Speaking to the Daily News yesterday, MDC Alliance vice
president Welshman Ncube,confirmed that they were not happy with the current
snail’s pace towards the resolution of the country’s decades-long political and
economic challenges.
At the same time, he warned that any failure to resolve the
country’s myriad crises would lead to a further complication of the problems,
as well as political unrest — as anger was building up among long-suffering
Zimbabweans.
This comes as South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa and
his ruling African National Congress (ANC) have been trying to assist Zimbabwe
in ending its long-standing problems — which recently attracted international
attention after authorities were accused of human rights abuses.
It also comes after President Emmerson Mnangagwa recently
said that he was prepared to engage the opposition, but only within the
confines of the Political Actors Dialogue (Polad) — a platform which brings
together candidates of the 2018 presidential elections.
Speaking in the interview with the Daily News yesterday,
Ncube said they were not happy with the current slow pace of developments on
the talks front.
“The ANC and the (Ramaphosa’s) special envoys have not been
officially in touch to advise us on when they will be coming back.
“We are, however, aware that the reason they have not
returned is because the government here is not co-operating in terms of giving
them the diplomatic clearance they need to come.
“That is the stumbling block, hence it depends on whether
they want help or not,” the ever amiable and unflappable Ncube told the Daily
News.
“Zanu PF is behaving like a drug addict in denial. Until a
drug addict accepts that he has a problem no one can help him.
“We are aware that in their pitch to the ANC, they (Zanu
PF) admitted that there was a problem, but that it was economic and engendered
by sanctions. That is nonsensical of course.
“The MDC has for years rightly resisted the temptation to
resort to violent means to settle the country’s political question.
“However, if things continue like this, eventually the
country will get to a point where some people will conclude that peaceful
resolution to the country’s problems is not possible,” Ncube further told the
Daily News.
“At that point, the young people will tell us to go and
hang, and take matters into their own hands and use other means that are not
necessarily peaceful.
“What happened to Ian Smith when he refused to listen to
the people’s demands? The youths of that time decided to use other means. That time
will certainly come,” Ncube warned.
Ramaphosa dispatched ANC bigwigs to Zimbabwe last month to
engage Zanu PF, as part of efforts to assist the country.
The two former liberation movements were said to have been
very candid and robust with each other in their heart-to-heart dialogue, which
was held at the Zanu PF headquarters in Harare.
Following the visit by the ANC bigwigs, the South African
ruling party said it welcomed Zanu PF’s decision to let them meet the country’s
opposition and other interest groups in future.
“As such, we remain committed to extending the space for
political dialogue — with a view of advancing the social, political and
economic interests of the people of Zimbabwe and South Africa, in the context
of advancing African unity, and the continuing quest for political and economic
emancipation.
“The ANC, therefore, warmly welcomes the constructive
approach of Zanu PF with regards to the ANC meeting with other stakeholders,
opposition parties and civil society organisations in Zimbabwe.
“In this regard, it was agreed that the ANC will, in the
foreseeable future, return to Zimbabwe to proceed with these envisaged
meetings,” ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe said upon the return of the party’s
bigwigs from Zimbabwe.
Yesterday, Ncube also told the Daily News that they were
still hopeful that South Africa, Sadc and the African Union (AU) would help
Zimbabwe to end its myriad crises.
“Our position remains that the only peaceful and
sustainable solution to the decades-long crises in Zimbabwe is dialogue among
Zimbabweans, to find a political settlement that will open the doors for
economic revival.
“However, and because of the levels of mistrust caused by
Zanu PF’s insincerity, it is difficult for any dialogue to take place without
external mediation.
“We remain hopeful and we will continue to lobby South
Africa, Sadc and the AU to realise that they have a responsibility to help
Zimbabwe.
“It will be extremely foolish to continue with the way Zanu
PF is handling the country. You do not need to be a rocket scientist to see
that we are in a mess and that if we continue like this, things will only get
worse,” Ncube further told the Daily News.
But deputy Foreign Affairs minister, David Musabayana,
refuted Ncube’s claims that authorities were refusing to grant ANC bigwigs
clearance to return for meetings with the opposition and other interest groups.
“I really do not see how they can be blocked, unless it was
the South African government that wanted to come.
“I am not aware of any request from anyone to come and meet
them that was blocked. The president has always talked about engagement and
re-engagement,” he said.
Last month, Mnangagwa said he would not seek outside
intervention to hold dialogue with the opposition and other key stakeholders in
the country.
However, and despite ruling out outside intervention,
Mnangagwa also said the country’s deepening challenges required unity of
purpose among all Zimbabweans.
Speaking at last month’s Polad meeting, he said the door
remained open for Nelson Chamisa and others who had snubbed the platform to
join him there and work together to deal with Zimbabwe’s problems. Daily News
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