South Africa has called a ministerial meeting to discuss Zimbabwe’s food shortage and cholera outbreak, a Cabinet spokesperson said on Thursday.

Briefing the media in Pretoria, spokesperson Themba Maseko said that President Kgalema Motlanthe would convene an emergency meeting to consider ways in which South Africa could work with other countries in the region, aid organisations and nongovernmental organisations to address the urgent food and other humanitarian needs of Zimbabwe.

“Our primary objective is to save innocent lives in that country,” he said.

The government would also be looking at ways to reduce the burden that was being placed on many South African towns, particularly those bordering Zimbabwe.

Maseko also said that Cabinet had received a special report on the “extensive interventions” that were being implemented by an interdepartmental task team to resolve the recent cholera outbreak. These interventions included the provision of clean water and medical supplies.

The task team was working closely with South African Development Community (SADC) ministries of health and the World Health Organisation to prevent the spread of cholera and other communicable diseases to the rest of the region.

Maseko added that the initiation of preventative measures in Zimbabwe was vital as the South African government wants to prevent infected victims seeking medical assistance in South African towns close to the border.

Meanwhile, Maseko said that although South Africa was deeply concerned about the current situation in Zimbabwe, President Motlanthe had stated that the South African government still had faith in Thabo Mbeki’s mediation process.

Zimbabwean negotiators had reached an agreement on the draft constitutional amendment that would pave the way for the establishment of a representative government.

The Cabinet said that the leaders of the political parties were expected to sign the draft constitutional amendment as soon as possible.

Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai has previously criticised Mbeki and stated that his party had lost faith in Mbeki’s approach to the mediation process.

Power sharing talks have been the focus in Zimbabwe since the Presidential elections, which were held in September, failed to produce a conclusive result as to who will be the next President of the country.

To subscribe to Engineering News's print magazine email subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za or buy now.