ZANU PF yesterday claimed that a recent hard-hitting letter
written by Catholic Bishops was full of MDC Alliance vitriol, raising suspicion
it could have been written by opposition party leaders Nelson Chamisa or Tendai
Biti.
The ruling party spokesperson Patrick Chinamasa told
journalists last night that the allegations made by the church leaders needed
to be dismissed with the contempt they deserve.
“They wrote a scathing communiqué attacking our government
and our President Emmerson Mnangagwa of having done nothing to fulfil the 2018
promises and unfortunately calling our government a violator of human rights
and that our country is in a crisis,” he said.
“We dismiss these allegations with the contempt they
deserve, not only as baseless but pandering to the demands of the MDCs. The
language was clearly tilted. In fact you would say that the language seemed to
have been written by Chamisa or Biti, most likely Biti.”
Chinamasa said churches should engage Mnangagwa and Zanu PF
for dialogue, adding that the government had tried to fulfil the 2018 promises
including roads rehabilitation, but was being hindered by sanctions that have
crippled the economy.
Chinamasa said Zanu PF remained clear on dialogue and
called on Chamisa to join the Political Actors’ Dialogue platform if he was
serious about discussing the solutions to the Zimbabwean crisis with Mnangagwa.
“We are saying to the bishops, before you speak, please ask
for dialogue with our President. we are open to any dialogue on any issue that
affects Zimbabweans, that affects their lives,” Chinamasa said.
“We will not allow any tendencies that precipitate us to
violent situations or which give encouragement to noises that want to
precipitate violent outcomes for our country.”
Catholic bishops recently wrote a pastoral letter calling
on the government to order over human rights violations and corruption.
The letter attratced condemnation from Mnangagwa, Zanu PF
and top government officials, who all accused the bishops of pushing an
opposition agenda, but the international community stood in solidarity with the
clerics.
On the issue of Gukurahundi that saw more than 20 000
people being killed in the Midlands and Matabeleland provinces by the North
Korea-trained Fifth Brigade, Chinamasa said Mnangagwa was working tirelessly to
address the matter although it would take time.
“If you are addressing a calamity like Gukurahundi, it
can’t be overnight, it is a process,” Chinamasa said.
Mnangagwa was State Security Minister during the
Gukurahundi era. Newsday
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