ANC stands by Zuma, rejects calls for president to quit

South Africa's ruling African National Congress backed President Jacob Zuma after calls for his resignation from various groups after he dismissed a respected finance minister, ANC Secretary General Gwede Mantashe said on Wednesday.

Mantashe said the ANC would not be part of a movement to remove Zuma, despite a chorus of criticism by small ANC-allied parties and unions, religious groups, civil society and the opposition.

Mantashe said the ANC had accepted the "irretrievable breakdown of the relationship" between Zuma and former finance minister Pravin Gordhan as the reason Gordhan was sacked, a move that deepened a rift within the ruling party.