The political party of Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, Zanu-PF, has extended its public relations campaign to South Africa.Yesterday, the party placed an advertisement with the Johannesburg daily newspaper The Star in which it congratulated itself on its “land reform” programme and the role the party played in liberating the country. The ad was placed by Zimbabwe’s ambassador to South Africa, Simon Khaya Moyo, in his capacity as Zanu-PF national chairman.
It appeared as Mugabe’s political rival and Zimbabwe’s prime minister, Morgan Tsvangirai, arrived in South Africa yesterday.
In the ad, Zanu-PF took a swipe at its political rival, the Movement for Democratic Change, led by Tsvangirai. The ad went on to praise the Southern African Development Community and the African Union.
Attempts to get an explanation from Moyo failed yesterday. He was out of the office.Yesterday, Tsvangirai said he remained hopeful about Zimbabwe’s future. He said that Zimbabwe’s “madness” had not been completely eradicated and that he was frustrated by the slow pace of reform.
Tsvangirai is expected to use his visit to South Africa to ask President Jacob Zuma to press Mugabe to resolve all the outstanding matters bedeviling the unity government.The MDC said Zuma would have to act now after Mugabe ignored Tuesday’s deadline, set by the SADC troika, to resolve the disputes in the power-sharing arrangement. – Additional reporting by Moses Mudzwiti
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