Chamisa And ED In No Show At The Churches' National Dialogue Meeting

The key political principals who are MDC Alliance’s Nelson Chamisa and Zanu PF’s Emmerson Mnangagwa yesterday snubbed the Zimbabwe Heads of Christian Denominations (ZHCD) meeting meant to consult stakeholders on the formation of a national dialogue process, New Zimbabwe reports.

According to Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) secretary-general Kenneth Mtata, MDC Alliance withdrew at the 11th hour:

MDC Alliance withdrew at the last minute and no reason was given

Mtata could not explain what happened to President Mnangagwa. 17 political party leaders like  Build Zimbabwe, Mthwakazi Republic Party, Transform Zimbabwe leader Jacob Ngarivhume, Nkosana Moyo (APA), Jealousy Mawarire, Linda Masarira (LEAD) and MDC-T’s Paulina Mpariwa were present.

A statement released by ZHCD outlined the meeting’s resolutions reads in part:

Today’s meeting is a culmination of a week of extensive bilateral engagements in which even those political parties that did not attend today’s meeting gave input. Among the challenges raised by the participants were the need for everyone to realise that the nation is in an emergency situation.

It was noted with concern that the current state of the health sector characterised by the failure by government to amicably resolve the protracted strike by medical personnel, did not augur well with the desperate need to prepare for the spiralling cases of Covid-19.

Coupled with this was the realisation that the resources mobilised for the pandemic were not being handled in ways that instilled confidence to the public. There was a huge outcry among the participants regarding the failure to implement the Constitution. While some participants raised concerns on the integrity of the current Constitution, there was unanimity that it was supposed to be implemented before it can be amended.

The participants agreed that the failure to implement and honor the Constitution had seen an increase in fear among citizens confronted by violence and many unresolved cases of abductions and systematic torture at the hands of persons alleged to be State functionaries

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