Just another day at the office for Zuma

It appears to be business as usual for President Jacob Zuma‚ despite reports that his resignation is imminent.

The president's office announced on Wednesday that Zuma is going about his day as normal. The first statement said Zuma is attending routine cabinet committee meetings‚ while another said he would officiate at a high-profile event on Saturday.

Speculation about Zuma's fate was fuelled after the State of the Nation Address was  postponed on Tuesday. Zuma was due to deliver the address on Thursday.

The ANC had scheduled an urgent meeting of its national executive on Wednesday evening to discuss Zuma’s future but postponed it late on Tuesday. The delay increased speculation that a deal for Zuma to resign had been ironed out.

In the hours before the news broke that he had agreed to resign, ANC insiders told Times Select he was desperately clinging to power.

But the president's itinerary shows no signs of change.

"President Jacob Zuma is today‚ 7 February 2018‚ chairing the routine meetings of Cabinet Committees as scheduled‚" the presidency said.

"The Cabinet Committees sitting today include the Economic Sectors‚ Employment and Infrastructure Development (ESEID) and the International Cooperation‚ Trade and Security (ICTS). A routine Cabinet meeting will take place next week.

"The meetings of Cabinet Committees take place on Tuesdays‚ Wednesdays and Thursdays to process matters that will be taken to Cabinet."

The presidency said later that Zuma would also be on duty at the annual Ubuntu Awards at the Cape Town International Convention Centre‚ which this year honours former president Nelson Mandela and celebrates South Africans who "play an active role in projecting a positive image of South Africa internationally."

National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete said on Wednesday morning that Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa would relay details of Zuma's fate later in the day.

“In this day there will be some progress which the president of the ANC will be ready to come back to us about,” she told the eNCA television channel.

Zuma’s spokesman declined to comment on Mbete’s remarks.