STATEMENT ON VISIT TO ZIMBABWE BY DEPUTY PRESIDENT ZUMA

28 February 2002

Deputy President Jacob Zuma returned from Zimbabwe this morning and on arrival met with President Mbeki to brief him about the outcome of the visit.

The visit was part of ongoing consultations between the two governments, and was initially supposed to take place on Monday.

The following Ministers accompanied the Deputy President on the visit to Harare:

• Minister for Public Enterprises, Jeff Radebe.
• Minister for Agriculture and Land Affairs, Thoko Didiza.
• Minister for Labour, Membathisi Mdladlana.

The delegation met with President Robert Mugabe, Vice-President Joseph Msika and a few Cabinet Ministers including Ministers of Foreign Affairs, State Security, Finance and Transport. The two delegations discussed a wide range of issues relating to the current situation in Zimbabwe.

Among issues raised were the following:

• President Mugabe and his delegation acknowledged that there were a few areas where incidents of intimidation occurred in the country, but that most parts of the country are peaceful and that electioneering was continuing normally.
• That the two major parties, Zanu-PF and Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) had drafted a Code of Conduct guiding the behaviour of parties, and that this had been submitted to the electoral commission.
• The Zimbabwe delegation said it was regrettable that South African election observers had been caught up in incidents of violence, and said as a result of this, protection was being provided to observers who required it.
• The Zimbabweans assured the South Africans that the Leader of the Opposition Morgan Tsvangirai had not been charged with treason as reported in the media, and said police had only questioned him. They gave assurances that those contesting the elections would not be interfered with, that the Zimbabwean government believed in the principle of fair play for all leaders.
• The Deputy President and delegation were also briefed on efforts of the Zimbabwean government to deal with the food shortage situation.

Deputy President Zuma also met with the head of the South African Parliamentary Observer Team, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula. She informed him that the team had covered most parts of the country, and that although there were areas where there were incidents of intimidation, the team believes work is going on to ensure a climate conducive to free and fair elections and that political parties are co-operating with the observer team.

From the meetings held with the Zimbabwean leadership and the South African Parliamentary Observer Team, Deputy President Zuma gained an impression that a lot of effort is being put into creating an atmosphere that would make the March 11 elections in Zimbabwe free and fair.

Issued by The Presidency: Republic of South Africa