<p><span class="articleLocation">James Macharia | JOHANNESBURG</span></p>
<p>Lawyers for South African President Jacob Zuma on Wednesday requested legal permission for an appeal against a High Court order to give reasons for his decision to fire finance minister Pravin Gordhan in a cabinet reshuffle, eNCA television said.<span id="midArticle_byline"></span></p>
<p>Gordhan&#8217;s firing led to sovereign debt downgrades, large street protests and calls for Zuma&#8217;s resignation.The president has never given specific reasons for removing Gordhan and replacing him with Malusi Gigaba.</p>
<p>Zuma&#8217;s spokesman and lawyers were not immediately available to comment on the request for an appeal.</p>
<p>The opposition Democratic Alliance (DA), which requested the High Court order, also called for a no-confidence motion against Zuma in parliament saying his cabinet changes were harmful to the economy.</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;The President is clearly hell-bent on keeping these reasons from the people of South Africa and is using every possible court process to do so,&#8221; James Selfe, a DA lawmaker and head of its executive, said.</p></blockquote>
<p>On Friday, the ruling African National Congress accused the judiciary of pandering to the opposition in ordering Zuma to explain why he fired Gordhan, and urged Zuma to appeal against the High Court&#8217;s ruling.</p>
<p>(Reporting by James Macharia; Editing by Louise Ireland)</p>


South Africa’s Zuma requests permission to appeal Gordhan order: eNCA TV

<p>On the 12<sup>th</sup> of April 2017, the nation celebrated the birthday of President Jacob Zuma. It was also the day that the opposition parties launched a national day of action, calling on citizens to converge at Church Square in Pretoria and then march to the Union Buildings.</p>
<p>South Africa is a country that has institutionalised marches. It began in the early 2000s with service delivery strikes in municipalities, and grew to crime-led xenophobic attacks all over the country. The new trend is increasingly violent political marches. Vuwani caught the national attention, when a municipal demarcation dispute led to the destruction of several schools, which is deeply regrettable.</p>
<p>The past two years have been dominated by #FeesMustFall, which captured international attention. On the 2<sup>nd</sup> of November 2016, the DA and EFF marched against the charges that were brought by the National Prosecuting Authority against the then Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan. They marched from Church Square to the Pretoria Magistrates Court.</p>
<p>The #ZumaMustFall protest will be represented by citizens across racial and political lines and it will be a mass mobilisation strategy to send a message to the ANC to recall President Jacob Zuma, for a plethora of reasons.</p>
<p>Pretoria is the seat of the Executive and the head office of the majority of government departments and State Owned Enterprises (SOEs), hence the protests come to Pretoria. There is growing trend of marches that culminate at the Union Buildings. Remember the Million Man March in 2008 against crime, and the 2011 economic freedom march of the ANC Youth League, led by Julius Malema.</p>
<p>The #FeesMustFall movement led their struggles to the Union Buildings, where a concession by the government for a 0% increase in fees was achieved. And after the downgrading of South Africa’s sovereign credit rating to junk status, a march led by Save SA also ended at the Union Buildings.</p>
<p>Marches were staged in several other cities, including Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Durban. The groundswell of support for President Jacob to be recalled has become a national talking point.</p>
<p>What is of concern is that the mass mobilisation that always descends on Pretoria has a detrimental impact on certain businesses that are forced close their doors because of these marches, which are sometimes hijacked by criminals that break into and loot shops.</p>
<p>Business prospects for growth diminish when several days in the year are lost to strikes in Pretoria. Bus companies also did not operate into Pretoria on the 12<sup>TH</sup> April 2017, even Gautrain buses, depriving many employees of their means to get to work. Those with cars, would not dare drive into town, and the Pretoria CBD would be a no-go area.</p>
<p>The deepening of political contestation will mean that rolling mass action will become the order of the day, the rule rather than the exception. We live in a globalised world, where at the click of a button, any image is shared all over the world. All these strikes, marches and protests are broadcast all over the world, and they create an image of a country that is about to implode.</p>
<p>This does little to restore investor confidence in our country. The downgrade can be likened to the descent of prime evil onto our wallets, heralding tough times and the increase of poverty. Society will rebel as they see their standard of living decrease, and cost of living rise. Citizens are already highly indebted, with the lowest household savings rate as a percentage of GDP. Worse, the majority of Blacks have no assets. They will experience the worst impacts of the downgrade.</p>
<p>The reputation of South Africa as an investment destination will continue to decrease and have a negative effect on tourism arrivals. Tourists want to travel to destinations that are safe and South Africa has consistently scored low on personal safety and security according to the World Economic Forum Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report.</p>
<p>Tourism, the one sector that has been the perennial good news maker, will now suffer from fallout of our political challenges. Tourism has been called the ‘’new gold’’ as it attracts more foreign exchange and creates more employment than gold mining. But reputation is everything and we must be conscious that reputation is regarded as the truth.</p>
<p>We must seek ways to protect our tourism industry from our political contestation because peace is a pre-requisite for tourism growth. Growth in this sector creates jobs. For every eight international tourists one permanent job is created.</p>
<p><em>Unathi Sonwabile Henama teaches tourism at the Tshwane University of Technology and writes in his personal capacity. </em></p>


South African tourism: Negative effects of marches and protests

<div class="storify"><iframe loading="lazy" src="//storify.com/cnbcafrica/live-oppositionmarch/embed?border=false" width="100%" height="750" frameborder="no"></iframe><script src="//storify.com/cnbcafrica/live-oppositionmarch.js?border=false"></script><noscript>[<a href="//storify.com/cnbcafrica/live-oppositionmarch" target="_blank">View the story &#8220;LIVE: #OppositionMarch protesting for SA President Zuma to step down&#8221; on Storify</a>]</noscript></div>


LIVE: National #OppositionMarch protest for SA President Zuma to step down

<p>By Tanisha Heiberg and James Macharia<span id="midArticle_byline"></span></p>
<p>South African President Jacob Zuma on Monday accused some protesters of racism after marches last week that drew tens of thousands of people demanding his resignation, while the opposition announced plans for a new protest.</p>
<p>More than 60,000 people marched in South African cities on Friday in largely peaceful protests to demand Zuma quit after a cabinet reshuffle set off the latest crisis of his presidency.</p>
<p>Speaking at a memorial to commemorate the 24th anniversary of the assassination of anti-apartheid and Communist Party leader Chris Hani &#8211; whose murder led to nationwide riots &#8211; Zuma said South Africa had not yet built a non-racial society decades after white-minority rule ended in 1994.</p>
<blockquote><p>In his first public response to the protests, Zuma said they &#8220;demonstrated that racism is real&#8221; in South Africa.</p>
<p>&#8220;Many placards and posters displayed beliefs that we thought had been buried in 1994, with some posters depicting black people as baboons,&#8221; the president said.</p>
<p>&#8220;It is clear that some of our white compatriots regard black people as being lesser human beings or sub-human.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>A mixed racial profile of people attended the rallies. Police said about 60,000 people took part in the marches in the major cities.</p>
<p>Opposition leader Mmusi Maimane, head of the Democratic Alliance (DA), which has strong support among white people, had called for a march in Johannesburg, and held a rally of more than 10,000 people.</p>
<p>In the capital Pretoria, about 15,000 people gathered in a field outside the Union Buildings, the site of Zuma&#8217;s offices, in a march led by civil society group SaveSA. Other marches were held in Cape Town, Durban and other parts of the country.<span id="midArticle_byline"></span></p>
<p>Maimane&#8217;s spokesman Mabine Seabe said of Zuma&#8217;s comments: &#8220;He cannot argue based on policy and is trying to distract from the issues by using race as a scapegoat.&#8221;</p>
<p>Zuma&#8217;s spokesman Bongani Ngqulunga also said there were posters in Pretoria that depicted black people as baboons. Ngqulunga sent a picture to Reuters that has been used on Twitter showing a Zuma caricature.</p>
<p>Some placards during the protests used vulgar language against Zuma, Reuters witnesses said.</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s been proven before that if you place a racial bombshell in a conversation it clouds the issues,&#8221; said Gwen Ngwenya, the chief operating officer of the South African Institute of Race Relations in Johannesburg.</p></blockquote>
<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s an effective spin strategy that&#8217;s very shrewd &#8230; because it plays on historical racial tensions in South Africa.&#8221;</p>
<p><strong>NEW PROTEST</strong></p>
<p>The DA, the ultra-left Economic Freedom Fighters and other smaller parties announced a new protest march dubbed &#8220;National Day of Action&#8221; on Wednesday at the Union Buildings, the seat of government, aimed at drumming up support for a no-confidence motion against the president in parliament on April 18.</p>
<p>The African National Congress, which has a commanding majority in parliament, has said its members would vote against the motion.<span id="midArticle_byline"></span></p>
<p>Zuma&#8217;s sacking of Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan in a cabinet reshuffle on March 31 has outraged allies and opponents alike, undermined his authority and caused rifts in the ANC, which has governed South Africa since the end of apartheid.</p>
<p>The rand has tumbled more than 11 percent since March 27, when Zuma ordered Gordhan to return home from overseas talks with investors, days before firing him.</p>
<p>Fitch on Friday followed S&amp;P Global Ratings and downgraded South Africa to &#8220;junk&#8221;, citing Gordhan&#8217;s dismissal as one reason.</p>
<p>On Monday, Zuma said he had met Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba, the Governor of the South African Reserve Bank Lesetja Kganyago and Tom Moyane, the Commissioner of the South African Revenue Service, to discuss the impact of the credit rating downgrades and &#8220;how we should respond adequately.&#8221;</p>
<p>Zuma reiterated plans to transform the economy to include more black people, who, he said, were passed up for promotions and had lower salaries than white people doing the same jobs.</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;The majority of black people are still economically disempowered. They are dissatisfied with the limited economic gains from liberation,&#8221; he said.</p></blockquote>
<p>Black people make up 80 percent of the population, yet the lion&#8217;s share of the economy in terms of ownership of land and companies remains in the hands of white people, who make up about 8 percent of the population.</p>
<p>(Writing by James Macharia; Editing by Janet Lawrence)</p>


South Africa’s Zuma accuses protesters of racism after marches

<p>Our live blog is tracking market reaction as President Zuma comes under pressure as South Africa&#8217;s biggest trade union, COSATU, calls for him to step down.</p>
<p>We&#8217;ll bring you the latest analysis below.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" src="//storify.com/cnbcafrica/live-south-africa-s-biggest-trade-union-calls-for-/embed?border=false" width="100%" height="750" frameborder="no"></iframe><script src="//storify.com/cnbcafrica/live-south-africa-s-biggest-trade-union-calls-for-.js?border=false"></script><noscript>[&amp;amp;lt;a href=&#8221;//storify.com/cnbcafrica/live-south-africa-s-biggest-trade-union-calls-for-&#8221; target=&#8221;_blank&#8221;&amp;amp;gt;View the story &#8220;Live: South Africa’s biggest trade union calls for President Zuma to step down&#8221; on Storify&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;]</noscript></p>


Live: South Africa’s biggest trade union calls for President Zuma to step down

<p>CNBC Africa, the only Pan-African business and financial news channel will break from regular broadcasting to bring you live coverage of South Africa’s State of the Nation Address on Thursday, February 9th 2017 in Cape Town. President Jacob Zuma’s State of the Nation Address is one of the biggest events on the country’s calendar to watch.</p>
<p>Almost 21 years after the signing of the country’s Constitution, South Africans are eager to learn what the future of South Africa could look like.</p>
<p>Tune into CNBC Africa, DStv channel 410 at 18h30 CAT for all the action from parliament and to find out how it will impact the economy and businesses. Alternatively, visit CNBC Africa’s YouTube channel to livestream SONA 2017.</p>
<p>Twitter: SONAon410</p>
<p align="center">-ENDS-</p>
<p>For further media information, contact:</p>
<p>Monique Vanek</p>
<p>CNBC Africa News Editor</p>
<p>+27 11 384 0300</p>
<p><a href="mailto:Monique.Vanek@abn360.com">Monique.Vanek@abn360.com</a></p>
<p>Twitter: @CNBCAfrica</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Upcoming events on CNBC Africa</p>
<p><strong>Budget Day 2017:</strong> February 22<sup>nd</sup></p>
<p><strong>World Economic Forum Africa 2017:</strong> May 3<sup>rd</sup> – 5<sup>th﻿</sup></p>


CNBC Africa brings you South Africa’s SONA 2017

<p>South Africa&#8217;s President Jacob Zuma has authorised more than 400 soldiers to join the security team at his annual state of the nation speech this week, drawing outrage from opponents who called it &#8220;militarisation&#8221;.</p>
<p>Since the radical left wing Economic Freedom Fighters&#8217; (EFF) won seats in parliament at 2014 elections, Zuma&#8217;s speech to open parliament has been a chaotic affair with EFF lawmakers chanting and jeering at the president over corruption scandals.</p>
<p>At Zuma&#8217;s address in 2015, parliamentary security guards disguised as waiters physically removed EFF members from the chamber, but this is the first time soldiers will be deployed as security rather than a ceremonial role.</p>
<p>&#8220;President Jacob Zuma has authorised the employment of members of the South African National Defence Force for service in cooperation with the South African Police Service to maintain law and order,&#8221; a presidency statement said late on Tuesday.</p>
<p>The main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) said it condemned the decision and would be asking the Speaker of the National Assembly Baleka Mbete for an explanation.</p>
<p>&#8220;This announcement is deeply concerning,&#8221; the DA said in a statement on Wednesday.</p>
<p>&#8220;President Zuma’s deliberate use of the words &#8216;law and order&#8217; in his statement points to an excessive use of the army outside of their ceremonial role in the annual fanfare.&#8221;﻿</p>


South Africa's Zuma to deploy over 400 soldiers at state address

<p>South Africa&#8217;s ruling African National Congress (ANC) denied a newspaper report on Thursday that President Jacob Zuma had accused the finance ministry of thwarting the party&#8217;s efforts to give blacks a bigger stake in the economy.</p>
<p>Citing sources that attended an ANC meeting of top leaders last week, Business Day newspaper said Zuma had accused the National Treasury of restricting funds for certain projects.</p>
<p>ANC spokesman Zizi Kodwa denied the president had attacked the ministry, saying the article was &#8220;poor journalism.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s not true. The President never said that,&#8221; Kodwa said.</p>
<p>Zuma&#8217;s spokesman Bongani Ngqulunga did not respond to telephone requests for comment.﻿</p>
<p> </p>


S.Africa's ANC denies Zuma accused Treasury of foiling transformation

<p>South Africa&#8217;s African National Congress (ANC) is not bound by tradition to elect its deputy as leader, President Jacob Zuma said in an interview broadcast on Sunday, dismissing labour unions&#8217; endorsement of Cyril Ramaphosa.</p>
<p>The ANC, which last year suffered its worst election result since the end of white-minority rule in 1994, is set to choose a successor to the scandal-plagued Zuma by the end of this year.</p>
<p>Ramaphosa and Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the African Union president once married to Zuma, have both been tapped by organisations in the governing alliance to become party leader, but neither has yet declared whether they intend to stand.</p>
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<p>Zuma, who was party deputy before being elected leader in 2007, made it clear that Ramaphosa was not an automatic choice.</p>
<p>&#8220;People say it is a tradition that once you are the deputy president, you then become the president, that is not true,&#8221; Zuma said in the interview with the South African Broadcasting Corporation.</p>
<p>Analysts say a split has emerged in the ANC between those who want a successor loyal to Zuma, and a faction that wants a fresh start under Ramaphosa.</p>
<p>Ramaphosa, who is Zuma&#8217;s deputy both in the party and in government, told supporters on Sunday that the ANC was &#8220;under severe strain&#8221; and suffered from relentless competition for influence and control over resources.</p>
<p>&#8220;We must acknowledge here that there are instances where internal ANC processes have been infiltrated by individuals and companies seeking preferential access to state business,&#8221; Ramaphosa said.</p>
<p>South Africa&#8217;s anti-graft watchdog last year called for an investigation into influence peddling in Zuma&#8217;s government, but the president has denied providing special favours for wealthy friends and wants the watchdog&#8217;s report to be reviewed.</p>
<p>The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), which is part of the ruling political alliance and claims to represent 1.8 million workers, said in November that it would campaign for Ramaphosa.</p>
<p>Dlamini-Zuma, who held several cabinet positions before becoming head of the African Union, was endorsed by the ANC Woman&#8217;s League last week and is expected to have the backing of her former husband.﻿</p>
<p> </p>


South Africa's Zuma says ANC not bound to elect deputy as leader

<p>South Africa&#8217;s wealthy Gupta family, accused in a government corruption probe of allegedly holding undue influence over President Jacob Zuma, said on Tuesday it had asked a court to force a financial regulator to give the family details concerning the closure of its business accounts.</p>
<p>The country&#8217;s four major banks, Barclay&#8217;s , Standard Bank , FNB and Nedbank early in 2016 terminated the accounts of several companies, spanning mining to media operations, controlled by the family under the Johannesburg exchange listed Oakbay Resources.</p>
<p>The banks refused to make public their reasons for closing the accounts. Analysts have said the banks were likely prompted by concerns about reputational risk.</p>
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<p>The Guptas have denied accusations that they have used their friendship with Zuma to advance their interests as well accusations of money laundering and fraud.</p>
<p>In the affidavit the family requested the High Court to force the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) to provide details of transactions totalling 6.8 billion rand ($493 million) flagged as suspicious by the regulator in a report to Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan.</p>
<p>An anti-graft probe published this month by the Public Protector focused on claims that the brothers, Ajay, Atul and Rajesh Gupta influenced the appointment of ministers.</p>
<p>It also called for an investigation into whether Zuma, some of his cabinet members and some state companies had acted improperly, triggering renewed calls for the president&#8217;s resignation.</p>
<p>President Zuma, who on Monday was facing a motion to remove him by members of his party, the ANC, has said that the Guptas are his friends but denied doing anything improper.</p>
<p>($1 = 13.7952 rand)﻿</p>


S.Africa's Gupta family asks court to force release of details over closure of accounts

<p>South Africa&#8217;s scandal-plagued President Jacob Zuma is facing a vote of no confidence by the ruling party&#8217;s executive committee, media reported on Monday.</p>
<p>The ANC&#8217;s national executive committee (NEC) extended its scheduled meeting into a third day on Monday, after Tourism Minister Derek Hanekom proposed the motion of no-confidence on Saturday, said Beeld, an Afrikaans-language daily.</p>
<p>Committee members were locked in a &#8220;fiery and fierce&#8221; debate over whether a secret ballot should be used to decide the no-confidence motion, it added, citing unnamed sources who had attended the meeting.</p>
<p>The ruling party&#8217;s spokesman did not respond to a telephone call to seek comment. In a statement on Sunday, the ANC did not give a reason for the extension of the meeting.</p>
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<p>The committee, which is meeting in the capital, Pretoria, is the only body in the ruling party that can remove the leader of the party, besides its 5-yearly congress.</p>
<p>Zuma&#8217;s presidency has been plagued by scandal and the nation&#8217;s anti-graft watchdog this month asked for a judge to investigate alleged influence-peddling by a wealthy family Zuma has called his friends.</p>
<p>Zuma has denied any wrongdoing.﻿</p>
<p> </p>


S.Africa's Zuma faces no-confidence vote by party's executive panel

<p>South Africa&#8217;s President Jacob Zuma will challenge a report released this month by the anti-corruption watchdog that alleged influence-peddling in his government, his office said on Friday.</p>
<p>The president&#8217;s office said in a statement that Zuma had received legal advice to challenge the report, which also prescribed that a judicial inquiry be set up to probe the allegations against him. Zuma denies any wrongdoing.﻿</p>
<p> </p>


South Africa's Zuma to challenge public protector's report

<p>South African opposition parties on Sunday urged President Jacob Zuma to report acts of corruption after the scandal-plagued leader said he knows who is stealing public funds.</p>
<p>Since coming to power in 2009, Zuma has survived a string of corruption scandals almost unscathed, but this month the country&#8217;s anti-graft watchdog called for a judicial inquiry into allegations of influence-peddling in the ANC government.</p>
<p>Zuma, in a bid to cement support in his home province of Kwazulu-Natal, on Friday told supporters in Zulu: &#8220;I know they are stealing. I&#8217;m just watching them. I know them,&#8221; local media reported.</p>
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<p>Both the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), the nation&#8217;s two largest opposition parties, on Sunday called on Zuma to share the information he has with authorities.</p>
<p>&#8220;President Jacob Zuma has a legal duty to report, to the law enforcement authorities, those who he knows to be engaged in criminal behaviour,&#8221; DA-leader Mmusi Maimane said in a statement.</p>
<p>The DA, which tabled a failed no-confidence motion against the president in Parliament last week, filed a criminal complaint against Zuma on Tuesday and will ask the police to also &#8220;investigate those people known by the President to be stealing&#8221;, Maimane said.</p>
<p>Zuma must immediately report those stealing public funds, otherwise the EFF too will lodge a criminal complaint against the president, the EFF said in a statement.﻿</p>
<p> </p>


South Africa's opposition parties urge Pres. Zuma to report corruption

<p>South African President Jacob Zuma is concerned about &#8220;unwarranted public attacks&#8221; on him by former anti-corruption watchdog Thuli Madonsela, his office said on Friday.</p>
<p>The comments come a day after Madonsela defended the release of an audio recording of her meeting with the president during her investigation into allegations of influence-peddling in Zuma&#8217;s government.</p>
<p>&#8220;Her unwarranted public attacks on the President are unbecoming and are not helpful,&#8221; the Presidency said in a statement.</p>
<p>Zuma lodged a complaint this week with the office of the Public Protector over the release of the audio recording, which Madonsela told TV news channel eNCA on Thursday she had &#8220;absolutely no regrets&#8221; about because &#8220;the truth must be told&#8221;.</p>
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<p>A transcript of the four-hour interview was made public by the Protector&#8217;s office last week when it released a report calling for a judge to investigate allegations of influence-peddling in Zuma&#8217;s government.﻿</p>
<p> </p>


SAfrica's Zuma concerned about "unwarranted attacks" by former public protector

<p>South Africa&#8217;s wealthy Gupta family, which has been accused of holding undue political sway over President Jacob Zuma, said on Thursday it would defend itself at a judicial inquiry demanded by an anti-corruption watchdog.</p>
<p>The carefully worded Public Protector report into alleged influence-peddling stopped short of saying crimes had been committed but said a judge must probe a scandal that has rattled markets in Africa&#8217;s most industrialised economy and increased the risk of ratings downgrades.</p>
<p>Titled &#8220;State of Capture&#8221;, the 355-page report by the constitutionally mandated watchdog listed several allegations against Zuma, the Guptas, two cabinet ministers and executives at state-owned firms. It did not reach conclusive findings.</p>
<p>The three Indian-born Gupta brothers &#8211; Ajay, Atul and Rajesh &#8211; are accused of using their friendship with the president to influence cabinet appointments.</p>
<p>Zuma denies granting undue influence to the brothers, who run a business empire from media to mining.</p>
<p>They have denied seeking it, and will defend their corner at the planned inquiry, their lawyer, Gert van de Merwe, said.</p>
<p>&#8220;We will participate and we will participate comprehensively,&#8221; he told eNCA television.</p>
<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve always said that if we apply for review of the report of the Public Protector, it will be on the basis that we&#8217;ve not been afforded the opportunity to participate,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>The Guptas, who refer to themselves in statements as the &#8216;Gupta Family&#8217;, were studying the report, he added.</p>
<p>Zuma&#8217;s office has said he is doing the same and reserves the right to challenge its findings in court.</p>
<p>The report, compiled by Thuli Madonsela, who reached the end of her tenure as Public Protector on Oct. 14, was released on Wednesday, hours after Zuma withdrew a court bid to delay its publication.</p>
<p>Analysts said although the report did not carry a knock-out punch, it had piled even more pressure on Zuma to resign.</p>
<p>Since taking office in 2009, Zuma, 74, has survived several corruption scandals with the backing of top echelons of the ANC and the party&#8217;s hefty majority in parliament.﻿</p>
<p> </p>


South Africa's Guptas to challenge state capture report at inquiry

<p>PRETORIA (Reuters) &#8211; South African President Jacob Zuma on Wednesday dropped his court bid to delay the release of a report over alleged influence peddling in government as thousands marched in the capital Pretoria against the president. The court ordered the report to be released by 5pm CAT on Wednesday.</p>
<p>The report is currently available here:</p>
<p><a href="/files/ZA-StateCapture/StateCapture.pdf">/files/ZA-StateCapture/StateCapture.pdf</a></p>
<p><a href="/files/ZA-StateCapture/Annex1.pdf">/files/ZA-StateCapture/Annex1.pdf﻿</a></p>
<p>The rand strengthened more than 1 percent and bonds firmed in response to the news of the withdrawal, which analysts said was an indication the country still had strong institutions.</p>
<p>The release of the report by the Public Protector, a constitutionally mandated anti-graft official, was suspended on Oct. 14 after Zuma&#8217;s application to the High Court. The hearing, which started on Tuesday, was due to continue on Wednesday.</p>
<p>Thousands of people gathered at various points in the city. Some carried &#8220;Zuma must go&#8221; placards outside the court that was to decide on Zuma&#8217;s bid to delay the report on allegations of political influence by his wealthy friends. </p>
<p>&#8220;My instructions are to withdraw the application and to tender costs,&#8221; Advocate Anthea Platt, without giving reasons. Zuma&#8217;s spokesman did not answer phone calls, email or text messages for comment.</p>
<p>Protesters also demanded that state prosecutor Shaun Abrahams be removed from office. Abrahams had pressed charges of fraud against Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, but then dropped them on Monday after popular support from both the political and corporate realms for Gordhan.</p>
<p>Supporters of Gordhan and sympathetic financial analysts say all the charges could be a ploy by Zuma and his allies to discredit a finance minister who stood in the way of their securing access to lucrative government contracts. The president has denied that he is in conflict with Gordhan.</p>
<p>Since taking office in 2009, Zuma, 74, has survived several corruption scandals almost unscathed, with the backing of top echelons of the ruling African National Congress (ANC).</p>
<p>But South Africa has had to bear the cost as the economy has stagnated and investors worry about its political stability, business climate and rule of law.</p>
<p>&#8220;This means Zuma must now step down,&#8221; said Azaria Khambani, 33, a security guard taking part in the protests when he heard that Zuma had withdrawn the court challenge.</p>
<p>Jay Jacobs, 40, who also works in the security industry, said: &#8220;We will not leave Pretoria until Zuma goes. He must take the Guptas with him to jail.&#8221;</p>
<p>Brothers Ajay, Atul and Rajesh Gupta, who are close friends of Zuma and run businesses ranging from media to mining, are the subject of the report by the then Public Protector on allegations that they influenced the appointment of ministers.</p>
<p>Zuma has denied granting them undue influence and they have denied seeking it.</p>
<p> (Writing by James Macharia; Editing by Tom Heneghan)﻿</p>


State Capture report released as South Africa's Zuma withdraws application to delay report

<p>The foundation set up to guard the legacy of the late Nelson Mandela on Tuesday blamed South Africa&#8217;s President Jacob Zuma for the &#8220;wheels coming off&#8221; Africa&#8217;s most industrialised nation and urged a change in political leadership.</p>
<p>Since coming to power in 2009, Zuma has survived a string of corruption scandals almost unscathed. But South Africa has had to bear the cost of his antics as investors worry about its political stability, business climate and rule of law.</p>
<p>The non-profit Nelson Mandela Foundation, whose board consists of ten prominent South African academics, politicians and journalists, called on the African National Congress (ANC), the liberation movement once headed by Mandela and now led by Zuma, to change its leadership.</p>
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<p>&#8220;We call on the governing party to take the steps necessary to ensure that the vehicle of state be protected and placed in safe and capable hands,&#8221; it said in a rare statement entitled: &#8220;Time to account for crippling the state&#8221;.</p>
<p>Zuma&#8217;s spokesman did not answer a phone call seeking comment.</p>
<p>Several ANC members have called for the 74-year-old to quit but the ANC&#8217;s top echelons have backed him. In August municipal elections the ANC suffered its worst losses since taking power when apartheid fell in 1994.</p>
<p>Opposition parties and civic groups are planning to march in the capital Pretoria on Wednesday to demand, among other things, that he resign.</p>
<p>In a blow to Zuma and the ANC, Ndileka Mandela, a grandchild of Mandela, backed the foundation&#8217;s stance.</p>
<p>&#8220;As Grandad always said, if the ANC does what the apartheid government did, you have every right to do what we did to the apartheid government,&#8221; she said. &#8220;That statement could never be more true than now with what we are seeing happening.&#8221;</p>
<p> </p>
<p>&#8220;FAILED&#8221;</p>
<p>But Zuma has shown no signs of stepping down before his second and final term as president is up in 2019, despite corruption scandals damaging him both financially and politically.</p>
<p>In March, the Constitutional Court ordered him to repay some of the $16 million spent on enhancing his Nkandla home in rural KwaZulu-Natal province. But Zuma weathered a motion of no-confidence in parliament over the scandal and has since paid back more than $500,000.</p>
<p>The Mandela Foundation said the court ruling over Nkandla was an example of how Zuma had failed to uphold the constitution. &#8220;It is increasingly a national consensus that he has failed the test,&#8221; it said.</p>
<p>Zuma is also entangled in a scandal around the alleged political influence of a trio of wealthy brothers. About a hundred protesters chanted slogans against Zuma outside a court in Pretoria where his lawyers were trying to delay the release of a report on the matter.</p>
<p>The president also faced accusations of meddling after fraud charges against Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan were unexpectedly dropped on Monday. [L8N1CY2Z2]</p>
<p>Near record unemployment and a stagnant economy have exacerbated discontent with Zuma&#8217;s government, which also failed to end weeks of often violent student demonstrations over the cost of university education.</p>
<p>The Mandela Foundation said it had seen a weakening of law enforcement bodies under Zuma and supported &#8220;the demand to hold to account those responsible for compromising our democratic state and looting its resources.&#8221;﻿</p>
<p> </p>


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