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Nqobile Tshili, Chronicle Correspondent 

OPPOSITION political leaders involved in national dialogue have said their engagement with President Mnangagwa is important for national development as it will proffer solutions to some of the problems affecting the country.

President Mnangagwa initiated the engagement with political parties that participated in last year’s harmonised elections.

 At least 18 political parties are participating in the national dialogue and last week the leaders of those parties joined President Mnangagwa on his second visit to Cyclone Idai hit areas.

MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa is among those who have refused to join hands in the dialogue.

In separate interviews yesterday, leaders of opposition political parties said the country needs to change its political narrative. They said unity of purpose will move the country forward.

National Constitutional Assembly president Professor Lovemore Madhuku said politics should not always be about power but transforming communities.

“The purpose of politics is to bring to the public domain the various useful ideas that society needs. The fact that people are in an opposition party or small groups will not take away that they might have constructive ideas that might be used by those in power. After an election, it is not the case that society must fall on the basis of what is in the ruling party,” said Prof Madhuku.

He said Zimbabwe’s politics should be transformational instead of being adversarial between the ruling and the opposition parties.

“The current problem is that the biggest political parties that have the biggest support base tend to believe that the only reason for being in a political party is to get into power. They believe that if you do not get the power, you should make it impossible for society to progress. That is something that needs fixing,” said Prof Madhuku.

“There are two options for them; it’s either you are in Government or you undermine the Government. That is a wrong political discourse.”

He said Zimbabweans should learn from developed countries that politics is just done for a season yet development is progressively permanent.

Prof Madhuku said last week’s visit to Cyclone Idai-hit areas was an eye opener as it gave them an appreciation of the situation on the ground and how they can make the Government accountable.

MDC-T president Dr Thokozani Khupe said the major reason for participating in national dialogue is to come up with solutions that will improve people’s lives.

“We have these engagements because for some of us the major focus is to move the country forward for the good of every Zimbabwean. Dialogue is the only way to go. When we engage, we share ideas on how to move our great country and make it the jewel of Africa again,” said Dr Khupe.

“The dialogue is voluntary. Those who do not want to be part of the developmental agenda, it’s their own choice. But for us we are saying we are progressive parties who want to see Zimbabwe progressing as a country. We want to see Zimbabweans have a better life.”

She said their visit to Cyclone Idai-hit areas was to ensure that political leaders put their heads together as the magnitude of the disaster is immense. 

New Patriotic Front (NPF) president Engineer Tendai Peter Munyanduri said President Mnangagwa has shown maturity by bringing on board various political parties together for dialogue.

“I also salute Zanu-PF and (President) Mnangagwa for initiating dialogue, that is a sign of maturity. We would have loved Chamisa to be part of the dialogue so that he also makes his input. Although we are not in power, our input should assist those in power,” said Eng Munyanduri.

He said after visiting areas that were hit by the cyclone, they came up with recommendations that Government can adopt to prevent similar disasters.

– @nqotshili