'Coalition only concerned with dislodging Mugabe'

MDC president Professor Welshman Ncube has conceded that the planned coalition by opposition parties lacks a policy strategy to transform the country's economy as it has only concerned itself with dislodging Zanu-PF from power.

Speaking in an interview on BBC's HardTalk on Tuesday, Prof Ncube said the parties had no hope of winning without presenting a united front.

He said opposition parties deserve the criticism which is being levelled against them to the effect that they do not have a clearly spelt out strategy to deal with the economy.

"We have of course as an opposition come to be criticised a great deal by academics, intellectuals, by social commentators etc and I've said much of the criticism is merited. But what is important is that we realise that the challenges that we face are immense, that the national crisis is deep, that the country will only sink deeper into this quagmire if we do not deliver change in 2018," said Prof Ncube.

He said the coalition negotiations were a step in the right direction.

"That we are talking to each other, that we are going to develop a strategy, that we are going to do everything, that we can motivate and re-motivate people, that we reach out to young people to come out and vote in 2018- all of those things are the critical ingredients that will deliver victory in 2018," he said.

Prof Ncube acknowledged that the opposition parties' coalition negotiations were moving at a slow pace yet time was running out.

The MDC leader could not be drawn into saying who would lead the proposed alliance, but was seemingly backing MDC-T president Mr Morgan Tsvangirai for the position.

"We must recognise that from the previous elections he (Tsvangirai) has secured the highest number of votes," said Prof Ncube.

After being reminded that Mr Tsvangirai's support has dwindled since 2008 as illustrated by President Mugabe's 2013 election victory with over 60 percent of the vote as well as the latest Afrobarometer's survey which stated that the President will win if an election was held tomorrow, Prof Ncube then clarified that he was not endorsing Mr Tsvangirai's presidential candidacy.

"We don't know who it will be, we need to agree on who it will be. What I was underlying is the importance of using an objective criteria in coming to the determination of who that candidate should be. What is important too is that when we agree on that particular candidate we must all go and unconditionally rally behind that candidate if we are to have a fighting chance," said Prof Ncube.

The coalition is already being shaken by Dr Nkosana Moyo who is set to launch his political party, the Alliance for People's Agenda (APA), which will contest in next year's elections.

Dr Moyo has described the coalition as tantamount to rigging elections saying the electorate should be given a chance to choose their preferred leaders.