The Zimbabwe government is unhappy with the comments made by South Africa Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor about South Africa’s approach towards Zimbabwe in particular for the call for dialogue and equating and mentioning army invasion as the US did to Iraq.
Naledi Pandor was speaking to Power FM on Monday, and she said the South African government will not use a foreign method to solve problems in Zimbabwe.
“I think the South African government is in consistent engagement and interaction with the Government of Zimbabwe, both to persuade as well as to provide support where it is needed. “Let me give you an instance of the opposite of our policy … you had Saddam Hussein with respect to Iraq. The decision of (former US president) George W Bush was to use American warfare in Iraqi. “Where is Iraqi today? It is a shell of what it was under what was a dictatorship of (the late Iraqi president Saddam) Hussein. We engage consistently. Non-interference means we wouldn’t use our soldiers, our army to invade Zimbabwe, to enforce a platform of democratic practice that we have in South Africa. “We believe that such is a decision that Zimbabwean people must make. “However, we are able — through diplomatic engagement — to persuade the people of Zimbabwe that they need both political as well as an economic revival, which does mean that they have to change in policy and practice,” the International Relations Minister said.
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Sources quoted by Zimbabweans based publication Daily News revealed Zimbabwean top officials have been rattled by the comments of the Pandor and will seek redress with Pretoria as they feel they are being undermined by a country that should treat them on an equal basis.
The President is not happy and we will speak to the South African government through the country’s Foreign Affairs ministry. This is because Naledi Pandor is violating subsidiarity principle. South Africa has no right to interfere in our politics despite them being the African Union Chair. The minister should leave it to structures in the region.
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