Business must prepare to reinvest in Zimbabwe, ANC heavyweight asserts

South African and international business should be prepared to reinvest in South Africa’s neighbour Zimbabwe should “peace” return to the troubled country, African National Congress (ANC) treasurer-general Mathews Phosa said on Thursday.

Speaking at a business breakfast organised by the French and Nordic chambers of commerce, Phosa asserted that the “fundamentals are very strong in Zimbabwe – they have just been unlucky”.

He indicated that the country’s misfortune was a direct consequence of the “delinquent” behaviour of its President, Robert Mugabe, who, he said, appeared to believe that he could violate human rights because of his credentials as a freedom fighter.

“We take the view that, being a liberation fighter, does not qualify us to violate human rights. On the contrary, it calls on us to be the first defenders of human rights, because it is in the name of human rights that we fought our struggles,” he added.

Phosa’s statement came as a power-sharing deal – brokered by President Thabo Mbeki between Mugabe and his rival, Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangira – appeared increasingly likely.

Mbeki, who was ousted as ANC president in December by political rival Jacob Zuma, whose supporters, including Phosa, were seen as more sympathetic towards the MDC, was in Zimbabwe on Thursday and announced that evening the a deal had been struck and would be signed soon.

“We hope that this discussion will come to an end,” Phosa said, referring to the “positive noises” from the negotiations table.

Phosa, who is one of the so-called ‘top six’ in the party’s post-Polokwane leadership structures, also indicated that the new ANC leadership would be willing to play a far more strident role in tackling the continent’s challenges and economic development.

“We do see ourselves playing an important role in Africa . . . and there is a lot of expectation from African leaders that South Africa should play that role, together with Nigeria, and not be afraid to play that positive role,” Phosa said.

Such an approach would mark a deviation from Mbeki’s ‘softly, softly’ style on the continent, which was arguably epitomised by his heavily-criticised preference for “quiet diplomacy” in dealing with the deepening Zimbabwe crisis.

Phosa was also critical of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, or Nepad, in whose conceptualisation and development Mbeki had played a leading role.

He derided the programme as “nice and romantic”, but said that its implementation had not been felt at “grass roots”, with many of the so-called Nepad projects lacking strategic national and/or regional gravitas.

“It is a good idea, but it needs to be reconceptualised,” he concluded.