THE Nelson Chamisa-led MDC says it is planning an
all-stakeholders convention to mobilise mass support to pressure the Zanu PF
government to restore stability in an economy overrun by hyperinflationary
pressures.
Highly-placed sources said the opposition party was
planning to rope in its allies from labour, churches, students and all
suffering Zimbabweans, including disgruntled Zanu PF supporters, to present a
united front against President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
“We are consulting everyone so that this stops being an MDC
against Zanu PF issue. We want a Zimbabwean solution. So as the movement which
represents the majority, we want to convene an all-stakeholders conference,
which will solidify the resolve of the people,” a source said.
Chamisa, speaking after touring major public hospitals in
Harare on Thursday, said time was now ripe for all Zimbabweans to coalesce and
demand their constitutional rights.
“Our people are in intensive care, the country is in
intensive care, the leadership is in intensive care, if not in a mortuary. We
need to get a solution and make sure that we stop this mess. There has to be a
convergence of every Zimbabwean so that we stop this economic and social rot,”
he said.
Chamisa said his party was looking at ensuring that there
is sufficient pressure brought to bear against Mnangagwa so that genuine talks
between Zanu PF and his party can take place to resolve the crisis.
“There has to be an immediate solution, otherwise people
will take ownership of the situation and decide the future, because ultimately,
the authority resides in the people,” he said.
But the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) yesterday
said they had not yet been approached by the MDC.
“We have not received anything as an official communication
around that issue. But if we are to get that official communication, we will
have to put it through all our constitutional processes so that the decision is
made in line with our values and dictates,” ZCTU president Peter Mutasa
said.
“We already have a position on labour-related matters to
bring together all workers from all sectors and have a united front, to bring
those in the farms, teachers and everyone to confront neo-liberalism. That is
our current position,” he added.
The church has already offered to broker talks between Zanu
PF and the MDC to end the political stalemate, which they say is the source of
the problems facing the country.
Battling fuel and electricity shortages, a water crisis and
poor salaries, Zimbabweans are desperate for solutions to the problems facing
them.
Mnangagwa has appealed for patience as his government is
fine-tuning a solution to the country’s battered economy. Newsday
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