ANC support

A message of solidarity from ANC Secretary General Gwede Mantanshe, that his party would help keep Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF party in power, was celebrated by Mugabe's supporters at their party congress earlier this month. But Mantanshe's endorsement has come under fire from the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), Zimbabwe's main opposition party.

MDC spokesperson Thabita Khumalo told Deutsche Welle that her party had sent a protest letter to regional leaders complaining about the ANC position.

"That statement was in bad taste, bearing in mind that South Africa is the mediator to the Global Political Agreement of Zimbabwe," Khumalo said. She also said it was not only Mugabe's ZANU-PF party that had helped the ANC during the liberation struggle, but the entire nation of Zimbabwe.

"What would have been interesting is if he would have said ANC was going to help all Zimbabweans, not a single political party," she said.

When asked about the prospects of triggering MDC anger by openly supporting ZANU-PF, the ANC Secretary General said he was not worried at all.

Open support

"ANC cannot ask for permission to talk to another party," he said. "They (MDC) are not a former liberation movement." General Mantanshe went on to say that the ANC wanted to see ZANU-PF regain the majority it lost in the 2008 elections to Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC. Those elections were marred by violence prompting regional leaders to appoint the South African president to mediate between the MDC and ZANU-PF.

Mantanshe dismissed concerns that President Jacob Zuma's position as a neutral mediator would be questioned if his ANC party were to openly assist Mugabe in winning Zimbabwe's elections. He said Zuma was in Zimbabwe under the auspices of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

"There is a difference between government-to- government relations and party-to-party relations."

In South Africa, the main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, has issued statements condemning the stance taken by the ANC. "Their (ANC) position throws into question President Zuma's impartiality to broker peace in Zimbabwe," it warned. But there is little sign that the ANC will reverse its course. Meanwhile, President Mugabe's party continues to celebrate the endorsement of a fellow liberation movement that had previously publicly condemned ZANU-PF policies.

Author: Columbus Mavhunga, Harare /cm
Editor: Susan Houlton / rm