Mugabe to make first state visit to SA since 1994

ZIMBABWEAN president Robert Mugabe arrives in South Africa on Tuesday on his first state visit since 1994, marking another milestone on his return to international respectability.

He will arrive in a Boeing 767, one of the few aircraft left in the fleet of the ailing Air Zimbabwe, and will bring about 45 officials and business people, Zimbabwean sources said.

Harare has been buzzing with rumours about the health of his wife Grace, who has been out of the public eye for some time. But she was present at a meeting of the ruling ZanuPF’s politburo on Thursday – where sacked vice- president Joice Mujuru was expelled from the party – so First Lady Grace is now expected to accompany Mugabe, 91.

South African officials expressed surprise when asked why President Jacob Zuma was bestowing the honour of a state visit on Mugabe. “Why not?” one official asked, noting that Mugabe had been the first African leader invited for a state visit by Nelson Mandela, soon after Mandela became president in 1994.

The long gap reflects, in part, the fact that Zimbabwe has been on the regional problem list for some time, because of political turbulence in that country. But after being reelected as president in 2013 when the transitional, powersharing government ended, Mugabe was appointed as chairman of the Southern African Development Community last year, and of the AU in January.

“They have had elections and we now want to help with their economic recovery,” a South African official said. He added that South Africa’s Development Bank of Southern Africa and Industrial Development Corporation were already providing loans to Zimbabwe to rebuild infrastructure, mainly roads.

The official said these projects would also benefit South Africa.

But the official denied rumours in Harare that Mugabe was coming to Pretoria to ask Zuma for direct financial assistance to help rescue the ailing Zimbabwean economy.

He said that in discussions between the Zimbabwean officials and business people and South African business people, Mugabe’s government would get the message that it needed to improve the investment climate.

They would especially hear concerns about Zimbabwe’s controversial Indigenisation Act, which obliges foreign investors to divest at least 51 percent of their company ownership to black Zimbabweans. It is considered a major obstacle to investment, even though Mugabe’s government has been hesitant about implementing it.

Officials said the state visit would take place only in Pretoria. – Independent Foreign Service

Robert Mugabe