Khupe throws weight behind Mnangagwa

THE MDC-T breakaway faction led by Thokozani Khupe has endorsed President Emmerson Mnangagwa's government as legitimate, throwing its full weight behind national dialogue meetings being championed by the Zanu-PF leader.

According to the MDC-T, the question of Mnangagwa's legitimacy is misplaced because his administration was declared duly elected by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and the Constitutional Court after the tightly- contested harmonised polls in July last year.

"This government is recognised by Sadc, AU, EU, USA and the UN; therefore to any logical person it becomes apparent that any way forward can only come through dialogue," MDC-T national chair Abednico Bhebhe told journalists here on Friday.

"Does this mean we agree with this government? Of course we don't, hence the dialogue. But for us the welfare of Zimbabwe and her people trumps any personal ambition. It is not going to be easy but the dialogue needs mature people and if we did not participate who was going to be the adult in that room," added Bhebhe.

Khupe's MDC-T is part of the 18 political parties that have headed Mnangagwa's call for national dialogue. Main MDC leader Nelson Chamisa has snubbed the dialogue meetings, describing them as unnecessary unless the question of Mnangagwa's legitimacy following the July 30 elections dispute has been addressed.

Chamisa is also demanding the inclusion of a neutral arbiter to broker the national dialogue, which has been rejected by Mnangagwa. Prominent opposition leaders, Nkosana Moyo, Daniel Shumba, Noah Manyika and Timothy Chiguvare, who were part of the 23 presidential aspirants that participated in last year's polls, recently pulled out of the talks citing insincerity on the part of Mnangagwa.

Bhebhe's sentiments came after Khupe spoke glowingly about Mnangagwa during a tour of political parties to the Cyclone Idai-ravaged Chimanimani on Thursday last week. Khupe who was elbowed by Chamisa from securing the presidency of the MDC following the death of Morgan Tsvangirai in February last year had no kind words for perpetrators of violence, apparently taking aim at her erstwhile colleagues in the bigger MDC formation whose path to congress has thus been blighted with incidences of violence.

"We are here with the president, the parties that contested in the elections were 23 but now we are 18 because some decided not to take part. We decided to be here because elections are behind us. Let's put the nation first, let us speak with one voice and as parties that are progressive let's remove jackets of violence, let's be peaceful and be united. Unity is the only thing that beats poverty.

I would like to thank the president that we have come here to speak with one voice," said Khupe who spoke on behalf of the 18 parties that are part of Mnangagwa's talks. Despite its participation in the national dialogue, the MDC strongly feels though that Mnangagwa's government has been a monumental failure in terms of its management of the country's economy.

Bhebhe said the problems blighting the country were a result of poor governance by the ruling Zanu-PF party. "Indeed, the so-called ‘New Dawn' has become the ‘New Doom' and we must correctly call it so henceforth. The crisis which the country finds itself in is exacerbated by an uncaring Zanu-PF government which is only obsessed with power retention at all cost – regardless of the human tragedy in pursuit of this power," he said.

Bhebhe said under Mnangagwa's rule, the nation has been served the same dosage of slow "poison" which Mugabe fed the people of Zimbabwe for 38 years.