President Jacob Zuma and his Zambian counterpart Rupiah Banda on Thursday called for sanctions against Zimbabwe to be dropped.
Sanctions were not aiding change in Zimbabwe, Zuma said in Pretoria after a memorandum of understanding on environmental management and natural resources between South Africa and Zambia was signed.
“We should call upon the globe to lift sanctions. We believe that the lifting of sanctions will be very helpful to the country. The maintenance [of sanctions] is no longer adding any positive thing in Zimbabwe. It is in a sense inhibiting our progress in terms of what we want to achieve.”
Banda said: “I believe that we still can find a solution. We are united in calling for the lifting of the embargo on the leaders, their travel and trade with Zimbabwe. We think it is counter productive and that it is hitting the wrong people. It is affecting the wrong people.”
Banda said the Southern African Development Community troika would meet to discuss Zimbabwe in January.
Zuma said that country’s president, Robert Mugabe, wanted a resolution to Zimbabwe’s problems, and that all parties in Zimbabwe were looking forward to the election.
He said that all the parties “acknowledged there are contested issues”, but that they had agreed on most issues for a peaceful election.
Banda is on a two-day state visit to South Africa. — Sapa