MDC engages SADC

Harare(New Ziana)-Officials from the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) on Monday met with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) secretariat in Gaborone, Botswana in what can be viewed as a bid to push for mediated dialogue between the party and the ruling Zanu PF.

In a tweet, SADC executive secretary Dr Stergomena Lawrence Tax said the meeting impressed on the need for cooperation by all parties to the Zimbabwean political dialogue to put the country’s interests and those of citizens first.

“During meeting with representatives of MDC today, I reiterated continued SADC support to Zimbabwe and called upon all players (internal and external) to cooperate and put the interests of Zimbabweans first,” she said.

MDC vice president Prof Welshman Ncube led the delegation to SADC.

Party secretary general Charlton Hwende also confirmed the meeting with SADC.

“Whilst the police was brutalizing our people at our head office today, secretary general of SADC was in a meeting with our team led by Welshman Ncube at the SADC headquarters in Botswana. Our case and cause is receiving attention,” he tweeted.

Addressing his supporters in Harare on Wednesday, MDC leader Nelson Chamisa said he was prepared for dialogue between the country’s two biggest parties.

“We want to engage with President Mnangagwa for the betterment of the people,” Chamisa was quoted as saying.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF have however ruled out dialogue outside the Political Actors Dialogue in which he is engaging candidates who contested him in 2018 Presidential election and which the MDC has refused to participate in.

Chamisa refused to participate in the dialogue arguing that negotiations should be between him and President Mnangagwa since he was the only one who contested results of the election.

He also said discussing with the smaller parties was useless since they did not command a large following.

At least 17 of the 23 candidates who contested and lost to President Mnangagwa are engaged in the dialogue, whose main goal is to re-unite the nation after the contentious poll, and collectively map the way forward in re-building the country.

The dialogue has received the backing of major stakeholders including the United Nations, foreign diplomats, churches and civic society.

New Ziana