MDC to ramp up pressure on govt

Source: MDC to ramp up pressure on govt – NewsDay Zimbabwe June 26, 2019

BY BLESSED MHLANGA

MAIN opposition MDC yesterday said it would be upping the ante against the Zanu PF-led government both on the foreign and local fronts to ensure that Zimbabwe gets out of the current political problems manifesting in a declining socio-economic and political environment.

Addressing journalists in Harare, party spokesperson Daniel Molokele said after concluding its internal transitional processes, the MDC was now geared to fix the political problems in Zimbabwe.

“The issues around currency and the reintroduction of the Zimbabwe dollar are just symptoms, our problem is deeper. It’s political and we need to have a negotiated settlement through dialogue that involves everyone and not just the political parties. If we join hands, we will get there. It has been done before and it can be done again,” he said.

Molokele said the party would up its regional and international diplomatic offensive to avert a social crisis, which is likely following the resurrection of the long-demonetised local currency.

The party is also mooting a string of demonstrations to work hand-in-glove with its diplomatic offensive with its youth wing, which is already mobilising its members and other interest groups to confront President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s regime.

The MDC secretary for policy and research, Tapiwa Mashakada, described the reintroduction of the Zimdollar as nothing, but a ruse by a clueless team which did not even have confidence in the move they made.

“They are blowing hot and cold. On the one hand, they are saying the sole legal tender is the Zimdollar, but in the same statement, they are saying airline fares will be paid in foreign currency. If it’s the legal tender, why not just use it for everything?” he asked.

“You look at the Government Gazette, it was marked US$2 or RTGS$6. The same instrument they are using to ban the multi-currency system is actually priced in the US dollar, showing you that this is a ruse from a cornered people who do not even have confidence in their own currency.”

Mashakada said Zimbabwe should get first things right before attempting to have a local currency, saying the country should have six months’ worth of foreign currency reserves, revive the manufacturing and productive sector and become a net exporter before it even considers introducing a stable currency.

In the interim, the MDC suggested that Zimbabwe should have adopted the rand and apply to join the Rand Monetary Union instead of rushing to introduce the local currency.

“The first route is to incorporate the rand into the multi-currency basket and use it the way we have been using the US dollar without any formal application to join the Rand Monetary Union. That can happen. This is why if you go to the southern part of the country, they price their goods in rand. They sell their wares in rand,” he said.