EDITORIAL COMMENT: Opposition must help campaign for sanctions removal Tendai Biti

THE ruling Zanu-PF party does not need the opposition Movement for Democratic Change Alliance to govern this country because it has an overwhelming two thirds majority in Parliament and any talk of a Government of National Unity is misplaced.

The people of Zimbabwe gave President Mnangagwa and his party a clear mandate in the July harmonised elections and it is time Zanu-PF focused solely on the economy and ignore the sideshows and political grandstanding by an opposition fighting for relevance in the country’s body politic. Lately, there have been renewed calls for Zanu-PF and the MDC to engage in talks and find each other for the good of the nation.

Sections of the private media have been pushing the narrative that President Mnangagwa and MDC president Mr Nelson Chamisa are indirectly engaging each other in talks for a GNU. They have also been quoting unnamed sources in Zanu-PF who are allegedly intimating that the ruling party is pushing to have MDC vice chairman Mr Tendai Biti in Government “because of his links with the West and the United States in particular”.

Mr Chamisa has also been calling for talks between his party and Zanu-PF in a desperate attempt to claw his way back into the corridors of power at a time he faces a leadership challenge ahead of Congress within his own party.

What is astounding is that the MDC is prepared to literally go to bed with President Mnangagwa — a leader they deem “illegitimate” but will not recognise him as the Constitutionally-elected President of the Second Republic. Such duplicity and double standards betray the ambitions of the youthful leaders of the opposition and their unbridled hunger for power and the trappings of Government.

What has happened between the July elections and now that they are now prepared to go into a GNU when they publicly stated that they will never work with the current President. Have they run out of jecha (sand) which they vowed to use to muddy the waters for President Mnangagwa and his Government?

We believe Messrs Chamisa and Biti are very immature and two-faced to be considered for Government positions. While an opposition is generally good for any constitutional democracy as it keeps in the governing party in check and on its toes, the current crop of MDC leaders have shown a propensity for self-servitude through their suicidal and misplaced call for sanctions.

Mr Biti in particular is the poster boy for the ruinous sanctions strangulating the Zimbabwean economy with United States Senators sponsoring the roll-over of the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (Zidera) calling him a friend of the Committee on Foreign Relations subcommittee on Africa.

Senator Jeff Flake — one of the principal sponsors of Zidera — has been campaigning for charges of inciting post-election violence and violating the electoral Act by prematurely announcing results of the July 30 poll which Mr Biti is facing to be dropped as a pre-condition for mending relations between Washington and Harare.

The link between sanctions and the opposition is very strong and it would be helpful if Mr Chamisa and his acolytes were at the forefront of campaigning for their removal instead of pouring more jecha into the mix thereby sabotaging efforts to get the economy back on track. Zimbabwe needs a responsible opposition which acts in a mature manner and advances the wishes and aspirations of the generality of its citizens.

It certainly doesn’t need Trojan Horses for Uncle Sam to be strutting around corridors of power advancing the interests of foreign powers. President Mnangagwa has said every Zimbabwean has a role to play in building a prosperous nation and the opposition is an integral part of that. He has even offered to create the Office of Leader of the Opposition in Parliament as recognition of the crucial role the opposition plays in shaping the politics of the country.

Unity is critical in taking Zimbabwe forward and the MDC must be prepared to first recognise President Mnangagwa as the legitimately elected leader of the country and call for the unequivocal removal of sanctions before any talks can begin. They should also act true patriotic Zimbabweans by cutting ties to meddlesome foreign powers intent on pursuing their neo-colonial interests in the country.

Barring that, the opposition will find itself wilting into oblivion as the ruling party does not need it to govern. President Mnangagwa has already ruled out the formation of a GNU because Zanu-PF won an overwhelming people’s mandate in July and is now seized with building the economy.

Opening the 110th Ordinary Session of the Zanu-PF Central Committee in Harare on Wednesday, President Mnangagwa said: “After the announcement of the election results by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, Zanu-PF got a two thirds majority in Parliament which was two times more than what they (MDC Alliance) got,” he said.

“So when you hear them saying we want a GNU you should ignore them. They are day-dreaming. As Zanu-PF you should not even think that there would be a GNU. We don’t have any plans for a GNU in our party as Zanu-PF”.

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