Mnangagwa must call for referendum

 Mnangagwa must call for referendum
Published: 22 October 2019
WHILE President Emmerson Mnangagwa has done well in meeting leaders of political parties under Polad, I urge him to go further and meet all stakeholders so as to solve the economic crisis that has enveloped our once prosperous nation.

The President has to make an effort; get everyone involved in mapping the way forward and one sure way to go about it is to call for a national referendum.

A national referendum should be on whether Zimbabweans want a Government of National Unity (GNU), a transitional government or early elections.

As Zimbabweans, we need to act fast to salvage the little that is still there because life is now unbearable for everyone; be it a Zanu-PF, MDC or DOP supporter.

The economic rot hasn't spared any worker ? the soldier, policeman,the doctor, nurse, teacher, shopkeeper and civil servant.

The irony of it is that every sector has reported incapacitation; nurses are working one day in a week, teachers have just recently resolved to work two days a week, doctors have actually withdrawn labour while civil servants have all but put down tools.
It is a catastrophic!

The only sector still reporting for duty full-time is the security sector ? the army, police and prisons because they are not allowed to strike or demonstrate.

It is my hope that the security sector remains loyal although just like everyone else they are incapacitated to the bone.
I was surprised to read a story in the Daily News which alluded to the fact that student teachers are earning a paltry $150 per month while a counter notebook costs $70, which means their allowances can only buy two counter notebooks!

We are in a fix and the sooner we find our way out the better, hence my suggestion for a referendum because it is the only democratic way out.

We once held a Constitution referendum in 2000 and the people spoke - so why not now?

The President says he is a listening leader so we challenge him to hold this referendum so that citizens speak their mind.

This referendum will be all about this government's performance since Mnangagwa took over the reins; how his ministers have fared; how he has managed to tame corruption; his human rights record; his upholding of the constitution. Equally on trial will be the President's social, political and economic turn-around of the country.

And as we fast approach the end of 2019 our crisis seems to be deepening as the Zimbabwe dollar continues to plunge further, leaving citizens in deep poverty.

Coupled with the economic decline is the persistent drought which looks set to repeat itself this agricultural season as the skies remain clear.

With more than five million focused as needing emergency food, one wonders why the gods are angry with us!
Our story reads like fiction to someone who lives in another country; no electricity, no fuel, no bread and no cash at banks.

Then there are high transport costs, skyrocketing prices of basic commodities, high rentals, unaffordable school fees and a 588 percent increase in power costs.

And while Zimbabwe burns, government officials continue to make endless foreign trips that are emptying the little reserves we have in our coffers.

Every day the local newspapers are full of reports of corruption among the elite who siphon taxpayers' money and we are talking of hundreds of millions of US dollars.

To make matters worse the corrupt tendencies by bigwigs continue unabated as authorities apply lip stick on a frog.
We are in a dark pit and the only way out is to get the people to vote in a referendum on the way forward!

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Wilson is DOP president
- dailynews
Tags: Mnangagwa,

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