via We need a transitional govt: Biti – DailyNews Live by Mugove Tafirenyika and Nyasha Chingono 6 JUNE 2014
Former Finance minister Tendai Biti says President Robert Mugabe has failed and should therefore relinquish power to pave way for an independent transitional government.
Biti, who is also former mainstream MDC secretary-general, told a news conference in Harare yesterday that under Mugabe’s present rule, Zimbabweans are worse off than they were during the hyperinflationary period preceding 2009.
“We think that this government has failed so there should be a National Transitional Council that must be concerned with governance matters. You cannot expect a government whose average age is 67 years to deal with the problems that are affecting the country,” Biti said.
Biti’s sentiments dovetail with his former ally Morgan Tsvangirai who has said the country cannot wait until the 2018 polls because of the pressing economic challenges.
Biti added that Mugabe’s current regime was the weakest the country has ever had since 1980, accusing it of robbing citizens of their hard-earned cash by unjustifiably hiking fees for social services such as health and taxes.
Biti, who leads a breakaway MDC faction code name the Renewal-Team, was flanked by National Assembly member Solomon Madzore and faction spokesperson Jacob Mafume.
He said his faction was against the idea of holding fresh elections, saying it would be a waste of time as Zanu PF would still rig the election.
His faction wanted a government led by technocrats.
“The current government is the most redundant, most mediocre and the most clueless since independence. We used to have governments which used to have pockets of energy in a few ministries, but this particular government is arrested by indifference,” Biti said.
He added Mugabe as the chief executive of the country is always away impacting on the smooth running of government.
“Problems are never resolved by the same mindset that created them. It doesn’t happen. We need to come up with a government to address the current deficit of leadership. It can’t be a government of national unity, but a technical government.”
Biti also proposed a Sadc-led curatorship of Zimbabwe in order to salvage the country’s economy.
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