International Relations Minister Naledi Pandor says South Africa’s intervention in Zimbabwe can only happen at the request of the Government of Zimbabwe.
She was speaking in an exclusive interview with the SABC’s Sherwin Bryce-Pease ahead of the United Nations General Assembly’s High Level meeting which begins on Monday next week.
Pandor was responding to a question about why South Africa was comfortable speaking up about the human rights situations in places like Western Sahara or Palestine – but not Zimbabwe.
Minister Pandor weighs in on SA’s intervention in Zimbabwe:
Meanwhile, the Public Protector’s Office has confirmed that it will go ahead with an investigation into the use of state funds and resources for party interests – after an ANC delegation travelled to Zimbabwe last week. This is despite the ANC apologising and agreeing to pay back the costs incurred on the trip – including the delegation’s use of an SANDF plane to transport its officials to a meeting with the ruling Zanu-PF in Harare.
Spokesperson for the Public Protector, Oupa Segalwe says: “The PP will be investigating on the basis of 3 complaints from AfriForum, FF-Plus and the ATM – the last two complainants are from political parties represented in parliament. They want her to investigate different aspects of the matter. It does not matter whether any of the players in the matter has decided to make amends, it is important for the PP to establish what happened, who did what and whether what they did was in compliance with the law.”
