African National Congress (ANC) deputy president Jacob Zuma on Saturday warned party members to ensure that the party does not become "power drunk".

Speaking at an ANC branch meeting in Durban's Chatsworth suburb, he said: "The ANC is going to rule South Africa for a long time. But, we must not fall into the mistake of being power drunk."

Zuma had been invited to speak at the Khulisa branch meeting held to celebrate the 60th anniversary of so-called Three Doctors Pact -- signed on March 9 1947 by the leaders of the Natal Indian Congress Party (NIC), the Transvaal Indian Congress Party (TIC) and the ANC, and in which the three parties pledged to help each other overcome apartheid.

Zuma urged ANC members to watch "power in authority".

"Please watch that and raise issues and ensure that there is a culture of participation [within the ANC]," he said.

Zuma added that the pact signed between the three doctors -- Dr Monty Naicker of the NIC, Dr Yusuf Dadoo of the TIC and Dr Alfred Bitini Xuma of the ANC -- was a forerunner to the ANC's Freedom Charter, and eventually its principles would also be incorporated into the South African Constitution.

This week, police investigators said the claim of an assassination plot against Zuma is a hoax and they were considering prosecuting senior members of Zuma's inner circle in connection with it.

Senior members of the South African Police Service crime intelligence unit told the Mail & Guardian they believe the plot claim may have been engineered to enhance Zuma's public profile and force the state to beef up the already tight security around him.

Zuma is campaigning to replace Thabo Mbeki as ANC president at the party's decisive national conference in December.