News / National
'2028 is too far, help us save Zimbabwe'
01 Mar 2024 at 14:07hrs | Views
OPPOSITION Zapu Secretary General Mthulisi Hanana has declared that the 2028 elections are too far if Zimbabwe is to rid itself of Zanu-PF's looting elite and called for immediate action from those born after Independence in 1980.
In a call to act from March 21 this year, Hanana detailed how Zanu-PF had run down the country's economy with no intention of fixing it.
Zapu, once one of the country's most vibrant opposition parties until its union with Zanu-PF in 1987, has struggled to reinvent itself.
A decision to split from the ruling party in 2008, then under the leadership of late liberation hero Dumiso Dabengwa, has managed to endear it with a few of its former supporters.
In a video shared by the Bulawayo-based party, Hanana said that if the young were to wait for 2028 there would not be any country to save as most of it was being shared between Zanu-PF's elite and their Chinese counterparts.
"This is a call for every young Zimbabwean born after Independence to help us save our country. A lot of things are going wrong after that election.
"As young people, we cannot afford to wait for 2028 before we save our country," said Hanana.
Zanu-PF presidential candidate Emmerson Mnangagwa romped to a 56.18% victory mainly against then Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) leader Nelson Chamisa (41.46%) in a heavily contested election that was marred by irregularities.
Regional body SADC, the European Union (EU), African Union (AU) all condemned how the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) had handled the election, pointing out how it skewed in favour of Zanu-PF.
Added Hanana: "This government is made up of people that have no interest to develop the country, all they want to do is loot state resources that is why nothing has happened after the Gold mafia, and that is why we have seen the establishment of the Mutapa Wealth Fund which circumvents Parliamentary scrutiny.
"This is a sure sign that state resources are being looted by a few elites in Zanu-PF and if we wait for 2028 there will be no country to salvage.
"The policies that have been introduced by this government are not pro-people starting with the tax regime that taxes the old and even those living with disability."
Despite having quit the CCC, Chamisa insists the 2023 polls are not conclusive.
The elections saw ZEC failing to deliver voting material to predominantly opposition strongholds.
"Our fathers went to war but we as young people still do not have the land, people are being evicted from the land that our fathers fought for and that land is being given to the Chinese and Zanu-PF stalwarts," Hanana said.
"We need to save our land, if we wait for 2028 there will be no land to talk about.
"As young people, we are faced with a dire and bleak future because a majority of us have never worked a single day of our lives, we are most likely to reach pensionable age without any life savings or any form of social security. Join us from the 21st of March as we say 2028 is too far."
In a call to act from March 21 this year, Hanana detailed how Zanu-PF had run down the country's economy with no intention of fixing it.
Zapu, once one of the country's most vibrant opposition parties until its union with Zanu-PF in 1987, has struggled to reinvent itself.
A decision to split from the ruling party in 2008, then under the leadership of late liberation hero Dumiso Dabengwa, has managed to endear it with a few of its former supporters.
In a video shared by the Bulawayo-based party, Hanana said that if the young were to wait for 2028 there would not be any country to save as most of it was being shared between Zanu-PF's elite and their Chinese counterparts.
"This is a call for every young Zimbabwean born after Independence to help us save our country. A lot of things are going wrong after that election.
"As young people, we cannot afford to wait for 2028 before we save our country," said Hanana.
Zanu-PF presidential candidate Emmerson Mnangagwa romped to a 56.18% victory mainly against then Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) leader Nelson Chamisa (41.46%) in a heavily contested election that was marred by irregularities.
Regional body SADC, the European Union (EU), African Union (AU) all condemned how the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) had handled the election, pointing out how it skewed in favour of Zanu-PF.
Added Hanana: "This government is made up of people that have no interest to develop the country, all they want to do is loot state resources that is why nothing has happened after the Gold mafia, and that is why we have seen the establishment of the Mutapa Wealth Fund which circumvents Parliamentary scrutiny.
"This is a sure sign that state resources are being looted by a few elites in Zanu-PF and if we wait for 2028 there will be no country to salvage.
"The policies that have been introduced by this government are not pro-people starting with the tax regime that taxes the old and even those living with disability."
Despite having quit the CCC, Chamisa insists the 2023 polls are not conclusive.
The elections saw ZEC failing to deliver voting material to predominantly opposition strongholds.
"Our fathers went to war but we as young people still do not have the land, people are being evicted from the land that our fathers fought for and that land is being given to the Chinese and Zanu-PF stalwarts," Hanana said.
"We need to save our land, if we wait for 2028 there will be no land to talk about.
"As young people, we are faced with a dire and bleak future because a majority of us have never worked a single day of our lives, we are most likely to reach pensionable age without any life savings or any form of social security. Join us from the 21st of March as we say 2028 is too far."
Source - newsday
