Neither Zanu-PF nor Mnangagwa are to blame

Neither the ruling party nor President Emmerson Mnangagwa are to blame for the country's economic woes that are giving rise to labour unrests, Zanu-PF's information tsar said yesterday.

"This is not about a Zanu-PF or government issue alone. It is about all Zimbabweans having to put our heads together to get the country going. The workers who are striking are not demanding to be paid by Zanu-PF but by government and the employer is engaging them now so it will be unfair to say government has failed now. We cannot pre-empt what the outcome will be," Simon Khaya Moyo, the ruling party's spokesperson, told the Daily News yesterday.

Zanu-PF has been angered by the opposition MDC's declaration that Mnangagwa and his Zanu-PF party have failed to put back on track the country's economic fortunes hence they must step aside to give the country a fresh impetus.

Khaya Moyo said such suggestions were not only misguided but also totally misconceived as the problem lies with all Zimbabweans.

"Our resolutions are the panacea to the problems we are facing as a country," he said in reference to the party resolutions made at its annual conference in Esigodini
last month.

"That is what we are focused on right now. It is a democratic right to engage in industrial action and those who must be engaged are being engaged as I speak so there is no failure to talk about now," he added.

At its 17th annual national people's conference in Esigodini, Zanu-PF came up with a number of resolutions among them that Mnangagwa is the sole party's candidate for the 2023 elections and that the revolutionary party has zero tolerance to corruption.

The party also noted that its supremacy over government should be effectively practised whereby it directs government policies and programmes at central and provincial levels in the context of devolution.

The conference was held at a time when pressure was mounting on Mnangagwa's government to deal with a worsening economic climate.

Currently, junior doctors have been on a month-long strike, which has since been joined by other civil servants including nurses and teachers who are demanding to be paid salaries in United States dollars.

To rub salt into the wounds, the Nelson Chamisa-led MDC claims that the country is being held back by the "habitual dereliction of duty by those who stole an election".

Addressing the media at the MDC's headquarters in Harare yesterday, party spokesperson Jacob Mafume said since Mnangagwa came to power after the disputed elections on July 30 last year, the country "is back to square one".

"The MDC suggests that Mnangagwa admits failure and kick-start a process of national dialogue towards a lasting solution to the problems arresting our country," Mafume said.

Mnangagwa is, however, on record saying he and his Zanu-PF party have no appetite to enter into a coalition government with "losers".

Chamisa lost the presidential election to Mnangagwa after winning 44,3 percent of the vote against the former vice president's 50,6 percent.

He has nevertheless refused to accept Mnangagwa as the legitimate leader of the country despite a Constitutional Court ruling against the 40-year-old's application.

Mafume suggested that Mnangagwa should use part of the foreign currency receipts generated by the country to pay doctors and other civil servants.

The labour-backed movement also proposed that the Mnangagwa's administration should "demonetise bond notes, secure existing RTGS balances in individuals' bank accounts and join the Rand Monitory Union".

"A lasting solution can also be found through abolishing the quasi-fiscal activities by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and growing the economy through attracting foreign direct investment and creating a stable and predictable policy environment," Mafume said.