Moving forward, this is great news both for Zimbabwe and South Africa. For whatever reason (historical perhaps) South African President Thabo Mbeki has never criticized Robert Mugabe and repeatedly has talked of 'silent diplomacy' in Zimbabwe as the way forward. The policy has failed and Mbeki has never been a neutral observer, but a Mugabe supporter.
Leading ANC figures have openly contradicted President Thabo Mbeki, who declared after meeting Mr Mugabe in Harare last weekend that there was "no crisis" in Zimbabwe. A top ANC official, Matthews Phosa – a close ally of the ANC leader Jacob Zuma – said yesterday that a crisis was "evident" in South Africa's northern neighbour. The party's national working committee, in a snub to the president, resolved to open direct contact with Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu-PF and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) to promote dialogue.
The deadlock in Zimbabwe has caused frustration in South Africa with Mr Mbeki's brand of "quiet diplomacy" to boil over.
