement the ANC welcomed Zuma’s comment on the decision by President Thabo Mbeki to release him from his duties in government.
”The ANC further respects the position taken by Deputy President Zuma to resign as a Member of Parliament,” the party said in the terse statement.
Party spokesperson Smuts Ngonyama could not immediately be reached for comment on the statement.
Zuma earlier issued a statement saying he accepted and respected his dismissal.
”President Thabo Mbeki has taken a decision regarding my presence in government and cabinet. It is the president’s prerogative to take such a decision, in the context of, and within his authority as the president of the republic,” Zuma said.
”In light of this decision, I have also offered to resign my seat in Parliament, not as an admission of guilt of any kind, but in order to make it easier for the ANC and government to function in Parliament.”
According to the statement Zuma planned to remain as deputy president of the ANC. – Sapa