Mnangagwa pleads for party unity ahead of July vote

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Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa has launched his party's manifesto for elections in July with a call for unity after several of his allies lost primary contests.

“Let us put our differences aside and campaign for the thunderous victory of our revolutionary party. A house divided cannot stand,” Mnangagwa said in Harare on Friday.

He said unity will allow a returned ZANU-PF government to provide jobs and tackle corruption.

Mnangagwa took over from long-time president Robert Mugabe last November after the 94-year-old leader was forced to resign by the military.

If certified free and fair by the international community, the presidential, parliamentary and council elections, whose date has not been fixed, could lead to the resumption of financial aid by foreign lenders for the first time in two decades.

Mnangagwa said his party’s leadership, the politburo, would review primary election results on Saturday and may order reruns in some constituencies.

Zanu-PF is campaigning on a jobs and anti-corruption platform. /Zanu-PF Photo/Facebook

Seven government ministers and several allies of Mnangagwa were defeated in the internal polls this week.

Mnangagwa is trying to break away from Mugabe’s policies with his “open for business” policy. But his critics say that after serving in each of Mugabe’s governments since independence from Britain in 1980, the new president has little to offer.

The 75-year-old promised better conditions for government workers following public sector strikes by doctors and nurses in March and April. Teachers say they will not go back to work when schools re-open on Tuesday.

Mnangagwa talked up his government’s achievements since assuming office. He said foreign investors had promised more than 11 billion US dollars in investments, and he will seek to ensure that they materialize.

“The condition of service of our teachers, health workers, security forces and general civil servants will be reviewed with the view of improving their conditions of service,” he said.

Under the manifesto’s “Unite, fight corruption, develop, re-engage, create jobs” theme, ZANU-PF promises annual economic growth of 6 percent for five years, foreign direct investment of 5 billion dollars annually and to build 1.5 million houses.

Under the ZANU-PF government, the mining sector will be opened up to more investors, farmers will have leases for their land, roads will be rebuilt and power generation increased to 3,000 MW from 1,800 MW, the manifesto said.

Zimbabwe is in the grips of severe shortages of dollars that have curbed imports, the unemployment rate is above 80 percent and public infrastructure like roads is in decay.

Source(s): Reuters