HARARE : Now What for OAU?

Organization of African Unity representatives will convene in Zimbabwe’s capital Thursday to discuss South African President Frederik W. de Klerk’s pledge last week to abolish apartheid and to assess the potential impact on that country’s neighbors.

Host Zimbabwe is probably the country with the most to lose economically if South Africa’s relatively potent economy is welcomed to join the rest of Africa.

While heads of state from member countries of OAU’s South Africa Committee were invited, sources at the organization’s Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, headquarters said it is still unclear who will actually attend. Committee members include the eight so-called “front-line states”--Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Mozambique, Angola, Namibia, Tanzania, and Malawi--as well as Ethiopia, Egypt, Nigeria, Congo, Cape Verde and Uganda.