Opinion / Columnist
Zanu-PF should give in to talks with opposition
07 Feb 2021 at 08:01hrs | Views
Recent calls for dialogue by the two MDC formations should be embraced by all those believing in a homegrown inclusive solution to our social, political and economic problems.
An engagement platform that is beyond the Political Actors Dialogue (Polad) is required if we are to genuinely work together to confront the issues that are keeping us separated.
Reports suggest that both the MDC Alliance and the MDC-T are ready for talks with Zanu-PF, but the ruling party has not been responding to the opposition calls for sincere engagement. In my view, the expanded negotiation platform must include other major stakeholders like the church, civil society and the labour movements.
Zanu-PF should not refer us to the current Polad, which is strongly contested by other stakeholders. At this stage of the game we need everybody on board and everybody must swallow their pride for progress to be made. The current Polad is not yielding results that we desperately need to be readmitted into the Commonwealth, access lines of credit from international finance institutions, to have travel bans lifted and eventually get floodgates for investors opened.
Three government officials were recently added onto the European Union sanctions list for human rights abuses and all these are signs of a house on fire and in need of an extinguisher. It does not pay to continue with command justice, corruption, human rights abuses, and abuse of state apparatus thinking that we will be fixing the British and the Americans. The international community wants to see us working together and those sanctions or restrictions will not be scrapped by spitting venom or issuance of press statements from whatever officer.
This time we are not looking forward to a Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Mutambara type of government of national unity (GNU) which was moulded to serve selfish interests. This is not the time for praise-singing or pushing leaders to GNU positions. Political parties or coalitions inside and outside parliament should be included. Nobody matters more than the other in as far as the Zimbabwe crisis is concerned. We are aware of some fly-by-night political parties that have never contested elections since their formation.
There must be a benchmark for inclusion in the dialogue.
As a nation, we are waiting for Zanu-PF to respond to calls for talks not for the same tired answers to do with claims of election victory or insistence on Polad as the only available platform. The current administration is in the mud and it is only the deafening calls for dialogue that will retrieve it. The Zanu-PF administration should swallow its pride and give in to the calls for talks.
We heard about Zanu-PF "warming up" to the talks, but we don't even know for how long they will keep on warming up on the touchline given the urgency of the matter when there is so much on the table.
Zimbabwe needs regional mediation because our local churches have become too partisan and compromised to preside over these talks.
Kurauone Chihwayi
Kchihwayi2000@gmail.com
An engagement platform that is beyond the Political Actors Dialogue (Polad) is required if we are to genuinely work together to confront the issues that are keeping us separated.
Reports suggest that both the MDC Alliance and the MDC-T are ready for talks with Zanu-PF, but the ruling party has not been responding to the opposition calls for sincere engagement. In my view, the expanded negotiation platform must include other major stakeholders like the church, civil society and the labour movements.
Zanu-PF should not refer us to the current Polad, which is strongly contested by other stakeholders. At this stage of the game we need everybody on board and everybody must swallow their pride for progress to be made. The current Polad is not yielding results that we desperately need to be readmitted into the Commonwealth, access lines of credit from international finance institutions, to have travel bans lifted and eventually get floodgates for investors opened.
Three government officials were recently added onto the European Union sanctions list for human rights abuses and all these are signs of a house on fire and in need of an extinguisher. It does not pay to continue with command justice, corruption, human rights abuses, and abuse of state apparatus thinking that we will be fixing the British and the Americans. The international community wants to see us working together and those sanctions or restrictions will not be scrapped by spitting venom or issuance of press statements from whatever officer.
This time we are not looking forward to a Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Mutambara type of government of national unity (GNU) which was moulded to serve selfish interests. This is not the time for praise-singing or pushing leaders to GNU positions. Political parties or coalitions inside and outside parliament should be included. Nobody matters more than the other in as far as the Zimbabwe crisis is concerned. We are aware of some fly-by-night political parties that have never contested elections since their formation.
There must be a benchmark for inclusion in the dialogue.
As a nation, we are waiting for Zanu-PF to respond to calls for talks not for the same tired answers to do with claims of election victory or insistence on Polad as the only available platform. The current administration is in the mud and it is only the deafening calls for dialogue that will retrieve it. The Zanu-PF administration should swallow its pride and give in to the calls for talks.
We heard about Zanu-PF "warming up" to the talks, but we don't even know for how long they will keep on warming up on the touchline given the urgency of the matter when there is so much on the table.
Zimbabwe needs regional mediation because our local churches have become too partisan and compromised to preside over these talks.
Kurauone Chihwayi
Kchihwayi2000@gmail.com
Source - the standard
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