Opinion / Columnist
Chamisa, Mnangagwa duty-bound to hammer way out
02 Apr 2021 at 09:17hrs | Views
THE socio-economic crisis bedevilling the country is untenable and demands that the two major political parties - Zanu-PF and the MDC Alliance - hammer some kind of deal that will help better the lot of citizens who are now burdened beyond measure by the two protagonists' endless bickering, while the country is on fire.
The clergy has since the runup to the July 30, 2018 poll been pushing for dialogue and I hope both parties will see wisdom in that. There is an urgent need to inclusively map the way forward.
One thing for certain is that no single political party has the capacity to extricate the country from the current mess, which is why the church has seen wisdom in bringing the two parties to the negotiating table so that they hammer out some kind of deal.
Although MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa has insisted that he will not be lured into that kind of deal which will virtually have him "swallowed" by Zanu-PF, he must be reminded that, of course, his life will go on comfortably, but the majority of his supporters will pay a huge price for whatever is going on, which makes concession a better devil.
One thing that is clear is that all the problems we are experiencing are a result of the ongoing political contestation between President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his nemesis Chamisa - and we cannot afford to let this continue for the next five years because dark days are beckoning.
Just after the elections, the Zimbabwe Council of Churches called on the MDC Alliance, which had been aggrieved by the election results, to seek recourse in the courts of law.
Chamisa and his MDC Alliance party duly submitted themselves to the constitutional process, which means they are duty-bound, in the same breath, to embrace the outcome of that process.
The welfare of the people of Zimbabwe must be foremost in the minds of politicians rather than their own parochial interests.
Punitive policies that are adopted at the behest of politicians will not affect the politicians per se, it is the ordinary man on the street who bears the brunt.
We hail the church for its continued efforts to bring the political principals to the negotiating table, failing which the politicians will drive the country down the abyss.
This implies that both parties need to find common ground for dialogue and we hope the church will be able to convince both parties and set the ball rolling at the earliest opportunity.
It is indisputable that we have a wounded nation that is currently stuck in a hellhole, which makes such dialogue inevitable.
The clergy has since the runup to the July 30, 2018 poll been pushing for dialogue and I hope both parties will see wisdom in that. There is an urgent need to inclusively map the way forward.
One thing for certain is that no single political party has the capacity to extricate the country from the current mess, which is why the church has seen wisdom in bringing the two parties to the negotiating table so that they hammer out some kind of deal.
Although MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa has insisted that he will not be lured into that kind of deal which will virtually have him "swallowed" by Zanu-PF, he must be reminded that, of course, his life will go on comfortably, but the majority of his supporters will pay a huge price for whatever is going on, which makes concession a better devil.
One thing that is clear is that all the problems we are experiencing are a result of the ongoing political contestation between President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his nemesis Chamisa - and we cannot afford to let this continue for the next five years because dark days are beckoning.
Just after the elections, the Zimbabwe Council of Churches called on the MDC Alliance, which had been aggrieved by the election results, to seek recourse in the courts of law.
The welfare of the people of Zimbabwe must be foremost in the minds of politicians rather than their own parochial interests.
Punitive policies that are adopted at the behest of politicians will not affect the politicians per se, it is the ordinary man on the street who bears the brunt.
We hail the church for its continued efforts to bring the political principals to the negotiating table, failing which the politicians will drive the country down the abyss.
This implies that both parties need to find common ground for dialogue and we hope the church will be able to convince both parties and set the ball rolling at the earliest opportunity.
It is indisputable that we have a wounded nation that is currently stuck in a hellhole, which makes such dialogue inevitable.
Source - newsday
All articles and letters published on Bulawayo24 have been independently written by members of Bulawayo24's community. The views of users published on Bulawayo24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Bulawayo24. Bulawayo24 editors also reserve the right to edit or delete any and all comments received.
