'Chamisa not desperate for GNU'

The Nelson Chamisa-led MDC came out guns blazing yesterday, saying it is not desperate to form a government of national unity (GNU) with Zanu-PF.

This was after Vice President Kembo Mohadi poured cold water on reports that the two parties which once shared power between 2009 and 2013, were once again engaged in informal talks to hammer out another coalition government.

Mohadi scoffed at the idea recently, saying the Zanu-PF government was determined to go it alone this time around after getting the full mandate to govern at the July 30 polls.

MDC spokesperson Jacob Mafume told the Daily News yesterday that it is Zanu-PF which wants to be rescued from the current economic crisis and not the country's largest opposition party led by Chamisa.

"It is them Zanu-PF who stole a vote, they are being hounded by their theft, it is them who were rejected by all credible observer missions and it is them Zanu-PF who are failing to get a single cent even from the Chinese," said Mafume.

"They have caused fuel shortages and are taxing people, it is not us who have begged them for a unity government, it is not us who have suggested that they be a unity government but it is them who are being haunted by the ghost of illegitimacy".

The MDC spokesperson said the country's economy has been on a slippery slope ever since the removal of former president Robert Mugabe from office in November last year.

He said despite the current government's efforts to seek financial bailouts from international partners, these have drawn blanks.

"Zanu-PF is the one that has messed up, they have failed the economy. They are illegitimate; they have failed to pass the legitimacy test internationally and to the people of Zimbabwe. You cannot seek to govern people by force, they will not comply. They are facing resistance from the people and the economy. It is Zanu-PF which needs to be rescued not anyone else," said Mafume.

Chamisa has been brawling with President Emmerson Mnangagwa ever since he narrowly lost the hotly-disputed July 30 presidential election.

He accused the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission of manipulating the poll results in favour of the Zanu-PF leader.

But Mnangagwa's victory was upheld by the Constitutional Court, which ruled that Chamisa had failed to provide enough evidence that he had won the election.

Recently, Chamisa staged a massive demonstration in Harare where he heaped pressure on Mnangagwa to act on the deteriorating political and economic situation in the
country.

Addressing his supporters then, who were protesting the falling standards and the government's recent unpopular economic revival measures, Chamisa said Zimbabwe could not afford "one day longer" without addressing the country's worsening political and economic crisis.

"Firstly, we are saying to Mnangagwa let's have negotiations. You must come and sit down so that we can solve the current economic crisis.

"Zimbabweans are suffering. The crisis in the country is a crisis of governance, confidence, legitimacy and leadership. How can we solve this?

"We are saying let us unite. On our side we have good leadership qualities and you lack leadership qualities. So, we must unite and map the way forward," Chamisa told his supporters.

Mnangagwa's spokesperson, George Charamba - who is cagey about the talks - complimented Chamisa recently for "abandoning" his fight with Mnangagwa.

"Like I said before, if there is anything that is happening, it is way above my radar. If they (Chamisa and the MDC) have recognised their folly of shouting from rooftops, one hopes it's a new beginning that will take the country forward," he said.