HARARE – Former Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba has called on South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to freeze Zanu PF assets in South Africa and ban officials from Zimbabwe’s ruling party from entering South Africa.

The call comes amid growing pressure on President Emmerson Mnangagwa to end human rights abuses including the arrest of civil society leaders, opposition activists and journalists.

South Africa’s ruling African National Congress said it will be sending a delegation to engage with Zanu PF.

Zimbabwe is currently mired in its worst economic in over a decade. Nurses have been on strike approaching three months, and food prices are beyond the rich of most Zimbabwe’s whose salaries have been shrivelled by inflation of over 800 percent.

“For years, our government has watched Zanu PF destroy the country which was once capable of feeding much of Southern Africa. This crisis impedes our country deeply and it is now time for a new approach,” Mashaba told the SABC on August 29.

“It is time for hard diplomacy. We must adopt the strongest and harshest policies against the repressive government and not punish the people of Zimbabwe.

“This should start by freezing the assets of Zanu PF leaders in South Africa and banning them from entering our country until there is real reforms in that beloved country.”

Taking advantage of Covid-19 restrictions, President Emmerson Mnangagwa is employing emergency rule conditions which have seen an unprecedented crackdown on dissent.

Zimbabwean officials insist that there is no crisis and President Mnangagwa last month met three Ramaphosa special envoys who were however blocked from engaging government critics.

Speaking after a meeting of the ANC’s National Executive Committee on Monday, Ramaphosa said they are “having to deal with a situation on our borders” as Zimbabweans stream across to escape growing poverty and repression.

A resolution of the NEC read by Ramaphosa said: “The NEC welcomed government efforts to engage the situation in Zimbabwe, in particular the deployment of special envoys. It emphasised the importance of the envoys engaging with all stakeholders in the country to assist in addressing the current situation. ANC and government processes must complement each other.”

ANC secretary general Ace Magashule will lead a delegation to engage Zanu PF “with the intention to develop a fuller understanding of the situation” in Zimbabwe and “to determine how the government and ANC can assist.”

“It was also agreed that the ANC must speak to all parties and stakeholders as well,” the ANC said.

Ramaphosa said Mnangagwa had recently expressed a desire that the ANC meets with his Zanu PF party’s Politburo – but the ANC NEC has decided the engagement should also include his rivals and other interest groups.

The talks would happen “in days to go”, Ramaphosa said.

“In my discussions with President Mnangagwa, he informed me that their politburo wanted and desired to be in conversation with the ANC to discuss the situation much more fully in Zimbabwe and we agreed that this delegation must now proceed,” Ramaphosa said.

“The NEC expressed a deep desire that when they get there, they should have an opportunity of meeting other stakeholders in Zimbabwe. Clearly, it is important that we get as broad a view of what is happening in Zimbabwe as possibly can.”