South Africa’s governing African National Congress (ANC) says it will not intervene to end the crisis unfolding in neighbouring Zimbabwe, amid fears that the military could overthrow 93-year-old President Robert Mugabe, the world’s oldest ruler.
At a press conference, ANC Secretary-General Gwede Mantashe said the party would be concerned if “things go wrong there because it will impact on us”.
“But we have no authority over them. That’s the point we are making,” he said.
At one time at the height of the Zimbabwe question, there were suggestions by big powers that we must just walk into Zimbabwe [and] whip them into line. We will not do that. It is not done. It is our neighbour, not our province.”
Millions of Zimbabweans are in South Africa, the regional superpower.
They fled the economic collapse of their country, which resulted in the government being forced to introduce so-called bond notes because of a shortage of US dollars, one of the currencies Zimbabwe adopted after its own currency crashed because of hyperinflation.