BY KENNETH NYANGANI/MOSES MATENGA
OPPOSITION MDC leader Nelson Chamisa yesterday said his party was going to remove President Emmerson Mnangagwa from power in the next five months of the new year if dialogue fails to yield positive results.
The youthful leader made the remarks yesterday at Chisamba grounds in Mutare while addressing thousands of party supporters, where he said the country should not always be in election mode.
He also spoke in an earlier interview with the NewsDay saying the just-ended Zanu PF conference held in Goromonzi, Mashonaland East province, was testimony the Mnangagwa administration was clueless on how to end the country’s socio-economic crisis.
Chamisa, however, ruled out violence and anarchy in his plans to end Mnangagwa’s political career, but claimed his party would always remain radically correct.
“We are getting near freedom, we are near Canaan. We have only five months to finish the issue of politics in the country. We need 2020 (next year) to clear political challenges we are facing as a country. We can’t be a country that is in a perennial election mode,” he said.
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“We can’t continue to say dialogue, dialogue for five years. We have a window period for this. We are giving dialogue a chance because we want to give peace a chance. If Emmerson Mnangagwa refuses dialogue, then we have the power of the people.”
“We want everyone to know that we are giving dialogue a chance so that we do some reforms. If we finish politics, we are not worried about economics. To lead a country is easy, you just need to respect what people are saying.
“Some churches came to me over dialogue issue and I asked them if they had prayed and I told them to go and pray. Churches play a critical role in the peace-building of this country.”
Added Chamisa: “Even though things are difficult, let us remain focused. Freedom is never free and cheap. Democracy needs everyone to work. We have to make sure that we organise ourselves as the people of Zimbabwe and say enough is enough.
“We don’t believe in violence, we don’t believe in anarchy. Our late former President Morgan Tsvangirai told me if things are difficult, never use violence, but non-violence; and be radically correct,” he said Chamisa also said Zimbabwe needs an independent electoral body to run polls, saying the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) was compromised.
Earlier, Chamisa had said the first five months of the new year would be decisive because Zanu PF has failed.
“Goromonzi has not brought us anything. A problem cannot be a solution. A question cannot be an answer and you can’t expect juice out of stones. The only way forward for this country is for us to address the crisis. We must not turn every Zimbabwean into a politician. The first five months of 2020 will be decisive,” he warned.
“In the past, if there was a crisis, people would put their heads together to find a solution. It needs everyone to put hands on the deck. Everyone should come forward to resolve the crisis.”
He said Zanu PF had “officialised” lying and believed their propaganda.
“Zimbabwe is not poor, but it has poor leadership. We need to resolve this crisis. Things are done in an opaque manner. There is opaqueness in government, lots of lies in this country. Lying has been elevated to officialdom. Spewing propaganda (such that) you end up lying to yourself,” Chamisa said.
“No one is happy. Our military used to be the best in the region, but politics has changed that. Our police used to be the best, but politics has turned them into something else. Our doctors are the best the world over, but politics came in and look at what is happening now, they are victims of politics.”
Addressing the Mutare gathering, MDC deputy president Lynette Karenyi-Kore said: “I am worried by the economic situation we are facing as a country. Mnangagwa should just pack and go because he has failed.”
The party’s co-vice president Tendai Biti labelled Mnangagwa a thief.
“These people can steal. I once told my president, Nelson Chamisa, that there are pastors of stealing and Mnangagwa is the archbishop of stealing. They steal through Command Agriculture, they steal US dollars, he hires expensive planes,” he said.
Zanu PF Simon Khaya Moyo said he was busy finalising the conference report and was not in a position to comment on the matter.