Zanu-PF bigwigs fighting over Mnangagwa-Chamisa talks. Meanwhile, Chairman of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWA), Chris Mutsvangwa, has challenged President Emmerson Mnangagwa and MDC leader Nelson Chamisa to bury the hatchet for the sake of the country’s economy.
Outspoken Zanu-PF youth league national political commissar, Godfrey Tsenengamu, has accused unnamed party bigwigs of working to derail President Emmerson Mnangagwa and stopping him from engaging in much-needed political dialogue with opposition leader Nelson Chamisa.
And in making this sensational claim, Tsenegamu joins a plethora of voices from within and outside Zanu-PF who are pressing for direct talks between Mnangagwa and Chamisa, seen as the only sure way of extricating Zimbabwe from its deepening political and economic crises.
Speaking in Harare on Thursday at a discussion forum on the role of the State in safeguarding human rights convened by Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe (ANZ), Mutsvangwa said: “Why can’t Nelson (Chamisa) and Mnangagwa say we can quarrel about our differences but let’s get on a plane, go to London, Beijing, Washington and Tokyo and seek capital as Zimbabweans.
“Never in one day do they want to talk about that. I want to tell you that this economy does not wait for our quarrels … we are continuing to slide into poverty. Ironically, both Mnangagwa and Chamisa have reiterated the need for dialogue but the bone of contention has been the platform for, and convenor of the talks.
Mnangagwa said Chamisa should join the “losers’ club” the Political Actors Dialogue (POLAD), while the latter has insisted on bilateral talks mediated by a neutral convenor. The European Union (EU) is also ramping up pressure on President Mnangagwa to hold much-needed talks with opposition leader Chamisa.
This comes as Mnangagwa is battling to put back on track his re-engagement efforts with western powers, following growing concerns about human rights violations in the country, which are blamed on the government.
Mnangagwa, whose legitimacy has been questioned by the opposition MDC since he was announced winner of the presidential election by a water-thin 50,6 %, has indicated that an all-inclusive national dialogue was imperative in addressing Zimbabwe’s unrelenting economic crisis.
Presidential spokesperson George Charamba said Mnangagwa was sincere in his invitation for dialogue with the opposition, among other stakeholders, but warned that organising violent protests could blight the prospects for dialogue to discuss the economic crisis gripping the country.
“President Mnangagwa’s concept for dialogue is wider. Soon after elections, he asked for dialogue,” Charamba said.
“What Zanu-PF and this government will not countenance is someone who asks for dialogue while pointing a gun at the head of the government. And metaphorically the gun in this sense is queuing hooligans on the streets to terrorise and destroy property and cause mayhem.”
He said the onus was upon MDC leader Nelson Chamisa to formally engage Mnangagwa on the need for dialogue while spelling out issues that needed to be thrashed out at the negotiating table. “The first interlocutor for dialogue would have been Chamisa. For the first time, we saw ED referring to Chamisa by his first name. So now Chamisa is now ripe for dialogue. For now, he (Chamisa) is really pushing for it,” Charamba said.
“He is the one who has the issues, so he must tell us about those issues. He is the one who is feeling discomfort so he is the one who has to tell us about why he wants us to dialogue.” MDC has since crafted a framework to guide the direction of the dialogue if the talks ever materialise.
The “five-point plan” spells out the need to address Mnangagwa’s legitimacy, the unrelenting economic crisis, and atrocities committed in the past, nation building as well as crafting a shared common national vision.
It also entails discussing a “comprehensive reform agenda and platform with a view to constructing both a sustainable state with a culture which serves the interests of the masses as opposed to serving a few presiding elites and those connected to them.”
MDC secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora said the five-point plan was endorsed by the party’s national executive council last year. He, however, said the envisaged dialogue would not only be restricted to discussing the five points raised by the MDC.
“The national executive council resolved that MDC will explore dialogue to address Zimbabwe’s problems,” Mwonzora said. “As MDC, we have raised five issues which should guide the dialogue which include legitimacy and national healing, among others. The dialogue must be genuine and unconditional. We are not saying these are the only issues to talk about.”
He said there was consensus within the MDC for the need to engage in dialogue, amid reports that some top party officials were opposed to unconditional talks with Mnangagwa. “There is consensus on the need to engage in dialogue. No one has approached us for the need for dialogue,” he said, noting that the talks should not exclusively feature MDC and Zanu-PF.
Source – Bulawayo 24 News