Rumours of Jacob Zuma losing his Presidency are hugely exaggerated, says savvy SA political analyst Moeletsi Mbeki. Despite a groundswell of unhappiness with the flawed ANC leader, punctuated by 5 000 #Zumamustfall activists marching to Parliament on Thursday, Mbeki reckons there is no appetite within the ruling party to recall its leader.

That’s sobering news in a country where the public’s trust in Government, at just 16%, is rated the lowest on earth and where many share the opinion of Nomura’s Peter Attard Montalto who sets a 43% probability that Zuma will step down in July.

SA’s President meets with local business leaders today in  a follow-up to an uninspiring lunch meeting on the fringes of the World Economic Forum annual meeting last month. In Davos, Zuma stuck to tightly management engagements, staying away from any prospect of interrogation, including his withdrawal from the annual live televised showpiece which had offered the opportunity to promote SA’s investment potential. – Alec Hogg   

South African President Jacob Zuma delivers a State of the Nation address this week to a country facing its toughest year since Nelson Mandela took power more than two decades ago.

Special security precautions are in place for Zuma’s address to parliament, which last year degenerated into chaos when opposition lawmakers prevented him from speaking and were violently evicted.

As the president speaks on Thursday — if his most vocal opponents in the assembly allow it — protesters supporting a “Zuma must fall” movement will demonstrate in major cities around the country.

Social unrest has flared in South Africa over a sharply slowing economy, high unemployment and grinding black poverty contrasting with white wealth.

And a resurgence of racial animosity in a nation born out of apartheid has added a toxic element.

“We are poised at the beginning of what is going to be the most testing year in the short history of the new South Africa,” said veteran commentator Allister Sparks.