Zimbabwe truce bodes well for shipping industry

THE HISTORIC powersharing
agreement reached
in Zimbabwe last Thursday
is what shippers have been
waiting for.
While trade has continued
to flourish on the route as
the country’s imports have
surged, the agreement will
hopefully put to rest the
political crisis in that country.
Quoted by BuaNews,
Foreign Affairs Deputy
Minister Aziz Pahad
commented: “The task that
now lies ahead is for South
Africa, the Southern African
Development Community
(SADC), Africa and the
international community
to work on reconstructing,
developing and reconciling
the people and government
of Zimbabwe.”
President Thabo Mbeki
said that the ruling Zanu-
PF and opposition MDC
had agreed on all issues. A
national unity government
should have been announced
by the time this issue reaches
readers’ desks.
“The agreement has
once more underlined our
often stated view that only
the people of Zimbabwe,
acting with the support of
the international community,
can author their own destiny
out of the current political
and economic challenges
facing their country,” said
a statement issued by the
Department of Foreign Affairs
last Friday.