Question and answer session following the briefing to the media on the SADC summit by Trade and Industry Minister, Mandisi Mpahlwa, and Deputy Foreign Minister, Aziz Pahad, Union Buildings, Pretoria, August 12 2008

Questions and answers

Question: We have heard Botswana threatening to boycott the Summit if Robert Mugabe attends. Has South Africa invited Robert Mugabe and in what capacity has he been invited to this Summit?

Deputy Minister Aziz Pahad: South Africa does not invite any country. Zimbabwe is one of the 14 members of SADC and the Secretariat would have invited all the members of SADC.

The question of who is going to come and who is not going to come, we don't know. The talks are continuing in Zimbabwe. We have no indication of what the problems are or what progress is being made. I suspect that long before we get to Summit there will be some decisions coming out of Zimbabwe which will then influence everything else.

Question: Minister Pahad, there was a two week deadline given on the Zimbabwe talks, was there an expectation that come the SADC meeting there would have been a deal sealed?

Aziz Pahad - No. As you know, the Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Government and the two MDC factions. In that Memorandum it was hoped that all the discussions would be completed within two weeks. These are just time-frames you worked towards.

Clearly there are some issues that still have to be resolved. They adjourned yesterday because of the Heroes Day celebrations during the day. They met late last and will start the talks today.

This thing was not planned in preparation to get some result before the summit. It is just coincidental that things moved as they moved and it just coincided with the SADC Summit.

Of course SADC would want to get a response from the Facilitation. President Mbeki is facilitating on behalf of SADC. They will expect some response. We are all praying and hoping it will be a positive response, which will then help us to move more decisively into doing what we have to do, such as dealing with the economic integration, dealing with poverty and under-development, dealing with all the challenges that we have identified. We hope that there will positive results coming out of the talks.

Minister Mandisi Mpahlwa - I think it's important to emphasise a point or two in this regard. As South Africa the host but also as a SADC Community we all have interest that all member states attend the Summit.

I think the thing that should enjoy our central focus is the fact that the parties are talking at the highest level. That is very significant. You can see that there is a momentum that has been generated in this process. It was difficult to get the first meeting.

But when it did take place, you could actually see that there is this one image of all the leaders arriving for talks.

As South Africans we should celebrate the fact that the persistence of the President as facilitator, inspite of all the criticism and the negativity around it, has got the parties in Zimbabwe to the point where they are actually talking.

Our President has consistently said that as Facilitator he can only do so much, it is the parties to the conflict that will really resolve that issue. We are at that point now where the parties are talking. I would imagine that a matter such as this would be one of the matters that would be discussed because traditionally, when SADC Summits convene the Facilitator gives reports to the other Heads of State about  progress on the Zimbabwe issue. I expect the same thing to happen.

Therefore, I would think that that would be one of the matters that would be a subject of some reflection.

Question: Would it be right to say that the talks in Zimbabwe are working against a deadline of producing something in time for the Summit? What level of observation will there be at the Summit, the donor community that is vital for the rescue plan for Zimbabwe? Are they going to be at the Summit? Are they abreast of what is happening, better than we are?

Aziz Pahad - There is reference group comprising of the United Nations, the AU and SADC. So through those channels everybody gets briefed about progress being made.

We have tried both of us to hint at this, that some report has to be given to Summit, because President Mbeki is acting on behalf of SADC Organ which therefore has to report to SADC Summit.

I don't think that we should try to determine whether there will be results or not. If they are successful outcomes, that would be a plus.

If there is still more time needed for more consultations that shouldn't lead us to despair. It just means that they are still talking. The fact that the parties are continuing to talk is a positive aspect. And we should stick to that as the Minister was hinting; try to encourage them to continue talking until they find a solution that is in the interest of the Zimbabwean people.

Question: Can Minister Mpahlwa explain how Zimbabwe with its economic meltdown will fit into the Free Trade Area particularly the Customs Union.

Mandisi Mpahlwa - One of the things that will happen when the Free Trade Area is launched will be that information will be provided by the Secretariat on the state of affairs in so far as achieving a Free Trade Area. That report, because countries in terms of this trade protocol make commitments of a tariff phase-down. A country makes a tariff offer which says that this is the schedule of a phasing down of tariffs towards achieving substantially all trade within the region being duty free.

And so, with respect to each of the countries a report will provide information about how each of the countries fares in terms of those offers that have been made and the schedule of tariff commitments.

One of the realities of this is that countries sit at different positions in relation to this tariff phase downs. Some countries front-loaded this - South Africa has basically opened up. But some countries have back-loaded, while others have taken a more gradualistic approach. That information will be provided.

I think that you would recall that over time in the African continent Zimbabwe has been South Africa's leading trading partner. In global terms actually Zimbabwe for a long time was the 13th largest trading partner of South Africa. That must say something about the participation of Zimbabwe in trade within the region.

The exact information and figures and the exact stage Zimbabwe is at in terms of its own commitments and tariffs phase-down, that information will be provided at the right time.

Question:  Will SADC be putting any pressure on the Swazi monarch to hold democratic elections?

Answer: There are processes under way in Swaziland which have been going on for some time through SADC and through the Commonwealth to try to see how we can assist Swaziland move towards a more multi-party democracy.

This is work in progress and we will continue through SADC and bilaterally assist Swaziland to move in that direction. It is work in progress, mainly driven by the Commonwealth but also involving SADC.

Question: Minister Alec Erwin has been referring all questions about the arms deal to the Department of Trade and Industry. I would just like to know, is the serious fraud office investigations into the BAE contracts with South Africa still going ahead?

Mandisi Mpahlwa - I don't know if that has anything to do with the SADC Summit and the launch of the Free Trade Area. The advice that I would give you is that perhaps we should consider an appropriate forum to talk about issues of the offset programme which the Department of Trade and Industry has been managing.

The information about the work the Department of Trade and Industry is doing is available. There is a series of Annual Reports that have been tabled every year in parliament. If we need to engage on this we should consider the appropriate forum.

Question: Minister, just a practical one. In the absence of the Zambian president Mwanawasa, any news on who will act on his behalf in handing over the Chair and all the things at the Summit?

Aziz Pahad - South Africa will be the Chair. I assume the vice president will represent Zambia, including the Foreign Minister and the Trade Minister who will come for the integration meeting tomorrow. They will be represented at the highest level.

This is an extract of the transcript issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs Pretoria August 12 2008