'Unite to unseat Zanu-PF'

UNITED STATES-BASED opposition Build Zimbabwe Alliance (BZA) leader, Noah Manyika, on Friday called on all opposition parties engaged in coalition talks to unseat the Zanu-PF government to be clear of what they want to achieve instead of joining the project for personal gains.

Addressing his party supporters soon after landing at the Harare International Airport on Friday, Manyika said he was ready to roll out his election campaign ahead of next year's plebiscite.

Manyika, who designed national healing programmes for the now-defunct inclusive government, rose to fame through short videos he posted on social media calling for accountable leadership.

"I think it is important for Zimbabweans to come together and solve our problems, but we really make sure that we are coalescing around the right ideas," he said.

Several local opposition parties are now engaged in coalition talks aimed at sponsoring a single presidential candidate to face President Robert Mugabe in next year's crunch elections.

"It shouldn't just be an aggregation of parties, but it should be we are really going to make sure there is top to bottom leadership renewal in our country, that is what we are looking for and as time goes on we are going to discover who do we really share the same value with and things will go," Manyika said.

Manyika said his party had adopted a concept named Project 210 Plus (P210+), which entails a coaching programme for its candidates in the 210 constituencies.

"I am now back to make sure we are ready for elections in 2018. We are just going to engage with the people. I believe in the potential of the Zimbabwean people and what has happened over the years is that we have accepted the suppression of our potential and we have accepted that all in the name of a struggle.

"I really believe that has been a delegitimisation of the liberation struggle and its time now for all of us to say me must move forward," Manyika said.