'Secret talks reports a big fat lie'

REPORTS by the privately-owned media that Zanu-PF and the MDC formations were in secret talks for the creation of another inclusive government have turned out to be a big lie after all the political parties yesterday dismissed the suggestion as fiction. Of late, the privately-owned media have been manufacturing stories in a bid to set agendas.

NewsDay claimed on Saturday that Zanu-PF was in secret talks with the MDC-T and MDC led by Professor Welshman Ncube. It quoted faceless sources claiming the parties have already met over the formation of an inclusive government reminiscent of the 2008 one brokered by Sadc. Zanu-PF spokesperson Simon Khaya Moyo yesterday said the revolutionary party's ideology differed from that of the opposition and there was no way they could work together again.

"I want to emphatically state that there are no secret talks occurring anywhere between Zanu-PF and the MDC formations," he said. "The absurdity of the fabrications is that they claim that the so-called talks have already been held in Ghana, Kenya and the next ones being in Victoria Falls. These must be dismissed with the contempt they deserve."

Khaya-Moyo said Zanu-PF was in total control and derived its mandate from the 2013 harmonised elections when people overwhelmingly voted for the revolutionary party. "In any case what would those talks be meant to achieve and from whose mandate? Zanu-PF is a revolutionary party that is in total control of the governance of this country with a massive majority in Parliament following the July 31, 2013, harmonised elections.

"Our focus is on economic emancipation of our people hence the accelerated implementation of our economic blueprint Zim-Asset," he said. Khaya Moyo said it was disturbing that the privately owned media were now fond of cooking negative stories about Zanu-PF with the sole intention of soiling its image.

He said the majority of the stories targeted President Mugabe, First Lady Grace Mugabe and other senior party and government officials. "If the private media has decided to go into confrontation with Zanu-PF and its leadership, then they'll regret the consequences. We're a peaceful party who are guided by our motto that is unity, peace and development. We seek no more, we seek no less.

"Constructive criticism is permissible because the Constitution provides for freedom of expression and association. However, it doesn't provide for anarchy and chaotic false reports. We see alarming headlines that have become daily bread with the contents lacking any form of veracity," said Khaya Moyo.

MDC-T spokesperson, Obert Gutu also dismissed the NewsDay report. "People shouldn't confuse Parliamentary debates, workshops and conferences with formal talks between the two political parties. The MDC-T will never betray its supporters by engaging in any clandestine and nicodemus talks with the Zanu-PF regime aimed at forming a so-called GNU2," he said. "We're in the trenches fighting for genuine democratic change in Zimbabwe. This talk about talks is a fictional story that will make a very good soap opera storyline."

MDC spokesperson, Kurauone Chihwayi said his party was not in talks with either Zanu-PF or MDC-T. "Our secretary general Moses Mzila-Ndlovu and his deputy Miriam Mushayi represent the party on the secretary generals' platform which is a forum for secretary generals of political parties that have members of parliament in their respective countries.

"The MDC is not looking for political partners. We're on track and too stable to lose focus," said Chihwayi.