Breaking his stony silence on the bribery allegations against Deputy President Jacob Zuma, President Thabo Mbeki said yesterday there was no need for any action by the ANC until Zuma was charged with an offence.

Mbeki said, in response to a question at a media conference at the ANC's 51st conference in Stellenbosch, that he did not understand why there was any need for him or the ANC to take any action, as the matter was being investigated by the Scorpions. It was also not clear who had made the allegations against Zuma.

"Let the legal process continue," Mbeki said.

"If there is some offence which the deputy president has committed he will be charged in the same way that the chief whip has been charged," said Mbeki, referring to the decision by former ANC chief whip Tony Yengeni to stand down once it was clear that he was going to be charged with corruption and fraud.

Mbeki, who became embroiled in a spat with two foreign correspondents over why he should say or do anything in relation to the allegations against Zuma, said in his speech on Monday that his government was committed to rooting out corruption wherever it occurred.

Mbeki said the issue with Zuma was that it was not clear who had brought the allegations against him. It was good that the Scorpions were investigating the allegations and the legal process should take its course. "I don't see where the problem is," said Mbeki. "I would understand it if a charge had been laid."

Zuma sat between Mbeki and former President Nelson Mandela on the podium on the first day of the conference.

At no time were any references made to Zuma by either Mbeki or Mandela in their public speeches and, apart from a carefully worded statement of support from party headquarters last week, there have been no public displays of support for Zuma although his rank-and-file support at the conference appears to be high.

Dealing with a wide range of issues Mbeki also:

Ruled out an election in KwaZulu-Natal province as requested by Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi. "There is no legislation which allows for a provincial election so it won't happen," said Mbeki.

Hailed the accord in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as an important step towards peace, unification and the right to decide on who they wanted to be governed by. Mbeki said that, because of the importance of the DRC to the whole Great Lakes region, the accord should also bring peace to neighbouring countries such as Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Congo-Brazzaville, Angola and the Sudan.

Backed up his proposal that a system of incentives should be devised to draw business into the transformation process and, more specifically, into the drawing up of a global transformation charter. "In the process of deracialising business it is important that we do not just settle for a black face but also do what is good for business," Mbeki said.

Mbeki said he did not know what Zanu-PF delegation leader Emmerson Mnangagwa meant when he thanked South Africa for its "principled support" for Zimbabwe. - Group Political Editor

With acknowledgements to John Battersby and The Cape Times.