Dabengwa offers to serve under Mnangagwa

OPPOSITION Zapu leader Dumiso Dabengwa has expressed willingness to serve under President-designate Emmerson Mnangagwa if the ruling Zapu PF party endorses a call to form an all-inclusive transitional authority.

Mnangagwa will be sworn in today as President, taking over from former President Robert Mugabe, who resigned on Tuesday after succumbing to sustained pressure from a cross section of Zimbabweans, including the military.

The President-designate talked inclusivity among "genuine, patriotic Zimbabweans" to turn around the teetering economy and create jobs during his first public address on Wednesday following his return from self-imposed exile in South Africa.

Zapu deputy spokesperson Iphithule Maphosa yesterday said his party leader, Dabengwa, who once served as Mugabe's Home Affairs minister, was ready to work in Mnangagwa's administration if invited.

"Dabengwa stands ready to serve in the new dispensation, albeit in his capacity as leader and president of Zapu. He is ready to carry the contributions of the mother party to the national discourse," Maphosa said.

There have been calls from the opposition for a transitional government to stabilise the political and economic environment and implement several reforms including an electoral roadmap.

"Zapu has the key to nation building, democratisation of Zimbabwe and economic transformation, which our president is prepared to provide to the national transitional authority that should be the bridge between dictatorship and a democratic dispensation that, if handled properly, will result in national stability," Maphosa said.

MDC-T Bulawayo provincial spokesperson Felix Magalela Sibanda weighed in saying: "We believe that this is not the end, but beginning of the new dispensation. We would like to appeal to the new would-be Head of State and Government that Zimbabwe needs new ways of doing things like stopping corruption in all sectors of economy, practicing good governance, adhering to principles of democracy … to mention just but a few."

Joice Mujuru's National People's Party (NPP) was, however, cautious, preferring to adopt a wait-and-see attitude.

"Zanu PF has just changed its leader, but all his (Mugabe's) accomplices and policies are still intact. We are very cautious as NPP about the situation. However, like everybody, we wish the incoming President all the best and wait to hear his vision for the country," NPP deputy spokesperson Methuseli Moyo said.

"It is up to the new President to say he needs a government of national unity or not. We will debate the issue once it arises. The army must go back to the barracks. A political army is a serious threat to democracy."