MDC President Nelson Chamisa has made an appeal for South Africa to urgently intervene and resolve Zimbabwe’s deteriorating economic and political crisis as failure to deal with the issue will engulf the whole SADC region.
Chamisa is currently visiting South Africa where the main opposition leader says he is mobilising regional solidarity to halt Zimbabwe’s mounting political and economic problems.
Speaking to SABC TV Wednesday, Chamisa said a ‘sick Zimbabwe’ can spread the crisis across the region and cause chaos in the Southern African region.
“A Zimbabwe that is burning is going to set ablaze the entire region. It’s not just South Africa, it’s also Botswana, it’s Mozambique and Zambia,” Chamisa said.
The top politician said he was banking on South Africa to help troubled Zimbabwe resolve her piling problems particularly the political stand-off between Zanu PF and his MDC party. The sharp differences between the two rivals date back to the disputed 2018 presidential election.
“So it’s important to cure the sickness of Zimbabwe because a sick Zimbabwe is definitely going to spread the virus for the entire region and indeed for the continent and this is why we are pinning our hopes on South Africa’s leadership in the AU.
“We are also pinning our hopes on South Africa’s prominent role within SADC to make sure that we have African solutions to African problems and Zimbabwe is resolved ultimately.”
Former South African President Thabo Mbeki was in Zimbabwe in December last year where he met President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Chamisa and other political actors.
According Chamisa, Mbeki’s visit was to broker an end to Zimbabwe’s worsening economic crisis.
“He (Mbeki) did assist in a way because he is trying to attack the root of the problem. I have said that the problem is the governance crisis, a legitimacy crisis and what is important in our own view is that we have seen President Mbeki coming in the context of the help that he wants to give for us to have a political dialogue.” – Newzim
