This comes after opposition leader Douglas Mwonzora, as
well as Jameson Timba — a close ally of Nelson Chamisa, — both
recently reiterated that MDC bigwigs were ready to engage with President
Emmerson Mnangagwa to help resolve Zimbabwe’s decades-long political and
economic challenges.
It also comes as a large cross- section of Zimbabweans has
said that the time is now opportune for Mnangagwa, Mwonzora and Chamisa to sit
down together with others to lift the country.
Yesterday, Chamisa himself appeared to give momentum to the
current and strong national unity sentiment, recognising the work that the
government is doing to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
He told his supporters in a Facebook address that it was
time for politicians and their followers to set aside their differences and
help fight the killer disease that has taken the lives of more than 1 000
Zimbabweans to date, while also infecting tens of thousands others.
“It is time we work together to stop the spread of
Covid-19. Unity is key in the face of this pandemic. All of us must put aside
our political jackets, remove our political robes, political differences and
work together in this fight.
“It is not the time to score cheap political points. In
fact, that score board is not there … Let us forget this politicking and
sloganeering because this Covid-19 knows no slogan.
“Together we will win, weather the storm … Let us not be
divided by politicians,” Chamisa said in his virtual address.
“Our togetherness will define our collective future. We
appreciate the various initiatives by different stakeholders and the
government, the response of the ministry of Health in particular … is noted and
appreciated.
“In this regard, we salute our warriors the nurses, doctors
… We remain indebted to them and their families,” he added in his remarks that
were notable for their departure from the politics of blame.
“We also honour our police, the military and prison and
intelligence services as well, as all others who are providing essential services.
“We also thank our diaspora citizens for donations,
assisting our hospitals. I am happy that it is not being politicised and there
is no partisan agenda in their distribution,” Chamisa also said.
His address came a day after Mwonzora had also called for unity
among Zimbabweans to fight the raging and virulent respiratory disease.
“This pandemic knows no political affiliation. The fight
against Covid-19 should never be politicised, and we are all one in the fight
against this pandemic.
“This is time for us as a people to come together and
defeat this disease. Obviously, this is not the time to score cheap political
scores,” Mwonzora said in his address to the nation on Wednesday.
The speeches have come as hopes that national dialogue may
soon finally take place in the country to help resolve Zimbabwe’s decades-long
political and economic crises have recently been raised further by Mwonzora and
Timba.
Timba reiterated earlier this month that Chamisa was still happy to engage with
Mnangagwa — adding significantly, that ED’s long claimed “legitimacy question”
would not be “a pre-condition for dialogue”.
Speaking to the Daily News then, the even-tempered MDC
Alliance secretary for presidential affairs also said that Chamisa had been
among the first leaders to call for necessary national dialogue — adding,
however, that he had been “ignored” by Mnangagwa and Zanu PF.
“Our position on the issue of legitimacy and dialogue has
not changed. The legitimacy question is not a pre-condition for dialogue, but
an agenda item for that dialogue.
“Chamisa was the first to call for dialogue, but was
spurned by Zanu PF which said there was nothing to talk about,” he said, amid
national hopes that the political climate in the country had never been more
conducive for all-inclusive talks.
This week, Mwonzora also further lifted the spirits of
long-suffering Zimbabweans when he said he would initiate much-needed national
dialogue — which would include other opposition leaders and key interest
groups.
“The resolution or the strategy of the MDC to engage in
dialogue is as old as the formation of the MDC itself. It was taken in earnest
after 2008, when we had a resolution as a party to engage in dialogue, which
brought about the government of national unity (GNU).
“After the 2013 elections, we again made a resolution of
the standing committee, in a town called Magaliesburg in South Africa — during
one of our strategic retreats with our late great leader Morgan Tsvangirai —
that we were going to make dialogue the mainstay of our political strategy.
“This was aimed at making the life of Zimbabweans better.
In 2020, our national council also talked about the need to have dialogue in
this country,” Mwonzora told the Daily News.
“And, of course, on our first national standing committee (held last week) … we restated that
we must have dialogue in this country, and that this dialogue must be centered
on those aspects that improve the lives of the Zimbabwean people.
“The standing committee then also said we must make sure
that dialogue is initiated in this country. Of course, we have not received
anything from the government but that does not stop us from initiating
dialogue.
“In our view, this dialogue must be broad-based, inclusive,
genuine and unconditional, and we are going to be initiating that dialogue with
the government,” Mwonzora further told the Daily News.
“We are also going to be dialoguing with other political
parties within the opposition, those who see things the way we see them.
“We will also reach out to civil society as well as the
churches. We will also reach out to labour and business.
“The reason for dialogue is because we want to engage in a
new type of politics. Gone are the days of the politics of hate, the politics
of acrimony, the politics of rancour. We want to bring about politics of
rational disputation,” Mwonzora added.
“It is my hope that dialogue will be all-inclusive and that
should Chamisa want to be part of it he is welcome. On our part as the MDC, we
are going to talk to the MDC Alliance, or whatever they chose to call
themselves.
“They are Zimbabweans and if they think they have anything
to contribute they are welcome. But we will not impose anything on other
political leaders.
“But again, we need to stress to them that the problems of
this country will be solved when people sit down and talk. Of course we will
also be talking to other political parties,” the new MDC president added. Daily
News
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