'I Have Been a Loyal Member of the Anc for 52 Years' - Mbeki Resigns in Tv Address

Thabo Mbeki yesterday resigned as South Africa's president and said he will leave office on a date set by parliament, after he was toppled by his own party following a long and bitter power struggle with his former deputy, Jacob Zuma.

Mbeki called an emergency meeting of his cabinet as many of his ministers threatened to resign in solidarity after the African National Congress on Saturday told the president to agree to step down or face being removed by parliament.

Mbeki handed his resignation letter to the speaker of parliament yesterday and in an unusually humble speech broadcast on national TV broadcaster SABC said he had decided to quit out of loyalty to the party that is rejecting him.

"I have been a loyal member of the African National Congress for 52 years. I remain a member of the ANC and therefore respect its decisions. It is for this reason that I've taken the decision to resign as president of the republic," he said.

But Mbeki "categorically" denied the central accusation against him that was the immediate cause of his forced resignation.

ANC leaders moved against the president after prosecutors said they would appeal against a high court decision that threw out corruption charges against Zuma, and accused Mbeki and his officials of abusing the courts as part of the power struggle over control of the party.

The president said he and his cabinet had not interfered in decisions as to who to prosecute. "This applies equally to the painful matter relating to the court proceedings against the president of the ANC, comrade Jacob Zuma," he said.

The constitution requires the deputy president, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, to take over as acting president, or the cabinet to appoint one from among themselves as soon as Mbeki resigns. Within 30 days, parliament then selects an interim president to complete the rest of Mbeki's term before a general election in about nine months.

The ANC is believed to favour a close Zuma ally for the role, the speaker of parliament and party chairperson, Baleka Mbete.

Zuma, who won the leadership election against Mbeki for control of the ANC late last year, is not a member of parliament and therefore cannot be appointed.

But it is clear that he and his faction will soon be in charge of the government, solidifying a shift in power that began when Mbeki was removed as party leader.

It marks the end of nine years of Mbeki rule that began with the promise of South Africa leading an African renaissance, but ended with the humiliation of a president toppled by his alienation of much of his own party, in part because of policy differences with the left, but also because of his vindictive style of rule.

But many South Africans also see Mbeki's downfall as principally intended to protect Zuma from prosecution for allegedly accepting bribes related to a multibillion-dollar arms deal.

The outgoing president set out what he sees as his legacy in building the economy, bringing peace to parts of Africa and empowering women.

However, Mbeki acknowledged that despite consistent economic growth, millions of South Africans remain mired in poverty.

Mbeki's resignation was welcomed by many. Critics of the president's widely derided policies on Aids, such as Zackie Achmat, head of the Treatment Action Campaign, say he has abandoned hundreds of thousands of people in need of lifesaving treatment and should be called to account.

"This is long overdue," said Achmat. "Personally, I would have liked to see him impeached for causing the deaths of many hundreds of thousands of people living with HIV; for the corruption of the arms deal; for the undermining of every independent state institution."

The leader of the opposition Democratic Alliance, Helen Zille, accused the ANC of putting its own political battles ahead of the national interest.

"It is revenge, pure and simple. It has everything to do with the internal battles of the ANC and nothing to do with the interest of South Africa," she said.

FW de Klerk, the last white president of South Africa, who negotiated an end to apartheid, was also critical of Mbeki's dismissal.

"All that I would like to say at the moment is that it is unfortunate that a sitting president should be forced from office before the end of his term," he said.