South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor has said they remain determined to help resolve the crisis in Zimbabwe.
This comes after the ruling ZANU PF party dismissed mediation efforts by the African National Congress (ANC) and the South African government.
Speaking at a University of the Witwatersrand webinar on Wednesday, Pandor said:
Zimbabwe is important. We continue to engage Zimbabwe and we will continue to do so until we help come out of the problem, crisis, challenges, whatever you prefer to use until we achieve an outcome.
… it is clear that that great country is not where it should be at present. And anyone who wants to pretend might do so. But we are comrades, neighbours, friends.
We stand ready to play a role and once they agree; ‘South Africa come on, we need to work together’, that moment South Africa will be ready.
Last week, the ANC sent a high-powered delegation led by Secretary-General Ace Magashule to Zimbabwe to try to address the crisis.
It hoped to meet all stakeholders but ended up meeting only the ruling ZANU PF party. The ANC delegation said it had run out of time but it later became apparent that ZANU PF wouldn’t allow them to meet anyone else.