Zimbabwe cries out for a fresh start

On Friday, November 24, 2017, a new President of the Republic of Zimbabwe will be sworn into office. This is, indeed, a historic moment for our great nation because this is the very first time that Zimbabwe is going to have a new President after Robert Mugabe who recently resigned. Whichever way one looks at it, after Mugabe's rather ignominious and embarrassing resignation as President, Zimbabwe will never be the same again.

The MDC has always been a beacon of democracy, transparency and accountability to the toiling masses of Zimbabwe who bore the brunt of almost four (4) decades of repressive, oppressive and rabidly corrupt rule by Robert Mugabe. To this very day, we remain firmly convinced that all the pillars, warts and all, of the Mugabe dictatorship have got to tumble. The people of Zimbabwe are looking forward to a new and refreshing era of political tolerance and socio - economic transformation and regeneration. The politics of thuggery, intolerance, intransigence, patronage and corruption that were the hallmark of the collapsed Mugabe regime should never, ever be allowed to resurface in our beloved motherland.

The MDC is on record clamouring for the establishment of conditions that will enable the holding of free and fair elections, including the implementation of security sector reforms. We would like to construct a modern, democratic and progressive nation state in Zimbabwe in which the political leaders shall be accountable to the people rather than the other way round. More importantly, we shall continue to resolutely and persistently clamour for the establishment of strong institutions as opposed to the creation of strong personalities. In this respect, therefore, we shall continue to denounce the deification of individuals in our political discourse. Politicians come and go but Zimbabwe shall always remain in place.

As President - designate Emmerson Mnangagwa is sworn into office tomorrow, we shall closely watch his next move, particularly regarding the dismantling of all the oppressive pillars of repression and oppression that had been put in place by the outgoing Mugabe regime. We expect the public print and electronic media to be opened up to all political players and we also expect civil servants, traditional leaders and the security services, to abide by the constitutional dictates that stipulate that they should keep out of political activism.

Zimbabwe is about to turn the corner and the people of Zimbabwe have got, rightly so, extremely high expectations of the incoming Mnangagwa administration. As such, it cannot and it should not continue to be business as usual. There has got to be a complete and dramatic paradigm shift going forward.

When harmonised elections are held soon, the MDC demands that the electoral playing field should have been completely evened up and also that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), is adequately funded and capacitated to run a free, fair and credible plebiscite that will produce a legitimate outcome. Anything short of this shall not be acceptable to the MDC. In the interim, we remain cautiously optimistic that the Mnangagwa administration will not mimic and replicate the evil, corrupt, decadent and incompetent Mugabe regime. That is the bottom line.

From the ashes of Zimbabwe, the MDC would like to create the Great Zimbabwe; a proud, united, progressive and happy nation. Zimbabwe should never, ever be taken as the sole and exclusive enclave of one family or one political entity. We are a very diverse nation and as such, the interests of all Zimbabweans should be protected and guaranteed in a new dispensation. Zimbabwe is crying out for a fresh start, a new beginning.

MDC: Equal Opportunities for All
Obert Chaurura Gutu
MDC National Spokesperson