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Clearly, he needs help and guidance, because the strikes, the rising inflation, the lack of currency and off fuel is persisting. While the systemic defects are not fixed, while the ordinary citizen is suffering in poverty and in fear. Because, the Police have arrested people for alleged looting for just being sweaty in the streets. Therefore, the state is already overboard, as the rapes, the mischief of arbitrary arrests and putting opposition leaders and MPs behind bars.
As this follows, there is now a leak of 24-member Presidential Advisory Council (PAC) with all sort of elite and cronies. Former MPs and Former Ministers of the ZANU-PF put there to shine a light on the President and give him advice in the hour of need.
With the Cabinet that the President already has, which Ministers and Deputy Ministers, also regional ministers and the ones in the Office of Vice-President. By my count of the official amount of Minister to give the President advice and well-known information on a sector in government, with the appointed people in September 2018 it was by my estimate about 46 people there. Which are ministers and public officials, who could help a brother in need. This are people who the President already trust and acknowledge to give them a portfolio in government. Therefore, the manpower and finesse, he should already have.
So, today’s leak of Council of 24 more surplus heads to gather intelligence and wisdom for the President. Seems more like luxurious expense and securing people tenure, another fixed income and base for livelihood, than initial need by the President. He already has a full cabinet of about 20 Ministers, than a bunch of Deputy Ministers and also two in the Office of VP. Therefore, he has no direct need for this.
The names and people on the list isn’t important now, they are cronies and pro-ED as is. They are being paid-off and secured by the state. Because, they wouldn’t get this appointed position without perks, benefits and state salary. It would be foolish to think these people would do this on Charity and actually show-up to guide the President without getting something out of it.
We know also, the document is marked confidential, except for the list of people, this sentence alone is striking: “They should be non-partisan and will serve at the pleasure of the President”. I see that as an impossible feat. I don’t know how they will possible be non-partisan and also serve the man. That is like: “We will be independent, but we cannot bite the hand that feed us”. It is sort of the same arrangement. That is configured idea, that is not working. Not here or anywhere on this planet of ours.
This is the double cabinet, the special hand-picked advisers of the President and his cronies. There is nothing else to it.
Just another bill, another pay-off and securing more YES-MEN for the President. Peace.













shutdown protest. And for as long as people’s survival problems are not addressed the false “return to normalcy” and “calm”, will not last. Indeed, what we have seen so far may turn out to only be the lightning announcing the thunder that will come.
It is with this background that we reiterate our calls for a broad-based, inclusive national dialogue as a matter of urgency and pronounce ourselves on the following:
Conditions for dialogue
We welcome the emerging resonance around the need for national dialogue and particularly note calls that have come from the churches, business, the NPRC, the Movement for Democratic Change-Alliance, and most recently, President Mnangagwa. We also note that The Elders in their most recent statement made a call for inclusive national dialogue.
We believe that dialogue will only be meaningful under the right conditions which include:
● the immediate cessation of the clampdown against civil society and activists;
● the return of the military to barracks;
● freedom for all innocent political, civic and ordinary citizens who were arrested
without cause;
● due process for all those accused of crimes; accountability for the security forces who commitment crimes;
● and security and safety guarantees to all those driven into hiding.
Composition of the dialogue
An inclusive national dialogue is imperative given the diversity and magnitude of the problems facing our country. The repository for solutions goes beyond political parties requiring the participation of all relevant constituencies, including business, churches, women, youth, civil society and indeed political parties to enable co-creation of solutions that work for all.
Facilitation
Given the reality of extreme political polarization in our country, we believe that the political facilitation of the dialogue must be led by a capable, high level, respected African statesman/ stateswoman acceptable to all, with SADC and the AU as guarantors.
Furthermore, we believe that the dialogue must be technically supported by a competent civic institution with proven capacity to steward such a complex national process towards agreeable outcomes.
Purpose of the dialogue
The inclusive national dialogue that we are calling for, should be about dealing with substantive issues that are central to resetting our country onto a viable path to reconstruction and development. From our perspective, the priority should be on repairing the economy and securing decent livelihoods for the generality of Zimbabweans; guaranteeing justice for victims of political violence; creating conditions to restore social
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cohesion and national healing and rebuilding the institutions necessary to underpin a prosperous democratic country founded on social and economic justice.
It is particularly important the place the following issues on the agenda of the envisaged national dialogue:
Outcomes
We believe that the dialogue must produce a framework that allows for collective and competent attention to the most pressing challenges affecting people and reset the country onto a viable reconstruction and development path. The form and content of such a framework cannot be prescribed in advance, rather it has to be a product of dialogue.
Our call for civil society consultations
As the chorus for national dialogue grows, we make a call and equally make ourselves available for collective civil society consultations and consensus building on the conditions, vision, principles, composition, facilitation, agenda and possible outcomes of the envisioned national dialogue. We believe these wider consultations must commence in earnest and reflect truly broad-based and inclusive participation.
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//END