Dabengwa calls for unity of purpose among opposition parties

Zapu leader, Dumiso Dabengwa, has called on all opposition parties to close ranks and rally behind the proposed National Transitional Authority to resolve the current national crisis.

In his solidarity message at the People's Democratic Party's (PDP) first anniversary celebrations at White City Stadium on Sunday, Dabengwa said the idea of the NTA needed serious consideration.

"I think that we should examine initiatives like the National Transitional Authority that has been proposed by the Platform of Concerned Citizens. There are many legal and institutional challenges involved in ensuring a smooth transition from a system that has amassed so much power in the Executive," he said.

"The [winner-takes-all] mentality, in which the party in control of the State destroys all checks and balances, has to give way to a level playing field in order for this country to achieve the democratic values for which generations of young people sacrificed their lives. This is an example of the issues we shall discuss with the People's Democratic Party and other parties that see the need for co-operation with others to remove the ruling regime and to put in its place a new dispensation committed to the political and economic well-being of all Zimbabweans."

Dabengwa said the idea of a national transitional authority was important in the context of political parties working together to change the political culture in the country, where national interest is held above political ambitions of individual parties and individual leaders.

"This culture of civilised competition comes with willingness to forge co-operative platforms to achieve common objectives. In our case, as Zapu, we have a long-established policy on united fronts, which has made it easier to work with others for agreed purposes. In the country's current political and economic crises, we are committed to working with other parties to remove the disastrous Zanu-PF regime from power. We are equally committed to consolidating the democratic gains that made the 2013 Constitution possible."