Gwede Mantashe, secretary general of Zuma's African National Congress (ANC), said the president would be vocal about problems in Zimbabwe, a reversal of the quiet diplomacy practiced by former South African president Thabo Mbeki.
"President Zuma will be more vocal in terms of what we see as deviant behaviour," Mantashe told reporters. "If there is deviant behaviour, we will be more vocal... but we will still engage." Mantashe said such "deviant behaviour" included the conduct of last year's presidential run-off amid widespread political violence and the continuing harassment of lawmakers from Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
Tsvangirai joined long-ruling President Robert Mugabe in a unity government in February, meant to haul the nation from political turmoil and economic collapse.
South Africa is a key backer of the unity deal, and Zuma is currently the head of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the regional bloc that brokered the pact.
"What we want to see in Zimbabwe as the ANC, is to see what in our view is an economic and humanitarian crisis reversed," Mantashe said.
Zuma is set to visit Harare on Thursday and Friday, where his office said he will meet with leaders of the country's main parties to discuss the implementation of the power-sharing accord.
Sapa-AFP
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