South Africa’s Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa says he is holding direct talks with embattled President Jacob Zuma over a transfer of power.<\/p>\n
Mr Ramaphosa, who heads South Africa’s governing party, said both he and Mr Zuma understood the need for a speedy resolution.<\/p>\n
He said the pair aim to conclude talks on the president’s future within days.<\/p>\n
It is being seen as the first confirmation that Mr Zuma will step down shortly.<\/p>\n
The 75-year-old president is facing extensive corruption charges after a turbulent nine years in power.<\/p>\n
He has faced increasing pressure to quit since December, when Mr Ramaphosa replaced him as leader of the ruling African National Congress (ANC).<\/p>\n
Mr Ramaphosa said direct talks were an opportunity to reach an agreement without spreading discord or division.<\/p>\n
The ANC said they had been “fruitful and constructive discussions”.<\/p>\n
An urgent Wednesday evening meeting of the party’s top leadership – which has the power to unseat Mr Zuma – has been pushed back to 17 February.<\/p>\n
Opposition parties are demanding a vote of no-confidence to remove the president.<\/p>\n The Nelson Mandela Foundation has also urged him to step down.<\/p>\n South Africa had seen “systematic looting” under Mr Zuma’s rule, and he “must go sooner rather than later”, it said in a statement.<\/p>\n –<\/p>\n Source: BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" South Africa’s Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa says he is holding direct talks with embattled President Jacob Zuma over a transfer of power. Mr Ramaphosa, who heads South Africa’s governing party, said both he and Mr Zuma understood the need for a speedy resolution. He said the pair aim to conclude talks on the president’s future […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":399458,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[107],"tags":[5284,481,914],"yoast_head":"\n