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Mugabe, ZANU-PF have sabotaged the economy, charges Tsvangirai

Mugabe, ZANU-PF have sabotaged the economy, charges Tsvangirai
By George Chellah in Harare, Zimbabwe
Sunday September 09, 2007 [04:00]

ROBERT Mugabe and ZANU-PF have sabotaged the economy through policy inconsistencies and reckless populism, opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) president Morgan Tsvangirai has said. And Tsvangirai has urged the MDC to organise itself for an orderly regime change. Meanwhile, Tsvangirai said MDC has already put up a post-Mugabe reconstruction and reconciliation plan.

Addressing the MDC parliamentary caucus on the crisis in Zimbabwe, Tsvangirai said the situation in the country has become unacceptable. "On July 9, 2007, the MDC alerted the nation on the dangers of the state-sponsored siege on our struggling business community following a decision by the Robert Mugabe dictatorship to slash commodity prices and promote a run on all businesses," Tsvangirai said.

"Mugabe and ZANU-PF sabotaged the economy through policy inconsistencies and reckless populism. We are at risk, without food, without water, without electricity and without basic means of sustenance."

He said the poor could not afford the goods sold on the parallel market. "Literally, every ordinary person, state and private institutions and the business community have been forced to source food and other scarce necessities on the black market because of a systematic destruction of the formal sector," Tsvangirai said.

"An informal market ravages the poor in any society as speculators and beneficiaries of a government patronage system thrive on the scarcity of goods and services."

Tsvangirai said businesses were currently closing down and thousands of jobs had been lost and more were on the firing line.

"That our shops and market shelves are already empty is common sense. Our families are exposed. Mugabe and ZANU-PF continue to bicker and to sacrifice the people's livelihoods for political expediency," he said.
He said in stable societies, a free and fair election opens up a host of opportunities for citizens.

"In our case, the conditions are so flawed that our voices are often muzzled. We must get the right conditions to pull through an election process that works as a catalyst for a holistic transformation of our society," Tsvangirai said.

Tsvangirai said the ZANU-PF regime no longer has the capacity nor the national interest to clean up the mess.

"Talk to your neighbours, engage each other in your churches and at gatherings. Talk about the future. Talk about Zimbabwe, we are ready to provide the leadership."

"The time has come for us to start afresh. The answer lies in the manner in which we organise ourselves for an orderly regime change. Organise yourselves in every village, at growth points, in your streets and at meeting places to raise the nation out of this deepening crisis," Tsvangirai said.

Tsvangirai said MDC had already put up a post-Mugabe reconstruction and reconciliation plan in line with Zimbabwe's national healing focus.

"Given the pressures on our young people, a generation that has borne the brunt of this dictatorship most, we shall put in place a Marshal Plan type of programme to rescue the jobless millions through viable placements in all sectors of the economy in order to offer them a belated head start in life," said Tsvangirai.

Labels: MDC, MORGAN TSVANGIRAI, MUGABE, ZANU-PF

posted by MrK @ 4:02 AM