By Nomusa Garikai- “Government reiterates that Zimbabwe, like most countries in the world is currently grappling with challenges attendant to illegal sanctions, drought and the Coronavirus pandemic.
There is no ‘crisis’, political or otherwise. It is unfortunate that the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishop’s Conference has evidently joined the bandwagon of individuals and entities seeking to manufacture ‘crises’ in the country with the sole aim of achieving known political goals.
“President Mnangagwa and his Government, have since inauguration, sought to implement policies that result in a robust economy in line with Vision 2030. Indeed, one of the President’s leading targets is for Zimbabwe to be an Upper Middle Economy by 2030.
It is however, mischievously misleading for the Bishops to deliberately ignore the impact of illegal sanctions on the country, in their purported assessment of problems afflicting the country. Given the forces against it, natural and man-made, domestic and foreign, Government has managed to keep the country’s economy commendably stable.”
It is to be expected that Government will deny that there is a political and economic crisis in Zimbabwe and insist on the economic crisis only. We have all heard the list of the root causes of the country’s economic problems, sanctions, drought and now corona virus. We have also heard what the new dispensation is doing to revive the economy and its upper middle income vision 2030.
What you and your Zanu PF masters have failed to address is the reality that the Zimbabwe economy has been in decline for the last 40 years of Zanu PF rule. After two years of the new dispensation corruption is still rampant, not one of those looting the diamonds have been arrested.
Even before the corona virus outbreak, it was clear the economy was sinking deeper and deeper into the morose. All these raises the fundamental question which Zanu PF has refused to address these last 40 years: If Zanu PF fails to deliver the economic recovery what recourse does the people have?
The answer is, there is nothing the people can do about it since Zanu PF will just rig the elections and deny the people a meaningful say in the governance of the country. This is the political dimension you are denying exist!
After 40 years of being denied free, fair and credible elections this is the one right we, the people of Zimbabwe, are now demanding as our birth right!
We need to implement the raft of democratic reforms agreed at the on set of the 2008 to 2013 GNU, the prerequisite for free, fair and credible elections. It is self evident that Zanu PF will never implement the reforms and hence the reason we are demanding that the part steps down to create the political space for an independent body that will be tasked to implement the reforms.
Zanu PF rigged the July 2018 elections; the regime does not have the democratic mandate to govern, never did; it is illegitimate and must step down. Zanu PF has held the nation to ransom and this is totally unacceptable!
Note, even if Mnangagwa was making progress in reviving the country’s economic fortunes the fight for a meaningful say in the governance of the country will still be on the national agenda because it will be too late to ask for the restoration of the right the day he or his successor falters!