Zanu-PF claims to be ready to engage progressive opposition

Zanu-PF is ready to engage with all progressive opposition parties as long as they are not receiving instructions from foreign forces targeting regime change, the party's acting Secretary for Administration Patrick Chinamasa has said.

Chinamasa, who is also the party secretary for finance, said those who invited sanctions, which were affecting the general public, must go back to their handlers and ask for their removal. Speaking after a meeting with the Zimbabwe Council of Churches new executive at Zanu-PF headquarters in Harare yesterday, Chinamasa said the party was ready for dialogue with progressive political parties.

"The newly elected leadership of the Zimbabwe Council of Churches asked for a meeting with us," he said. "They also raised certain political, social and economic issues and they take home points raised from this meeting. They asked for national dialogue.

"We explained to them that President Mnangagwa has already set up a Political Actors Dialogue platform where he invited all political leaders who contested in 2018 harmonised elections to participate in this platform so that we can have discussions and form a common political vision for our country."

Chinamasa said the major challenge for Zanu-PF was to dialogue with political parties which invited sanctions to suffocate the general public so that they revolt against the Zanu-PF Government for easy passage to power.

"We also pointed out to the ZCC that we are ready to talk to anybody, but we find it difficult to talk to political leaders who have called for sanctions against their own people and also seek to lead the very same people they are causing suffering," he said.

"We find it difficult to engage a political opposition which is receiving instructions from outside our borders, from foreign forces, from foreign intelligent services who want to effect regime change in our country.

"So, we asked them that when they go out to meet other political parties, they should pass on the message that leaders who called for economic sanctions should recant and ask for their unconditional removal. As long as they continue asking for the perpetuation, continuation, intensification of sanctions, it becomes very difficult for Zanu-PF to cooperate with such characters."Zanu-PF, through President Mnangagwa, Chinamasa added, had been preaching peace.

"We have been calling for peace for a long time," he said. "The problem is that while we preach peace, there are characters in the opposition who preach violence and we gave to the council of churches the incident of violence which was perpetrated on August 1, 2018 hardly before the ballots were counted.

"We also pointed out to them incidents of violence which were perpetuated from 14-16 January 2019, unprovoked acts of violence and vandalism where major targets were Zanu-PF headquarters, Zanu-PF provincial structures, Zanu-PF properties and Zanu-PF persons."

Zanu-PF, Chinamasa said, regarded peace as a pre-requisite to the economic development of Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe Council of Churches president Bishop Dr Ignatius Makumbe said that they were engaging political parties to foster peace and unity as the country was heading towards 2023 harmonised elections.

"The major purpose of the interface meeting with Zanu-PF was meant to discuss the issue of peace in our country," he said. "As you are aware that we are moving towards elections in 2023. We want to shun violence during election period despite one's political affiliations."

There was a need for dialogue between churches and political parties to foster unity and development among Zimbabweans, the meeting heard.

Zanu-PF Secretary for the Commissariat Mike Bimha, Secretary for Security Lovemore Matuke, Secretary for Women Affairs Mable Chinomona, and Deputy Secretary for Youth Affairs John Paradza and party directors attended the meeting.