MDC leader Nelson Chamisa yesterday said President Emmerson Mnangagwa should swallow his pride and agree to dialogue with him in order to resolve the economic crisis in the country, characterised by price hikes, shortage of basic commodities, company closures, job losses and a serious liquidity crunch.
By Tafadzwa Mutacha
Presenting various foodstuffs to the elderly in Harare’s Highfields suburb, Chamisa said this year’s Christmas festive season was one of the worst ever as the Zanu PF government had run down the economy, leaving a significant part of the population in destitution and unable to buy goodies associated with the period.
“We have gathered here to show our love to you, and I know this is the worst Christmas ever. I know for many people there is no Christmas. You felt the hardships during Ian Smith’s time, the same during former President Robert Mugabe’s tenure and now you are experiencing the difficulties again in the country under President Emmerson Mnangagwa,” Chamisa said.
“A lot is happening. There is no water, no money in the banks, no electricity, no foodstuffs in shops, no medication in hospitals. You (the elderly) cannot be treated in hospitals and medicine can only be accessed through US dollars. This is the life that we are living.”
Chamisa recently called for dialogue with Mnangagwa to stabilise the economy, but the Zanu PF leader ruled out such a possibility.
“I told Mnangagwa and his team that the situation is now unbearable, come, lets us have a dialogue to move this nation forward and resolve these problems, but they are refusing. That’s why life is so difficult because they don’t know how these things operate,” he said.
“I have said to them; don’t you see the suffering that is upon our people? Aren’t you hearing their cries? The situation is like this because they don’t see things like we do.”
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Chamisa said the government was also neglecting the country’s senior citizens who no longer have any safety nets for them.
He suggested that a new government, which he was going to be a part of, would improve the welfare of the elderly and the economy.
