Civic groups here have accused the country’s two main political parties, ZANU PF and the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) of betrayal following the non-inclusion of other stakeholders in the aborted inter-party talks meant to forge a political settlement that would end years of socio-political and economic meltdown.
Speaking on a one day think-tank workshop organized by the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition last Friday in Masvingo, representatives of various civic organizations said President Mugabe’s ZANU PF, as well as MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai should have also put on board other stakeholders from various sectors on the negotiating table.
"ZANU PF and MDC betrayed us. They excluded various stakeholders from different sectors, which are an integral part in the final political settlement. Nothing will come out of the deal without the inclusion and involvement of other development partners," said Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) regional officer Munyaradzi Chauke.
National Council for the Disabled Persons of Zimbabwe (NCDPZ) provincial chairperson Tungamirai Kurunzirwa also said the concerns of the disabled would not be tackled in the inter-party talks deal without the involvement of the physically challenged.
"We have lost faith in the talks. We are the most vulnerable group, even in a normal economy. Now the MDC and ZANU PF have spent months failing to come out with a political solution. This is the greatest betrayal by the leaders of the country’s two main political rivals," Kurunzirwa said.
The country’s main labour body, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU)-a political springboard for Tsvangirai, who is a former secretary general-accused the MDC leader of being ‘a naughty child.’
"As the ZCTU, we once said no to a government of national unity. As the mother of the MDC, we are saying Tsvangirai is a naughty child who went into the talks with Mugabe without consulting us. We should have given him our position.
"If Tsvangirai no longer wants to be president of the MDC, he should come back to ZCTU to retain his previous position of Secretary General," said ZCTU Legal Para officer in Masvingo, Willmore Makumire.
ZANU PF and the MDC signed a power sharing deal in mid-September as a way of forming an all-inclusive government that will help the country recover from its recession, but the deal failed to materialise following a deadlock over the sharing of key cabinet ministries, as well as the Ammendment number 19 bill which allows president Mugabe to dissolve the unity government when and as he wishes.
The two parties have since been dragging following the stalemate, with the issue refered to the Sourthern Africa Development Community (SADC), and now the African Union (AU).
But amid the disagreements, Zimbabweans are suffering, as the country has been hit by crisis after crisis, from Cholera to Anthrax outbreaks, cash crisis, hunger, inflation and unemployment, among others.
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