A number of civic organisations under the banner of Future South Africa have written a letter to African National Congress (ANC) President Cyril Ramaphosa urging the ANC to recall President Jacob Zuma before the State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Thursday.

The convenor of Future South Africa Mandla Nkomfe starts the letter by stating that Ramaphosa and the collective leadership of the ANC should do what is in the interest of the over 55-million people residing in South Africa.

“In just four days’ time, Sona is due to be delivered. South Africans across the country will be glued to their television screens, their radio sets and cellphones to get a sense of what the state has prioritised for the next year, and what is going to be done to improve their quality of life,” Nkomfe.

He added that Sona is an important occasion for the country.

“It’s a moment that highlights government’s central role in the development of the country and the uplifting of our people. It’s an occasion where protocol and symbolism befitting the decorum of the occasion is upheld."

“It is also an occasion where the integrity, transparency and accountability of the State should be on display. It should be an occasion where government is able to show that it is indeed in touch with the struggles of ordinary people. President Jacob Zuma, who is set to deliver Sona, unfortunately, embodies none of this,” the letter reads.

“He is a president that has for years now been dogged by scandal after scandal related to state capture and corruption. He is a president who has been found to have flouted the Constitution, and who in the eyes of most South Africans lacks the credibility and integrity to lead this country.”

“President Zuma embodies the antithesis of the core principles of what it means to be a good leader. He embodies ‘misgovernance’.”

FutureSA has said for Sona to be different this year, Zuma must be prevented from delivering the address.

“The ANC has the power to recall President Zuma from his duties as President of the country before the Sona address and to send a clear signal that it is embarking on a new path – a path of true leadership, in tune with the needs of the people, and committed to good governance and the end of state capture.

“Please recall President Jacob Zuma from office.”

The ANC’s top six is at the Presidential guest house in Tshwane on Sunday night where talks are underway with Zuma about his future as president of the country