The Renewal Team has blasted Robert Mugabe telling him to slow down on his international trips as they are embarrassing the nation.
The party’s National Chirman Sam Siphepha Nkomo said the two regional bodies SADC and the African Union should reduce the 91-year-old politician’s engagements to enable him attend to domestic problems.
“We note with concern the continued economic downturn, failure by the government to provide social protection to the drought-stricken parts of our country, harassment of the informal traders, fiscal indiscipline through Mugabe’s ceaseless international trips as well as the embarrassment the country gets as Mugabe continues to sleep in front of international cameras in Sadc, AU and UN functions,” Nkomo said.
“We call upon the AU and Sadc leaders to spare Zimbabwe this humiliation by asking Mugabe to slow down to save these institutions from the embarrassment.”
The comments came as pro ZANU PF analysts defended Mugabe’s trips as they said the perception has been built by the Daily News paper. Wrote one Suitable Kajau, “The editorial comment for the Dailynews of June 9, 2015 headlined ‘Time for Mugabe to rest’ is a typical example of yellow journalism which subscribes to sensationalism as its life-line of survival. What has the president done wrongly to warrant a suggestion by this paper for the president to relinquish power?
“The Dailynews is guilty of lying by omission. They accuse President Robert Mugabe of all the economic problems bedeviling the country without looking at the matter objectively that the western backed economic sanctions have caused havoc to our well-being as a nation. Otherwise the president is working flat-out to keep Zimbabwe afloat in the face of spanners thrown into his work by the nation’s adversaries.
“The impetus of sanctions is hinged on illegal regime change agenda by our erstwhile enemies. President Mugabe remains the people’s darling in Zimbabwe in spite of the insatiable desire to unduly discredit him. This explains why he garnered 63% of the latest presidential polls held on July 31, 2013. He is not only popular at home, but across the continent as he is a crowned SADC and AU Chairperson.”