MDC president Nelson Chamisa on Tuesday appealed to South Africa and the Southern Africa Development Committee (Sadc) to intervene in the ongoing political dispute between his party and Zanu PF.
Chamisa’s call comes after South Africa’s International Relations minister, Naledi Pandor, said it was important for South Africa and the Sadc bloc to assist Zimbabwe in its journey towards political and economic recovery.
“It’s not enough to only make calls and resolutions on the lifting of economic sanctions,” Pandor said.
The South African International Relations minister took a dig at Chamisa, accusing him of dragging his feet when it came to internal dialogue with his Zanu PF rivals.
‘’Political Actors Dialogue (POLAD) is there, but through your pride (Chamisa), you chose to shun it. The help that you want is in POLAD,” Pandor said.
In response to Pandor’s utterances, Chamisa wrote on his Twitter account that for months now, they had been asking their African brothers and sisters to look into the man-made governance crisis in Zimbabwe and help restore the dignity of citizens. The MDC leader also said he felt heartened by Pandor’s correct diagnosis of the major problem in Zimbabwe as toxic politics.
“We in the MDC stand ready to welcome South Africa and Sadc mediation in Zimbabwe to end the suffering that has gone for long,’’ Chamisa said.
“In the face of provocation and persecution, our commitment to a sustainable and peaceful outcome has not shirked,” he added.
Ironically, Chamisa’s response was in the same wavelength with Pandor, but he has been on the forefront of dismissing chances of dialogue citing legitimacy crisis.
Chamisa has declined to join POLAD, a Zanu PF initiated opposition parties dialogue platform meant to resolve Zimbabwe’s political logjam.
