ZIMBABWE — MDC president Morgan Tsvangirai is rolling out a series of feedback campaign rallies across the country, with rallies scheduled for Bulawayo, Zvishavane and Masvingo weekend.

 

Tsvangirai will address rallies at White City Stadium on Saturday and the following day he will address a rally in Zvishavane and Masvingo.

 

 

Tsvangirai has emphasised that the party was not desperate to enter into government with token ministries that will not allow meaningful change in the lives of the people of Zimbabwe.

 

Tsvangirai, who was addressing his supporters in Harare yesterday, said his party was alive to the starvation facing the people, the collapse of the education system, the health sector and the economy but would not be stampeded into accepting Zanu PF's unilateral allocation of key ministries to itself.

"We want to meaningful change the lives of people. We hope that the arrival of the mediator, former President Thabo Mbeki, will unlock the political logjam otherwise we will not partake to this deal," he said to thunderous applause.

"We are aware that there is a deliberate ploy to make us walk away from this dialogue process through these acts of unbridled arrogance. We are committed to dialogue as a party but we will not settle for crumbs."

He said the MDC had entered into the dialogue process with sincerity in order to solve the national crisis. After all, he said, the MDC had resolved at its second Congress that dialogue was the only way forward.

"We are prepared to suffer more, to remain in the trenches if this agreement cannot change the lives of the people. We are committed to see the political settlement coming to fruition because it contains important clauses which guarantee the people's freedoms and allow Zimbabwe to move forward," he said.

"We are not desperate for titles. I am not desperate to be called Prime Minister, after all I am the President of the MDC. Our only wish is to make sure that we have a genuine agreement that respects all parties and can allow for national rebirth and economic recovery."

Tsvangirai said Zanu PF was being insincere in the allocation of ministries that is why there was a deadlock. He said Zanu PF had no right to be part of the arrangement if it was about power grabbing and not power sharing as agreed.

"We won the elections on 29 March. Mugabe, the loser in that election, cannot pretend to be magnanimous to the MDC by "allocating" us ministries when it is us who have been benevolent enough to give him the Presidency as a way of national healing and rebirth," said
Tsvangirai.

"The state-controlled Herald can scream and continue to publish Zanu PF's wish list till the cows come home, but as a party we will not partake to anything that will not improve the lives of the ordinary people. We say no to responsibility without authority."

He said the MDC was committed to peaceful democratic change and will never use violence to effect change. He said there were fears in Zanu PF circles that the MDC should not get certain key ministries such as Home Affairs.

"We want to assure them that we do seek to pursue a retributive agenda. We want national healing. We are prepared to forgive and forget as long as our efforts are being reciprocated. The guilty are afraid but the MDC means well," said Tsvangirai.

Vice President Hon Thokozani Khupe, women's assembly chairperson Hon Theresa Makone and the chairperson of the Youth Assembly Thamsanqa Mahlangu also addressed the crowd.

 

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