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Nqobile Tshili, Chronicle Reporter
THE Political Actors Dialogue (Polad) is for the first time since its inception exhibiting at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) to explain to the masses what it stands for.

Polad was constituted after the 2018 Harmonised Elections as President Mnangagwa invited leaders of opposition political parties to join him in rebuilding Zimbabwe following his election victory.

This saw some political parties joining Polad while others, notably the MDC-Alliance led by Nelson Chamisa  opted against it.

Polad principals said exhibiting at the country’s biggest showcase is an opportunity for them to dispel misconceptions surrounding its formation including that it’s a Zanu-PF project.

PDP president Mrs Lucia Matibenga said Polad principals remain independent from Zanu-PF.

“This is precisely the reason why we said we want to come here and explain exactly who we are and what we are. I don’t think on a serious note that people would believe that the men and women in Polad belong to Zanu-PF. Zanu-PF membership is very open, if a person wants to be a Zanu-PF member they will go and join it,” said Mrs Matibenga.

“We are separate political parties that sought to engage the ruling party because it is prudent to do that. What better platform than sitting with people with two-thirds majority in Parliament. What we agree on here will see the light of day in Parliament. So, we are quite upbeat about what we are doing.”

She said criticisms they have faced is a form of motivation for them.

Mrs Matibenga said since Polad’s formation it has contributed policies through lobbying Government via the platform.

“The economic committee is an advisory committee to Government on economic issues when Government is coming up with policies. We are actually a key stakeholder who gets consulted. For instance, when the Government was crafting the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1), we were consulted and can go through the strategy and say we tried our best and we put in our input,” said Mrs Matibenga.

“We are working on electoral reforms, different from the noises that you hear that ‘no reform no elections’ but we are action oriented. We have consulted widely as Polad and we didn’t want to reinvent the wheel, there are civil society organisations that have been working on electoral reforms for a very long time. We included their input and soon we are going to come up with a Polad position on electoral reforms.”

She commended President Mnangagwa for coming up with the Polad platform saying it creates a fresh political angle for the country.

“We are tired of disputed elections, we are tired of conflict, we are tired of intolerance and violence as a result of people running for power or seeking to win elections. Through national healing we would like to inculcate a culture tolerance, politicking without mudslinging, politicking without hating each other, politicking without hurting each other,” she said.

“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.”

Mrs Matibenga said some of the issues they deliberate on as Polad find its way to Cabinet as the President appreciates the input from other citizens.

Another Polad principal Mr Kwanele Hlabangana, the leader of the Republican Party of Zimbabwe (RPZ) said while citizens are free to have different political orientations, there is a need for national consensus in building brand Zimbabwe.

“I’m 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,” said Mr Hlabangana, who is also Polad International Relations and Re-engagement committee Rapporteur.

He said President Mnangagwa was visionary in coming up with the Polad concept. — @nqotshili