RAMAPHOSA ENDORSES ZIM GOVERNMENT

...says sanctions 'unjust'

HARARE - President Cyril Ramaphosa has said he supports Zimbabwe's government, ignoring reports of human right abuses to crush persistent dissent in the neighbouring country.

On a visit to Zimbabwe on Tuesday, Ramaphosa endorsed President Emmerson Mnangagwa, repeating calls for an end to Western sanctions and urging the international community to assist the once-prosperous country.

He described the sanctions against Mnangagwa and dozens of other top Zimbabwean officials as "unfair" and "unjust."

He said South Africa would assist Zimbabwe's economic recovery "within our means," but did not make a concrete commitment.

Ramaphosa's comments came as Human Rights Watch issued a report urging him and other southern African leaders to push Zimbabwe's president "to put an end to security force abuses."

Meanwhile, President Ramaphosa’s much-anticipated visit dashed any lingering hopes that his country would bail out its economically-troubled neighbour. Ramaphosa commended the new administration of nangagwa for its bid to revive the economy and promised to explore a number of options of financial help

But otherwise he made no concrete offer of help, voicing a "commitment to work with Zimbabwe in addressing the socio-economic challenges."

"South Africa stands ready to render support to Zimbabwe within our means in your quest for economic renewal," he said, during the talks held at a Harare hotel.

Last year Zimbabwe requested $1.2 billion in emergency credit from South Africa, but Pretoria indicated it did not have the funds.

In a joint statement issued after the 24-hour visit, the two governments said they were exploring ways to help Zimbabwe financially.

One of them would be a loan facility from South African private banks to the Zimbabwe private businesses.

The loans will be guaranteed "by the South African government with an appropriate counter-guarantee from the Zimbabwe government," said the statement.

An almost similar deal was struck last month with the diamond-rich Botswana, involving a $100-million credit from private banks in both countries but available to Botswana private companies doing business in Zimbabwe.