South Africa’s government is continuing to try to calm the ongoing political crisis in Zimbabwe, as discontent rises over its neighbour’s stagnant economy and runaway inflation. South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa will send more envoys to Zimbabwe to meet representatives of the governing Zanu-PF party and the opposition “within days,” he said this week. A previous South African delegation was widely criticised for not meeting opponents of the Zimbabwean government.
Zimbabwe has suffered economic and political strife for years. A weak economy and harsh repression of dissent has pushed anything up to five million Zimbabweans (exact figures are difficult to come by due to the extent of unofficial immigration) into South Africa as economic migrants or refugees, making stability in the country a priority for Pretoria. Inflation in Zimbabwe is officially running at 800 per cent and there are frequent power cuts lasting up to 18 hours a day and an ongoing water shortage.
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