The rand extended its gains to 1 percent against the dollar after the announcement. Again, this time around, he has not only waved away calls by veterans of the liberation struggle, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) unions and South Africa's Communist party (a historical ally of the ANC) for him to demit office, but seemed likely to survive a confidence vote in parliament later this month.
The organisation, spearheaded by businessman Sipho Pityana, is also calling on ANC MPs to put their country first when voting in next week's motion of no confidence in President Zuma.
Zuma's recent sacking of respected finance minister Pravin Gordhan unleashed a fresh bout of public frustration - as well as unprecedented complaints from senior ANC figures, including the deputy president. "We only need 65 to 70 people from the ANC, and the secret ballot can deliver the votes to remove Zuma", Bantu Holomisa, head of the smaller United Democratic Movement (UDM), which is also backing the no-confidence vote against Zuma, said.
But the statement noted that the Constitution, which outlines the procedure for motions of no confidence, makes no provision for voting to be conducted through a secret ballot.
"We want Jacob Zuma to resign!" blared an Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) member outside Pretoria train station on Monday. To pass, the motion requires a simple majority of the 400 seats in the national assembly where the ANC holds a 62% majority.
Fitbit delays launch of Global Positioning System smartwatch and wireless headphones until autumn
It'll be housed in an aluminum unibody design with 1,000 nits of display brightness, which is about the same as the Apple Watch . The company's design team also reportedly ran into a few problems when trying to make the device completely waterproof.
In a letter published in The Star newspaper, former president Thabo Mbeki urged lawmakers to act "as the voice of the people, not the voice of the political parties to which they might belong".
"The racist onslaught has become more direct and is no longer hidden as was the case in the early years of our constitutional democratic order", said Zuma.
The action comes just days after thousands of South Africans across the country and overseas voiced their concerns about Zuma's leadership by marching in several cities on Friday.
Zuma has denied repeated allegations of corruption since winning power in 2009.
No less damaging, President Zuma's critics say, has been the impact of his track record on the country's external image, both inside and outside the continent.
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