Source: MDC women open to Mujuru coalition – DailyNews Live Blessings Mashaya • 2 May 2016
HARARE – Amid desperate efforts by Zanu PF to derail any prospects of a grand coalition between opposition leaders Morgan Tsvangirai and former Vice President Joice Mujuru, the MDC women’s assembly says it is ready to work with any like-minded people to end President Robert Mugabe’s rule.
In an interview with the Daily News, MDC women assembly chairperson Lynette Karenyi said Mujuru’s Zimbabwe People First (ZPF) party will put more pressure on Mugabe and not Tsvangirai.
Karenyi said the opposition parties do not have major differences, since they are all fighting for Mugabe to leave office.
“As MDC women, we don’t have a problem to work with all opposition parties including Mujuru and for me, Mujuru is not our enemy, the only enemy is Zanu PF.
“I think as opposition political parties, we need to unite, not because we are desperate as MDC, we still believe in our leader but things are now difficult, we need to do something to liberate our people.
“There is need for the likes of Mujuru to join hands with us so that we can fight this ruthless regime. The current economic situation is not only affecting MDC women but all the people regardless of one’s political party, so why can’t we work together to fight Zanu PF?”
Questions have been raised on who should lead the grand coalition — but expectedly Karenyi said her president who has been in the opposition trenches for over 16 years should lead.
“What lacks on other opposition parties is that they fear to confront Mugabe, but we as the women we need to be on the forefront.”
Analysts have in the past said that Mujuru, who was Mugabe’s deputy for 10 years, could provide the much-needed bridge that opposition parties have been missing to ensure the smooth transfer of power if they win elections again.
However, they warn that without a broad coalition involving all the major opposition players, Zanu PF would easily “manipulate the vote”.
Since Mujuru left Zanu PF, the ruling party has been embroiled in factional and succession fights, leading to the neglect of the economy, with thousands losing their jobs and the country’s service delivery system hitting an all-time low.
Based on Zanu PF’s glaring failures, Karenyi, said the governing party had proved that it does not have solutions to the current economic woes.
“Sevanhukadzi tine mapoto, zvipoon but hatina chikafu chacho so tichapedzisira tafamba muroad tichiridza mapoto acho kuti vatinzwe, (We have kitchen utensils but we don’t have food to cook so we are going to use utensils to make noise on the streets so that the government can hear us).”
“Women are the backbone of the economy and government is not doing anything to make our lives better. There is nothing on the ground to promote women. As women, we must stand and fight vigorously to end this Zanu PF madness.
“As mothers, wives and grandmothers, the effects of the current economic woes have hit us hard in our households.
“Our children are failing to access food, education and jobs. As such, this has led to emotional distress among many women in Zimbabwe at a time when we are expected to be stepping up towards achieving sustainable development goals.”
Kerenyi said the MDC women are ready to stand up and demonstrate to end Mugabe’s misrule.
“Currently, in most parts of the country, people are struggling to make ends meet and provide a decent meal to their families, with others reported to be fighting for wild fruits.
“The deteriorating socio-economic conditions in this country have seen multiple rights being violated
“As a result of inadequate food supplies, diseases are increasing, especially malnutrition in children, thereby violating their right to health.”
Karenyi further took a swipe at Zanu PF women’s league boss Grace Mugabe who she described as a “directionless” leader.
“The Zanu PF women leader is doing nothing, however I am happy that she is busy destroying Zanu PF.
“They are fighting for positions while the economy is dying. They don’t care about our lives what they want is to remain in power so that they can loot all of our resources,” added Karenyi.
Experts have said contrary to the government’s heavy propaganda, the Zimbabwe economy is “definitely dying”, as manifested by worsening liquidity challenges, company closures and job losses.
Recently, some experts said Zimbabwe has once again hit the depths of humanitarian and economic despair that were last experienced in 2008, when the country’s seemingly unending political crisis precipitated an economic meltdown of monumental proportions — which culminated in the death of the Zimbabwe dollar and mass emigrations out of the country.
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