By Mariette le Roux
As some media and opposition politicians called for President Thabo Mbeki to announce the fate of his corruption implicated deputy, Jacob Zuma, there was no sign by Friday as to when this would happen.
"I don't know," said presidential spokesperson Bheki Khumalo, asked when Mbeki was expected to make an announcement.
Asked if the issue still needed to be discussed at any fora, Khumalo said: "I don't know how the matter will be handled".
The Star says the world awaits Mbeki's 'big decision' Earlier this week, government spokesperson Joel Netshitenzhe said Mbeki would "communicate to the public any decisions that he will have taken on the matter" as soon as practicable after his return from a state visit to Chile.
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Mbeki returned on Thursday morning. After spending two days in Cape Town, he was expected to return to Pretoria over the weekend, and to leave for Qatar on a two-day state visit on Monday evening.
Zuma's financial adviser, Schabir Shaik, was sentenced to 15 years in jail on Wednesday after being convicted of fraud and theft involving improper financial dealings with the deputy president.
Judge Hilary Squires ruled that the men had a "generally corrupt" relationship, and found Shaik guilty of soliciting a R500 000-a-year bribe for Zuma from French arms company Thomson-CSF in return for protection from a probe into South Africa's multi-billion rand arms deal.
Numerous opposition political parties have since called for Zuma to quit or be fired.
One headline reads: 'Zuma must vooma!' In an editorial, The Star newspaper said on Friday that Africa and the world were awaiting Mbeki's "big decision".
The time has come for Africa to demonstrate it was serious about improving governance and weeding out corruption - especially in light of the upcoming summit of the G8 group of industrial nations which was due to consider proposals to scrap the continent's debt and increase aid.
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