UN chief Ban Ki-moon arrived on Tuesday in South Africa, where he is expected to discuss the crisis in neighbouring Zimbabwe with President Kgalema Motlanthe.
Ban was greeted at the Johannesburg international airport by Minister of Minerals and Energy Buyelwa Sonjica, but did not speak to reporters as he headed directly to Pretoria for talks with Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.
He was set to meet with Motlanthe early on Wednesday to discuss the new unity government in Zimbabwe, as well as crises in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Sudan, Somalia and Madagascar.
A top-level UN humanitarian team plans to wrap up a five-day mission to Zimbabwe on Wednesday and to fly to South Africa to brief Ban on their assessment of the humanitarian crisis.
Zimbabwe’s unity government aims to end nearly a year of political turmoil stemming from disputed elections last March, but faces the enormous challenge of rebuilding a country devastated by hyperinflation.
The UN team has been looking at ways of curbing a cholera epidemic that has claimed more than 38 000 lives and easing food shortages affecting 6,9 million people.
After his talks with Motlanthe, Ban was due to meet Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg, and later African National Congress chief Jacob Zuma.
Ban is set to leave South Africa early on Thursday to carry on with his tour through Tanzania, DRC, Rwanda and Egypt. — Sapa-AFP