Tsvangirai's MDC-T insists on fresh polls

THE opposition MDC-T has defended its calls for fresh elections saying legitimate polls would help unlock the much-needed economic rescue package for the country's ailing economy.

MDC-T deputy organising secretary Abednico Bhebhe predicted a further deterioration of the economic situation indicating that investors do not want to be associated with a country with a combination of deflation and illegitimacy.

MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai last week wrote to Sadc demanding fresh elections claiming that the 2013 harmonised polls were rigged by President Robert Mugabe and the ruling Zanu-PF.

Tsvangirai said elections were necessary because the Zanu-PF government had shown signs of failure to address the economic crisis, which he warned was a recipe for implosion, with ripple effects to the whole region.

"What we are saying is that where we are now, there is no other solution other than Zanu-PF admitting that they have failed. There has been a marked decline of everything after last year's elections and this is caused by legitimacy questions," Bhebhe said.

"There is no investor who can invest in a country where there is a crisis of legitimacy. This issue was partly solved during the term of the inclusive government hence that time the economy was showing signs of improvement, but since last year things have gone from bad to worse because this government lacks legitimacy.

"At the same time, interest rates are very high in Zimbabwe compared to other countries and this is so because we are a high risk country. What makes Zimbabwe a high risk nation is the issue of legitimacy and we can only solve this by holding fresh elections. There is also no investor who wants to invest in a country where there is deflation as is the case now," Bhebhe said.

Despite the poor performance of the economy, Mugabe has said Zimbabwe would soon turn the corner and enjoy the promises of its 2013 election manifesto.

For example, Zanu-PF promised to create 2 million jobs, but statistics show that thousands have instead been rendered jobless since last year owing to the poor performance of the economy.