The Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries has urged that proposals by President Robert Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party to hold presidential and general this year should be shelved until the country's battered economy has more fully stabilized.
CZI President Joseph Kanyekanye added in his statement this week that the European Union’s renewal of targeted sanctions on Mr. Mugabe and other top ZANU-PF officials was disappointing as sanctions have caused divisions and hurt Zimbabweans.
Economist Prosper Chitambara of the Labor and Economic Development Research Institute of Zimbabwe told VOA Studio 7 reporter Jonga Kandemiiri that talk of elections this year is weighing on economic sentiment given the risk of fresh political violence.
Meanwhile, the Catholic Bishops of Southern Africa also cautioned against elections in Zimbabwe in 2011, while urging the Southern African Development Community and the international community to closely monitor developments in the country.
Roman Catholic Bishop Frank Nubuassah of Ghana, president of the Inter-Regional Meeting of Southern African Bishops told VOA Studio 7 reporter Brenda Moyo that the present situation in Zimbabwe is not at all conducive to elections.
