President Emmerson Mnangagwa has appealed to all political parties to work with his government in order to revive Zimbabwe’s ailing economy.
Speaking soon after his swearing-in at the National Sports Stadium in Harare on Sunday, Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe can only develop if all people are united.
“I will work tirelessly as a servant leader to improve the quality of life for all of us. To all my colleagues (losing presidential candidates) and other political parties who contested in the just-ended harmonized elections, especially those represented in parliament, I exhort us to commit ourselves collectively to develop out motherland. We are all Zimbabweans. What unites us matters than whatever divides us.”
“Let me assure you that tomorrow is brighter than yesterday,” he said amid applause from thousands of people who attended the event.
“Let us look forward to a journey ahead, a journey we will walk together as one people, a united people, a journey of development, a journey of progress, a journey of prosperity in our new Zimbabwe.”
He pledged to create a conducive environment for generating “jobs, jobs and jobs in Zimbabwe” and to fight against corruption.
But Nkululeko Sibanda, presidential spokesperson of the MDC-T led by Nelson Chamisa, said they do not recognize Mnangagwa as the legitimately-elected president of Zimbabwe.
“The aura of legitimacy was all over this show, you couldn’t see any smiley faces,” said Sibanda.
On suggestions of forming a unity government with the ruling Zanu PF party, Ndlovu said it was impossible since “Mnangagwa and his colleagues stole the people’s vote”.
He said, “As president Nelson Chamisa said yesterday, it is very clear to him that those who have stolen your goats cannot be responsible to calling you to the table to go and discuss how you will share those goats.”
Zanu PF Central Committee member and former parliamentarian, Joseph Tshuma, said the opposition should work hand in hand with the Mnangagwa government in order to resuscitate the country’s ailing economy.
“… The new president has been inaugurated and now we look forward to doing exactly what we said when we were campaigning, that is to say to resuscitate the economy and now this needs the involvement of everybody because this is not going to be a one man job.
“We need to have a paradigm shift in our thinking and remove our political gears and engage our diplomatic gears as we need to be together on this one as we resuscitate the economy of Zimbabwe.”
On the opposition MDC-T’s claims that Mnangagwa was not legitimately elected president of Zimbabwe, Tshuma said the Chamisa’s party is supposed to work towards a common cause for Zimbabweans instead of trying to bring down the government unconstitutionally.
He further noted that the ruling party is willing to work with any progressive party for the benefit of the country’s ailing economy.
He dismissed MDC-T suggestions that Mnangagwa should admit that the presidential election was stolen before the opposition works with the new government.
“How can they say the election was stolen when the Constitutional Court put it very clearly that the MDC Alliance lacked evidence in proving these allegations. Instead by now they should be visiting their friends in the West to demand the removal of sanctions targeted as Zanu PF officials.”
He said the president’s hands are wide open for any political party or individuals willing to work with him.