SA House Speaker receives Zuma’s resignation letter

The speaker of South Africa’s parliament, Baleka Mbete, has received a letter from Jacob Zuma informing her of his resignation as president, Mbete’s office said in a statement on Thursday.

Zuma told the nation late on Wednesday that he was standing down after being instructed to do so by the ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC).

Mbete’s office also said that the finance minister was scheduled to deliver a budget speech at 1400 local time (1200 GMT) on Feb. 21, as planned.

Parliament is due to elect Cyril Ramaphosa as the new president at 2 p.m. local time (1200 GMT) on Thursday and have him take the oath of office, the ruling ANC chief whip said.

“The office of the chief justice has made itself available today to officiate in the business of electing a new president,” the ANC chief whip, Jackson Mthembu, told a parliamentary committee meeting.