South Africa’s new Deputy President, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, made a four-hour visit to Zimbabwe on Tuesday for talks with President Robert Mugabe and his deputy that she said will help Pretoria ”synchronise” its policies with Harare.
Making her first official trip to Zimbabwe since her appointment three weeks ago by President Thabo Mbeki, Mlambo-Ngcuka said she held ”longer” talks with her Zimbabwean counterpart, Joyce Mujuru.
”I came to consult my colleague, so that we can synchronise some of the things that we would like to do,” she said without elaborating.
”I was getting a global understanding of the challenges, and we are challenged,” she added.
Asked whether South Africa is preparing to provide aid to Zimbabwe, where the United Nations estimates that four million people out of 13-million are in need of food relief, Mlambo-Ngcuka said: ”There has always been a coordinated approach to assisting Zimbabwe.”
On her first visit to Harare, Mlambo-Ngcuka was accompanied by South Africa’s Deputy Minister of Finance, Jabu Moleketi.
The visit came amid mounting pressure on South Africa to press Zimbabwe to halt a nearly two-month demolitions campaign that has left hundreds of thousands homeless.
South Africa has refrained from criticising Harare over the campaign, saying it is awaiting the findings of a report by a UN envoy. — Sapa-AFP