12 July 2007
Business Leadership SA has called for strong leadership to resolve the crisis in Zimbabwe, saying South African business wanted to be part of an economic recovery plan for SA's neighbour - a plan that would require a "new political consensus" and had to involve "all the people of Zimbabwe".
The business lobby group's president, Saki Macozoma, said in a statement on Wednesday that decisive leadership was called for to avoid a meltdown and to "steer Zimbabwe towards a comprehensive economic recovery".
"As business we want to be part of the solution, and pledge our appropriate support to the design of an inclusive package of measures to resolve the crisis in Zimbabwe," Macozoma said.
In a separate statement on Wednesday, Business Unity South Africa (Busa) - the main representative of business in SA - said it would be sending a high-level delegation to Zimbabwe to "engage with business and other key role players" in the country.
Busa CEO Jerry Vilakazi said the business confederation was "confident that the SA business community could play a pivotal role in this challenging economic time for the people of Zimbabwe."
SADC initiative
At a press conference in Pretoria on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma expressed the government's concern at the situation in Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe's economy, Dlamini-Zuma said, had been deteriorating for some time, and it was in part for this reason that the Southern African Development Community (SADC) had mandated South Africa to mediate "discussion and reconciliation" in Zimbabwe.
It was very difficult to rebuild an economy in a country where there was "serious divide and polarisation," Dlamini-Zuma said, but added that she still had confidence in the current SADC initiative on Zimbabwe.
At an SADC leadership summit in Tanzania in March, President Thabo Mbeki was mandated to facilitate dialogue between the government and opposition in Zimbabwe.
In April, Mbeki mediated a first round of talks in Pretoria between Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu-PF party and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change.
While the Zanu-PF representatives failed to turn up for a second round of talks over the weekend, Dlamini-Zuma said she did not believe this meant they wished to end the talks.
In addition to Mbeki's efforts, the SADC also mandated its executive secretary with undertaking a study of the situation in Zimbabwe and proposing measures on how the region can assist the country with its economic recovery.
SouthAfrica.info reporter
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