Heal Zimbabwe continues calling on the government to implement a raft of reforms to address the country’s current challenges. During a Twitter Talk with OpenParly, the organisation called on the government not to bank on dialogue alone but to implement structural reforms such as creating stronger institutions, respect the rule of law and fundamental human rights and freedoms of its citizens.
“Dialogue alone is not the panacea. Dialogue is the foundation towards creating a common ground for trust-building, collective solution-seeking & unity of purpose. Dialogue must help create strong institutions, facilitate political tolerance, & respect for human rights” said Heal Zimbabwe while responding to some of the questions raised during the Twitter talk. The call by Heal Zimbabwe comes at a time when the human rights situation in the country is deplorable with political activists being systematically targeted through arrests and abductions.
Heal Zimbabwe has consistently called for an urgent citizen driven national dialogue to arrest the obtaining dire economic situation and looming political turmoil in Zimbabwe. The current economic crisis and political circumstances in the country are ominous and has seen the state going in overdrive to crash Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) through dragnet arrests, torture and targeted abductions. These and other indications clearly spell out a national tragedy which all Zimbabwean citizens, including workers, the church, political parties and the Government among other stakeholders must unite to avert. As the country awaits the second visit of the South Africa’s African National Congress (ANC) delegation this week, who are trying to trying to find a lasting solution to the Zimbabwean crisis, Heal Zimbabwe proposes a three-step engagement process to address the national crisis:
- Citizens’ National Summit: All citizens must come together to collectively share and document their grievances, issues and concerns. All Zimbabweans from across the political divide including women, youth, children and people living with disabilities, must drive the process and collectively define the current crisis facing the country and how they would want it addressed.
- National Dialogue: ‘An All Stakeholders Summit’ mediated by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the African Union (AU) must be initiated. A national political dialogue should ensure that collective grievances from the citizens are reflected and turned into a national recovery plan. The national dialogue should generate a clear roadmap that salvages the country from collapsing. The government, churches and civic organizations must support the political dialogue and appreciate the people’s grievances, issues and concerns.
- National Recovery Roadmap: A collective people driven national roadmap must be implemented that is hinged on transparency and accountability. High levels of political will and a mediated support from regional and international institutions will be essential.
Source: Heal Zimbabwe
