President Tsvangirai calls for united front

Speaking at Nesigwe business centre in Nkayi on Saturday, President Tsvangirai called for unity of purpose of all democratic forces and opposition parties to deal with the tyranny and oppression of Zanu PF and Robert Mugabe. In the spirit of the united front, the rally at Nesigwe shopping centre was attended by about 5 000 people including Nkayi MP Abednico Bhebhe and the local senator of the area, Dalumuzi Khumalo. The President was accompanied by vice president Thokozanu Khupe, information and publicity secretary Nelson Chamisa, national youth chairman Thamsanqa Mahlangu, deputy organizing secretary Morgan Komichi and deputy national treasurer Elton Mangoma. “This is not the time to be selfish. All democratic forces have to come together and rally behind one Presidential candidate. We have to have a mechanism to manage our petty differences and field one candidate for every council, senatorial, parliamentary or mayoral seat. The next election is our only chance to chart the way for a new Zimbabwe and a new beginning,” President Tsvangirai said to applause from the audience. The President said the new Constitution agreed to by the negotiators in the SADC-brokered dialogue should be implemented before the next election. He said Zanu PF had not shown sincerity to the dialogue process as it had continued to mete out violence and to unilaterally implement electoral reforms out of the framework of the talks. The President called on the regime to stop the politicization of food aid and for the reconstitution of a proper electoral management system that would not breed another pre-determined outcome. He said Zanu PF should adhere to these benchmarks, which included far reaching electoral and media reforms, as a confidence-building measure in the dialogue process. He said democratic forces should refrain from attacking each other at the expense of Robert Mugabe, who is at the centre of the crisis gripping the country. President Tsvangirai urged the people to re main focused and united. He said elections should change people’s lives and Zanu PF had to play its part in making sure that a free environment is created to enable Zimbabweans to freely elect their leaders. He told the residents of Nkayi that an MDC government would devolve power to the provinces as part of empowering local communities. The President was touched by the marginalization provinces such as Matabeleland. He said empowering communities to govern themselves would go a long way in integrating the nation which has been disunited by years of Zanu PF negligence, patronage, corruption and general misgovernance. The President’s rally in Nkayi came a day after he toured Bulawayo in particular and Matabeleland in general to assess for himself the dire water situation which has seriously affected residents in that region. The President will visited dams, water projects and plants and spoke to residents who were struggling to access a basic service. The regime has over the years ignored the perennial water problem in Matabeleland. The chronic water shortage has been worsened by the government’s ill-advised plan to hand over all water issues to the ill-equipped and poorly-run Zimbabwe National Water Authority. The President and his team will soon engage on listening tours throughout the country to engage people on various issues including the talks, the election and other pressing matters such as the massive starvation and the general decline in the people’s standards of living. Next year is the people’s year. It provides the people with an opportunity for change; an opportunity to start afresh and to close a sad chapter of Zanu PF tyranny and mismanagement. Next year should signal a new era of prosperity and happiness. A new era of hope, recovery and economic stabilization. A new Zimbabwe, a new beginning. Now is the time!!!MDC Information and Publicity DepartmentPress and Media Liaison Desk