Zim unity govt 'not imperative'
2005-08-15 16:47
Special Report
Botswana President Ian Khama has accused Zimbabwe's long-time leader Robert Mugabe of failing to honour a power sharing deal and called for fresh elections in the country.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe says he doesn't expect the US sanctions on his country to be lifted soon.
Pretoria - The formation of a government of national unity in Zimbabwe was not necessarily the solution to that country's political problems, South Africa said on Monday.
Neither the ruling Zanu-PF nor the opposition Movement for Democratic Change regarded a unity government as an imperative, deputy foreign minister Aziz Pahad told reporters in Pretoria.
"It would be useless, us insisting on something both sides say is not fundamental," he said.
The possibility of South Africa granting its neighbour a loan to pay off international debt did not turn on the creation of a national unity government, Pahad said.
The more pertinent consideration was that money loaned have an impact on the Zimbabwean economy.
Pahad said there was a need for a "real re-look" at how economic issues in Zimbabwe were dealt with.
This included the independence of the central bank, exchange rate intervention and getting agricultural productivity back on track.
- SAPA