The leader of South Africa’s ruling party called yesterday for a new African initiative to solve Zimbabwe’s crisis as neighbouring states showed increasing impatience with President Mugabe.

In what analysts said was unprecedented action towards Mr Mugabe by his neighbours, maritime states around landlocked Zimbabwe all refused to allow a Chinese ship carrying arms to the country to unload. Jacob Zuma, the leader of South Africa’s African National Congress (ANC) – who meets Gordon Brown in London today – made his toughest comments yet on the three-week delay in announcing the results of Zimbabwe’s March 29 presidential election. He said: “It’s not acceptable. It’s not helping the Zimbabwean people who have gone out to . . . elect the kind of party and presidential candidate they want.”

At the same time, Zimbabwe’s opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, offered an “honourable exit” for Mr Mugabe if Africa’s leaders acknowledged his victory in last month’s elections and brokered a peaceful end to the crisis, which Church leaders cautioned could reach “genocidal levels” if left unresolved.

Mr Tsvangirai said: “Our reputation as a continent may suffer serious disrepute if we . . . allow Robert Mugabe to undermine the results of the democratic election by refusing to transfer power knowing he has lost the popular support of the people.” He was speaking on the sidelines of a United Nations trade and development conference in Accra, Ghana, where he went to lobby for support from heavyweight countries within the African Union, such as Nigeria. Kofi Annan, the former UN Secretary-General, who is attending the conference, has already said that Africa should be taking the lead in resolving the issue.

The remarks by Mr Tsvangirai and Mr Zuma appeared to be coordinated and Mr Zuma distanced himself further from the discredited “quiet diplomacy” of South Africa’s President Mbeki. However, Mr Brown, who said at the UN last week that Mr Mugabe must not be allowed to steal the election, still believes that Mr Mbeki has a vital role in resolving the crisis.

Officials emphasised last night that Mr Brown was seeing Mr Zuma as the leader of a sister party, and that the meeting should in no way be seen as suggesting any criticism of Mr Mbeki.

Mr Zuma, who advised the MDC leader to attend the Accra meeting, said that Africa must send a mission to Zimbabwe to end the delay in issuing election results.

He made it clear that he was talking about a new initiative to that of Mr Mbeki and said the crisis was affecting South Africa.

“I don’t think the constitution says: ‘If you like, you can hold the results’,” Mr Zuma said. “The electoral commission must issue the results because it is destroying its credibility.” Mr Zuma, who is on a European trip to seek support for his South African leadership bid, has made several comments on the election delay, distancing himself from Mr Mbeki, the designated regional mediator.

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