A delegation from South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) led by the party’s secretary-general Ace Magashule is expected in the country this Tuesday for meetings with the ruling ZANU PF party.
Zanu PF Secretary for Administration Obert Mpofu on Monday said the two parties will focus on issues to do with economic and political cooperation, rather than the claims of a crisis in Zimbabwe. He said:
I can confirm that all is set for the Zanu PF-ANC talks. We have been briefed that our revolutionary counterpart the ANC is sending its top brass ahead of the indaba scheduled for this Wednesday.
Considering that this whole crisis narrative constitutes a peripheral concern, we are certain that obvious rationality will shift our discussion focus to other more important issues.
… However, in this instance, we have no problem to tackle at length considering that the crisis alarm is not founded on what is prevailing on the ground.
South African Ambassador to Zimbabwe Mphakama Mbete also confirmed the arrival of the ANC delegation. He said:
I can confirm that the ANC nine-member delegation will arrive in Zimbabwe today, but I don’t have the exact time.
Last week President Emmerson Mnangagwa dismissed claims that there is a crisis in Zimbabwe.
Speaking during a meeting of the Political Actors Dialogue (POLAD), a grouping of over a dozen small political party leaders he defeated in 2018, he said:
In the wake of the arrest of some elements whose actions sought not only to incite the public to gather against the set rules (of Covid-19)… subversive allegations of a crisis have been made mainly in the social media circles.
I wish to unequivocally state that there is no crisis in Zimbabwe as elections were held in July 2018 and a winner was declared in terms of the country’s constitution.