PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa and opposition MDC Alliance
leader Nelson Chamisa have taken hardline stances to political engagement,
which has stalled progress towards interparty dialogue seen as critical to
pulling the southern African nation out of international isolation and
launching economic recovery, the Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) has said.
ZCC has been trying to bring Mnangagwa and Chamisa, who
were the main contenders in the July 30 poll, to the negotiating table, but
despite both of them insisting they were ready to dialogue, they remain far
apart.
Chamisa has rejected Mnangagwa’s victory despite the
Constitutional Court (ConCourt) throwing out his petition challenging the result
and has since maintained that he won the election, frequently calling his rival
“illegitimate”.
Mnangagwa has reportedly offered an olive branch to his
nemesis, saying he has “a vital role to perform in Zimbabwe’s future” and
proposed an official Westminster style “Leader of Opposition” post in
Parliament for his rival to be part of the national discourse, but insists that
Chamisa must recognise his Presidency.
ZCC secretary-general Kenneth Mtata yesterday said none of
the parties seemed ready to compromise.
“Our hope is that political expediency will not jeopardise
the possibility of fruitful dialogue. The challenges are not secret at all.
They are open for everyone. The first issue is that the MDC (Alliance) leader
has not yet accepted the officially announced results of the election, even
after the verdict of the ConCourt,” Mtata said.
The ZCC secretary-general suggested Chamisa was held up by
a need to appease his supporters, while Mnangagwa wanted recognition from the
opposition leader first before any talks could begin.
“There are challenges for him (Chamisa) to accept the
result because it has been his rallying cry for his followers. But this is the
problem for Mnangagwa, who says he cannot go into dialogue with Chamisa if he
doesn’t recognise him as President,” Mtata told NewsDay.
Zanu PF spokesperson Simon Khaya Moyo said the ruling party
did not have an appetite for the dialogue.
“Elections were held and (are) gone, and the opposition
challenged the elections, but the Constitutional Court endorsed them (polls).
What is the issue now? Let’s look ahead in terms of our economic development,
that is the challenge we are facing, the stabilisation of the economy in terms
of our Vision 2030,” Khaya Moyo said, adding Zanu PF was already setting its
sights on the 2023 elections.
Chamisa has submitted five demands, including one
suggesting that Mnangagwa should cede power to him.
The MDC leader’s spokesperson, Nkululeko Sibanda, yesterday
maintained his boss’ stance.
“The president still says his doors are open for dialogue,
and he has a five-point plan, which must be part of any dialogue,” he said,
without revealing whether or not there was progress on the talks.
Mtata, however, said ZCC’s agenda was to find a common
post-election national narrative in the country as well as to find a shared
understanding of the role of the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament
proposed by Mnangagwa.
“This is a ministry of the church. We were given that
ministry of reconciliation in the Bible, and we believe this is a core mandate
of the church and this is the reason why we won’t give up. On the other hand, I
can say no, because we haven’t moved fast enough.”
While Zanu PF hawks insist Mnangagwa has a clear mandate
from Zimbabweans to govern, Mtata suggested elections alone could be an
impediment to nation-building.
“The national question is always resolved by dialogue in
Zimbabwe. Anyone who thinks only elections can make things right will have to
check again because national questions cannot be resolved by a process that
produces winners and losers, but by courageous people who choose to forgo their
personal advantages and personal gains to seek the common good at a dialogue
table,” he said. “This is true in the past, present and future. If there are
people who are waiting for the national question to be resolved by elections,
then they can wait forever.”
Zimbabwe is gripped by a worsening cash crisis and
escalating shortages of some basic products. Daily News
0 comments:
Post a Comment