Biti calls on Zimbabwe to engage with the West

The MDC Renewal Team has repeated its previous calls on Zimbabwe to engage with the West to be recognised among highly indebted poor countries while suggesting that government should immediately cease taxation on imports.

Former Finance Minister, Tendai Biti, who is also MDC Renewal Team Secretary General, told journalists that Zimbabwe's economy has failed.

He said government must cease levying any taxes on imports as there is no industry to protect anymore.

Biti and his party also want government to engage with the West and be counted among highly indebted poor countries, a suggestion which was rejected by Zanu-PF when Biti was still Finance Minister in the inclusive government.

Biti's sentiments are likely to raffle feathers within industry as there is consensus that local production which stands below 40 percent needs revival and not the invasion of cheap foreign products.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services, Professor Jonathan Moyo has dismissed Biti's utterances, saying they must never be taken seriously.

He said the only thing that is notable out of Biti's utterances is that this is coming from people who are concentrating on making outrageous media statements to justify their failure to form a political party after trying, but failing, for over a year now.

The MDC Renewal Team claimed to have defected from the MDC formations more than a year ago but have not yet formed their own political party.

Calls for a transitional government framework have been on the MDC formation's agenda since their demise in the 2013 harmonised elections during which Zanu-PF garnered an overwhelming majority to sweep to victory.