Question: Minister on Zimbabwe, firstly on the observers, I just want clarity, the observers you mentioned - the 54 I think - are they going as part of the SADC observer mission? I think I understood you to say that - or are they a separate South African only observer mission? And secondly I would like to have South Africa's comment on a bill that has been signed in Zimbabwe or enacted this week by President Robert Mugabe concerning the foreign ownership of companies, especially since this will be affecting many South African companies doing business there. Just from South Africa, what is our comment or position on that legislation? Thank you.

Aziz Pahad: Yes our observers will be part of the SADC region under the leadership of Angola, which is at the moment the present head of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security. Today the SADC mission should have been officially launched and we would have been given the details of the broad framework within which the SADC observer mission will function. As the member of the Secretariat, the SADC Secretariat has indicated we would be guided by the SADC Convention on Elections, Democracy and Good Governance and we now wait for the details of how the SADC team is going to be able to carry out its duties. We will be fully part of the SADC observer team. All countries were asked at minimum to supply ten observers, as you can see we are supplying 54 and this includes Parliamentarians from all parties which on its own should indicate that we are committed to ensuring that our observers are able to do the work diligently and properly. The Indigenous and Empowerment Bill has just been signed into law. We are analysing this - we haven't fully discussed it and as you can see there is already different interpretation on what this Bill entails and nobody is sure of the extent of it. It has to still go for public hearings; it must be then passed by the two houses and then signed on by President Mugabe. In the mean time what we are doing is studying this Bill more carefully and then we will initiate discussions with the South African business community to get an understanding of how they interpret the Bill and how we can work together to protect, in a broad sense, South African interests in Zimbabwe. But this will only emerge after our studying the Bill more, after getting better interpretations and one interpretation of how everybody is reading the Bill in Zimbabwe and then how we, following our discussions with the business community because they are best equipped to inform specifically how this and any other law will impact on them specifically. Because according to what Minister Mnangwagwa reportedly said in today's papers, it should take five to ten years to implement; different companies would be handled differently; there is no talk of expropriation but the Zimbabwean Chamber of Mines themselves have asked for greater explanation. It is still early days and we are really keen to really begin to come to grips with its contents, its implications because in the end, as you know, SADC does have the task of helping Zimbabwe deal with the economic situation that they are faced with. So we will watch this very carefully in the context of our overall interaction and indeed with our private sector.

Question: On the Zimbabwean delegation I am trying to find out - the previous delegation was somehow unpopular with the South Africans, is there any special briefing that was given to the present delegation in order to maybe come with a type of report that would be credible?

Aziz Pahad: Yes there will be a briefing. Already this afternoon Ambassador Mamabolo is meeting with some of the people to begin to brief them about the political and economic and other situations in Zimbabwe. And after the launch of the SADC Observer Mission officially, and getting what the leader of the delegation, the Angolans propose, we'll then give our team a much fuller briefing as to what is expected of them in Zimbabwe as they observe the elections. Logistics are very difficult. As we experienced last time we'll have to make arrangements for much of the logistics to go from South Africa. This includes transport, communication systems, because our people will in terms of the SADC understanding be posted throughout the country and not only in the urban areas.

Question: Deputy Minister, just the last and inevitable question about Zimbabwe. What is our government's position on the situation in Zimbabwe to the elections? Do we believe the situation is prone to free and fair elections?

Question: Sorry Minister, to add on that, would you say that this government believes that the ground is now conducive for free and fair elections? In other words, there has been a compliance with the SADC principles and guidelines for democratic elections.

Aziz Pahad: These questions are the same, can I tackle them together. Just to recall, when SADC asked us to facilitate a process of bringing the two MDC factions and the government together, there were basically five agenda items. And many of these items related to creating the conditions that would ensure that elections are free and fair. Subsequently as you know through Amendment 18 in December, parliament jointly, between the two opposition factions and the government, passed this Amendment to deal with the two major laws that were seen as impediments. That plus other factors that were put into place through the Constitution and through the Amendment, we believe was able to create the conditions to at least make it possible to follow the SADC guidelines to ensure that the elections are free and fair. Of-course the problem arose on the question of the timing of the elections. The opposition are saying that the elections came too soon, they should have consulted before they announced the date. But this is a matter that the Zimbabweans must resolve. And whether the issue of this constitution that they've agreed to should be before the elections or after the elections, is related to the first question on the timing, is also a matter for the Zimbabweans to discuss. I think now what we have to ensure, there are as you know, I see in our papers, much less complains about harassment, equal time on the media. My own view on this we must ask all complainants, firstly, to submit these complaints to the Independent Electoral Commission so that it can, and they must investigate it. They should similarly submit it to the SADC Observer Mission, which is going to be very strong. And indeed through the SADC Observer Mission, I assume that this will be conveyed to the relevant leadership, including the facilitation team. And indeed the opportunity must be taken if there are any complaints, alleged or real, they should really go through the processes of using the procedures as Amendment 18 and others allow to put this forward. And then we can review whether these allegations were founded, unfounded. And if they were founded what actions need to be taken to remedy them. I think that that's the only way we can work. It's not only SADC, there's ECOWAS, ASEAN. There are many observer missions representing many powerful countries with great traditions of democracy and good governance. Therefore it is in the Zimbabwean people's interest, and it is in the interest of SADC and Africa that we must do everything possible that nobody challenges the elections of not being free and fair. Because all that will do, if we don't assist the process and if people do feel it was not free and fair, then we will not have solved the problems the Zimbabwe people find themselves in now. I don't think its possible for the Zimbabweans to sustain the level of political tensions and economic crisis that they are undergoing at the moment. So on paper the conditions are there. We have to, through our participation in the observer mission and through our interaction, ensure that what has been enacted through Amendment 18 and through legislative changes, that conditions are free and fair for elections to take place. But this is a matter we'll view very seriously in the next 17 days and hope that nothing will undermine the processes to prevent people from campaigning freely, from mobilising freely, from using the media as the law now states. Let's see how we can move forward. I can't predict, standing 12 days away, whether things are going to happen between now and then to undermine the whole process. I do hope that the Zimbabweans are committed to making this work. There's a lot of excitement that this time things will be different. Let's test it. That will be my view.

This is an extract of the transcript of the briefing by Aziz Pahad, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, to journalists, Union Buildings, Pretoria, March 12 2008. Source: Department of Foreign Affairs.