RUSTENBURG – South Africa’s largest and most influential opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), believes the ANC under President Jacob Zuma has failed the people of Zimbabwe by not doing enough to settle ongoing political disputes that threaten to derail the fragile unity government.
In its latest tirade against the leader of South Africa’s ruling party, the DA said Zuma had used the political problems in Zimbabwe to gain support during his presidential campaign, but had largely failed to improve on the foundation laid by his predecessor, Thabo Mbeki, who played a critical role in the formation of the unity government. 
In a written response to questions posed by The Zimbabwean, the opposition pointed out that Zuma had failed to adopt a tough stance on the ageing Robert Mugabe on numerous occasions. “The DA believes that the Zuma administration has not done enough to settle the ongoing dispute in Zimbabwe,” said Angus Mackenzie, who is the Public Liaison Officer in the office of DA leader Helen Zille.
“He made this a priority during the elections and has so far not lived up to these claims. Zuma is failing Zimbabwe and all her people who are hoping that South Africa will put pressure on the Mugabe regime to honour key areas of the agreement,” he added. The DA has always been critical of the ANC’s stance on Zimbabwe, which it views as being largely sympathetic towards Mugabe, who plunged the country into a massive economic crisis during the late 1990s before the emergence of the unity government.
The DA also believes that critical issues should first be agreed upon by all partners in the unity government before elections in Zimbabwe, provisionally scheduled for 2011, are allowed to proceed.

By The Zimbabwean