JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Leaders of South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC)met on Saturday to outline the party's program for the coming year amid reports that its executive planned to force Jacob Zuma to quit as the country's president.
An ANC spokeswoman declined to comment on a report by broadcaster eNCA saying that its newly-elected National Executive Committee (NEC) had resolved to ask Zuma - whose presidency has been hit by corruption allegations - to resign.If Zuma refused, he would be forced to step down by the party's six-strong leadership group, eNCA said.An anonymous member of the NEC - which met for the first time under new ANC leader Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday and Friday - was quoted by online news site News24 as saying the decision to force Zuma to resign had been unanimous.The NEC made no mention of Zuma's possible early exit in a statement after the first two days of a four-day meeting."We can't confirm rumors of things that we don't know. The NEC has issued a statement on the totality of discussions yesterday," an ANC spokeswoman said.DIVIDED PARTYZuma retains the support of one part of the ANC leadership, but many others in the party argue that he has tarnished the image of Africa's oldest liberation movement. While he has been in office, the economy has also slowed to a near-standstill.Ramaphosa succeeded Zuma as ANC head last month, making him likely to replace Zuma as the country's next president.The party's Secretary-General Ace Magashule said on Thursday that Zuma's early removal as head of state was not on the agenda of the NEC meeting, which runs until Sunday.But in recent days Ramaphosa has gone on the offensive against companies controlled by the Gupta family, businessmen friends of Zuma accused of unduly using political connections to win work with the state. Zuma, whose second term is due to run until 2019, has denied any wrongdoing, as have the Guptas.That has fuelled speculation the new ANC leader and his allies are moving to lobby support for Zuma's removal.In its statement following the first half of the NEC meeting, the committee said officials led by Ramaphosa "will continue their engagement with President Jacob Zuma to ensure effective coordination between the ANC and government."The main agenda item for the second part of the meeting is the party's program for the coming year.Markets have rallied since Ramaphosa's election as ANC leader in December, as investors have warmed to his promises to root out corruption and kick-start economic growth.Any sign that Zuma could step down before his second presidential term ends in 2019 has tended to lift South African assets, including the rand currency