Mnangagwa's govt rattled by Western countries' comments

THE ZIMBABWE government yesterday came out guns blazing, dismissing a statement made by western countries condemning alleged gross human rights violations saying they are being misled by the country's detractors.

This comes after the heads of mission of Canada, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States of America said President  Emmerson Mnangagwa was failing the country.

Speaking to the Daily News yesterday, deputy Foreign Affairs minister David Musabayana said the issue is affecting the country.

"This is affecting the country because this false information will scare away investors and it will affect the country in terms of borrowing.  There is no evidence to what is being said they must bring evidence.

"The people in the opposition are giving false information to the embassies. We are communicating with those western countries because engagement is a process, we will continue to engage them.

"What they are saying it's just a narrative on social media. These are challenges of dealing with corruption. People will fight you and as you see our president is taking a tough stance against corruption so those who are implicated in corrupt activities are now fighting  the government.

"We are not panicking because I don't think that we have failed to deliver, the economy is stabilising and our currency is also stabilising so I think we are in the right direction.," Musabayana said.

The western countries said it is high time Zimbabwe government shifts from their blame game.
"Finally, the Zimbabwean people have the right to engage in dialogue to build a better future for their country. But the necessary discussions have so far been hindered by the unhelpful rhetoric and blame assigned to several groups, including diplomatic missions and non-state actors.

"We ask the government to move away from such language and instead deliver on its long promised reforms and reach across the divide…implemented to the benefit of all, and make a difference to the life of all Zimbabweans.

"We hope this government is able to deliver on its initial vision to live up to the commitments it made when it came to power. As before, we stand ready to provide support in response to meaningful progress on reforms," they added.
Mnangagwa is under growing pressure from long-suffering Zimbabweans over his government's failure to mend the country's broken economy.

Reflecting on his two years in office this week, the president said he was committed to improving the welfare of the populace and highlighted several projects that have been implemented under his watch.

"Two years ago today, I was inaugurated as your president. I vowed to serve Zimbabwe and its people so that we could move towards a more prosperous future . . . Zimbabwe is not without its challenges. But rest assured that myself and this Government are fully committed to improving our great nation for the benefit of all Zimbabweans . . . Brick-by-brick we will build Zimbabwe," he said.