Govt dismisses Chamisa proposal

By Mugove Tafirenyika

Government has dismissed calls for the establishment of a transitional authority as wishful thinking, a view that apparently is also being shared by former liberation war fighters.

On Tuesday, MDC leader Nelson Chamisa proposed a transitional government as a panacea to the economic meltdown the country is currently grappling with.

He also accused war veterans of reneging on an earlier undertaking to facilitate a power-sharing arrangement between Zanu PF and the opposition after the demise of former president Robert Mugabe in November last year.

But Information deputy minister Energy Mutodi told the Daily News yesterday that there was no room for a transitional authority, except for the Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP) introduced by government to cure Zimbabwe’s economic crisis.

“The transitional government that had been proposed by war veterans during former president Mugabe’s rule is now a brutum fulmen,” Mutodi said adding that “it has been taken over by events”.

“We now have a new government with a five-year mandate from the people and it is this government led by (President Emmerson) Mnangagwa that has now introduced the TSP with the aim to stabilise the economy following many years of economic instability,” he said.

In legal terms, brutum fulmen means an ineffective order or empty thunder.

The former musician, however, said the Mnangagwa administration will maintain an open door policy, tolerate dissent and respect the opposition.

“This is the spirit of inclusivity, tolerance and cooperation brought about by the Second Republic. We will not shut the door on anyone as we represent a clear break
from the past.

“However, anyone seeking the attention of government must understand that issues to do with the legitimacy of the government and its leaders were dealt with by the elections and now is the time for us to fulfil the electoral promises we made to the people of Zimbabwe,” said Mutodi.

Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans’ Association (ZNLWVA) has also dismissed calls by Chamisa, saying the MDC leader was merely dreaming.

“That should remain his dream that will not see the light of day as the matter was already resolved on July 30 when a people’s government was elected,” said Sam Parirenyatwa, the ZNLWVA chairperson for Mashonaland Central Province.

Parirenyatwa blamed the MDC for conniving with “imperialist handlers” to cause the worsening economic situation in the country.

He said Mnangagwa and Zanu PF have capacity to extricate the country out of the economic mess “as long as we put our house in order”.

“The solution lies in the president cleaning up our house which now has elements who are stuck in the past and do not want to move forward We must get rid of those people otherwise we will continue to go round in circles,” he warned. Daily News