Illegitimate government will not revive the economy, says Cross

MDC-T Bulawayo South legislator Eddie Cross has said the ilegitimate government of Zanu PF will not be able to revive the country's economy hence the need to push for democratic elections.

Cross made the remarks in parliament on Tuesday.

"I heard you (Speaker Jacob Mudenda) on the radio this morning emphasising the importance of a free and fair election in 2018. What I want to do in just a few minutes is to tell this National Assembly why this is important. Zimbabwe has been in isolation for nearly 17 years. We have been subjected to restrictions from the Americans for the same period of time. The principal motivation of the international community in maintaining these restrictions has been the fact that they have, year after year, election after election declared, that our elections were not free and fair for one reason or another," Cross said.

"I think that we have to recognise that we simply cannot put out economy back on its feet if we do not have a legitimate Government. Zimbabwe today has external obligations exceeding $11 billion and domestic obligations exceeding $7 billion. Combined, this is $18 billion. This debt hangs over us and simply too much for us to manage."