POLAD was first established after the 2018 elections and 17
presidential candidates were part of the group.
Speaking at State House in Harare yesterday, President
Mnangagwa said he was “very happy that we created the platform”.
He said loving sons and daughters of the soil came together
under POLAD and contributed immensely to national development.
President Mnangagwa said when he formed his Government,
“the same facility” will be created so that again, “sons and daughters of our
motherland” sit around the table and discuss ways of taking the country forward
for the attainment of Vision 2030 of an empowered upper middle income society.
When POLAD was set up in 2019, it was designed to promote
dialogue among all political parties in Zimbabwe.
It contributed to policy formulation through lobbying the
Government via the platform.
A number of committees were set up, one of them being the
economic committee, which was an advisory committee to the Government.
PDP president Mrs Lucia Matibenga said the economic
committee was consulted when the Government was crafting the National
Development Strategy 1, an economic blueprint that runs from 2021 until 2025.
POLAD also worked on electoral reforms, in an effort to
ensure free and fair elections.
Said Mrs Matibenga in a recent interview: “The formation of
POLAD is an achievement that people in a highly charged, polarised political
environment have been able to come together. We must thank His Excellency for
being magnanimous, for being tolerant to say we are brothers and sisters,
elections have come and gone and we need to build our country and move
forward.”
Another POLAD principal, Mr Kwanele Hlabangana, leader of
the Republican Party (RPZ), who was the POLAD rapporteur of the international
relations and re-engagement committee, said in a recent interview: “I am
worried about the brand Zimbabwe.
“We might differ politically but our identity is a common
denominator where we say we are Zimbabweans first before a political party.
Patriotism should not be forced on you in a draconian manner; it must come
naturally.” Herald
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