The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (CiZC) has called for the inclusion of civil society organisations in dialogue over the crises affecting the country. This comes when President Emmerson Mnangagwa has invited all presidential candidates in the 2018 presidential election to a meeting at State House. CiZC said in a statement:
As an umbrella body of civil society organizations in Zimbabwe advocating for democratic governance and we reiterate our call for an inclusive process on the national dialogue that brings all stakeholders together beyond political boundaries.
In this regard, we hold the firm view that the national dialogue process must never be restricted to political parties but should rather bring on board a cross-section of stakeholders that include civil society, labour, women, youth, person living disabilities, farmers, media, students, the diaspora, religious groups and business among other critical stakeholders.
Restricting the dialogue process to political parties will only create a political pact that excludes the concerns of ordinary citizens. This therefore underlines the importance of an accepted by all stakeholders and guarantor at the African Union or United Nations level.
We further clarify that in our view the national dialogue that we continue to call for is not predicated on creating another version of a Global Political Agreement (GPA) or an elite power-sharing deal.
We reiterate that our envisaged national dialogue should be a reform process that seeks to safeguard the interest of citizens by restoring the Social Contract between the citizens and those that govern.