Prof Welshman Ncube
On Monday, parties, which include African Democratic Party (ADP) the Simba Makoni led Mavambo Kusile Dawn (MKD), Democratic Assembly for Restoration and Empowerment (DARE), the Welshman Ncube led Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), Tendai Biti’s People’s Democratic Party (PDP), the Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU), Elton  Mangoma’sRenewal Democrats of Zimbabwe (RDZ), Zimbabweans United for Democracy(ZUNDE) and  the Lovemore Madhuku led National Constitutional Assembly(NCA), said as long as Zanu PF remained at the helm workers were going to continue wallowing in abject poverty.
It was the second time for the opposition to issue a joint statement although the MDC-T was this time around not part of the joint initiative as on Independence Day.
“We will work together to formulate policies and programmes of economic recovery and growth, which preserve the few existing  jobs, and create more formal jobs in all sectors of the national economy ,†said a joint statement from the parties.
“We commit ourselves to reforming the country’s labour laws of the land to ensure the effective protection of workers’ rights, while raising the work ethic and enhancing national productivity. Further, we pledge to work for the harmonization of labour laws so as to give equal rights to all workers in Zimbabwe,†they pledged.
This year’s May Day commemorations came as virtually all workers were feeling the pinch from the economic situation characterised by the collapse of the formal economy, high unemployment, near-total collapse of service delivery and a ravaging drought.
According to the country’s largest labour representative body the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), over 90% of working age people, especially the youths, are in the informal sector.
ZCTU also says an estimated 60% of the industries which were operating in 2010 have since shut down leaving 83% of the population surviving on less than US$1 a day.
In many enterprises in all sectors of the economy country-wide, in both the public and private sectors, working people have gone for long periods without being paid.
The country has also been hit by a serious cash crisis with people failing to access their hard earned money.
The opposition said all these problems can only be reversed if voters rejected Mugabe in the next election.
“Generally, the people feel hopeless, and they are in despair, dejected and demoralized,†said the statement.
“The emancipation of the people of Zimbabwe, including workers, and the creation of a social democratic state, are cardinal objectives of the current phase of the national democratic struggle.
“In furtherance of this goal, we commit ourselves to cooperate with the working people of Zimbabwe, and all other national groups who share this purpose; to free our country of the failed, dictatorial, cruel and corrupt Zanu PF regime.â€
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Lets hope these guys are serious and do put Zimbabwe first and some of them put aside their highly inflated ego’s. As evidenced by the huge turn out by MDC T supporters at the Harare demonstration a few weeks ago, this coalition of parties need MDC T to make this work, so lets hope MDC T put their ego on hold for the sake of the nation. The coalition should first demand electoral reform, as it stands now, no opposition can win an election Fair and Square, no matter how united they are.