Johannesburg - A budgetary support loan of around R827m sought by Zimbabwe from the South African government should not be granted without strict conditions, the Democratic Alliance said on Sunday.
DA international relations spokesperson Ian Davidson said in a statement that he had written to Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan asking that any funding to Zimbabwe have conditions aimed at helping the country reach peaceful political transition.
"In particular, we cannot provide funding to Zimbabwe if (an) agreement is not reached on a new... constitution, or if an election before the new constitution has been finalised and agreed by all relevant parties," Davidson said.
The DA was concerned that the money would be used for political campaigning and to fund Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe's militia, rather than for the benefit of the Zimbabwean public.