President Jacob Zuma is planning to initiate a national dialogue on what constitutes South Africa's "moral code", the Sunday Times reported on Sunday.

Speaking exclusively to the newspaper for the first time since revelations that he had fathered a twentieth child out of wedlock, Zuma reportedly said that he did not wish "somebody else could go through what I went through".

He was quoted as saying that although he was leading the project as President of the country, he would not use the ruling African National Congress (ANC) or government space for his envisaged national conversation.

"Instead, I will get individuals who are not identified with any political ideologies to run with it," said Zuma.

He did not give details of the exact nature of the dialogue.

In an apparent reference to concerns about his polygamous marriages, he urged South Africans to respect all cultures.

"We need to create a platform where there is no community that does not respect another."

Reflecting on the controversy around his latest child, he said: "It was necessary to admit and own up to it. I felt it was necessary to apologise because some people were feeling bad about it".

The newspaper reported that he refused to say whether he had plans to marry the mother of his twentiehth child, Sonono Khoza, the daughter of soccer boss Irvin Khoza.