South African and African National Congress (ANC) President Cyril Ramaphosa wrote a letter on Sunday to his party members calling for an immediate end to corruption in the party's ranks.

Ramaphosa had vowed to deal with and ultimately end corruption, a promise he made when campaigning for the party’s presidency ahead of the 54^th national conference in 2017.

He has called for the implementation of the resolutions adopted during the ANC's 54^th national congress while urging the ruling party to take a firm stance and lead with integrity to win back the trust and confidence of the nation.

He urged ANC members to have the "courage" and "honesty" to acknowledge that some of its leaders, public representatives and members have "on numerous occasions" been implicated in some form of corruption.

The resolutions to be implemented include that party members accused of corruption must appear before the integrity commission or face disciplinary processes and that those who fail to explain themselves must voluntarily step aside or be suspended.

Lifestyle audits must be conducted on all party leaders and public representatives, the president added.

Allegations of corruption have plagued the ANC for years and recently the party has been linked to the tender processes in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.

(With input from agencies)