War Veterans Boss Calls For A GNU

5 years agoSun, 28 Apr 2019 22:23:13 GMT

A war veteran has called for the formation of a Government of National Unity (GNU), which he considers to be the only way to save the country from the current economic crisis.

The Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA) political commissar, Francis Nhando, spoke to the Daily News on Sunday in his personal capacity. He said:

If there is any leader who thinks they can solve the problems we have on their own then they are delusional. Only a united front that involves all Zimbabweans including the opposition coming into government is the solution.

… We have done it before and there was remarkable economic growth. Things only began to slide back to where they were before the inclusive government (when parties) decided that they wanted to go it alone and terminated the arrangement.
We simply need to work together not this blame game that we are seeing, blaming sanctions but all the sanctions were in place when the unity government worked magic on the economy.
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Analysts canvassed for their views by the Daily News concurred with the war veterans leader that dialogue and a national consensus will usher the country towards the Promised Land. Human rights defender and social activist, Dewa Mavhinga, had this to say:

A transitional authority with no political ambitions of its own is best placed to play midwife to a democratic Zimbabwe and to economic revival.

A political analyst, Maxwell Saungweme opined that a coalition government is a way to go. He said:

An open national dialogue is needed including all stakeholders in which political parties are one of the many stakeholders.
We need to discuss and find common ground on the Zimbabwe question and come up with a policy, political and economic blueprint for the country in the next five to 10 years.
We need a coalition government of sorts to stabilise our politics and hoping that some economic stability can follow.

In 2009, a GNU was formed between ZANU PF and the opposition MDC following the 2008 general election.

In the election, the MDC won a parliamentary majority while party president Morgan Tsvangirai defeated the then ZANU PF candidate Robert Mugabe in the first round of the Presidential poll.

After a bloody run-off in which Tsvangirai pulled out before the poll could be held, Mugabe “won” with a huge majority.

Regional countries pressured Mugabe into an inclusive government with the opposition in early 2009. The GNU brought economic stability during its subsistence from 2009-2013.