POLAD SET TO REMAIN FUNCTIONAL

LONDIWE DUBE

28.08.23

Reelected president of the Republic of Zimbabwe, HE Emmerson Mnangagwa has told political players that POLAD will remain functional in the nation.

POLAD is a platform that brings together leaders of all political parties in Zimbabwe to participate in the development of the country.

The dialogue was formed in May 2019, after the 2018 harmonised elections.

According to President Mnangagwa, the platform is set to to bring together all opposition leaders to come up with ideas that will take Zimbabwe to Vision 2030 of attaining an empowered upper middle income nation.

President Mnangagwa said all candidates who participated in the 2023 presidential run will form the committee of POLAD that will take the country to the envisioned land.

However, the dialogue has been met with criticism especially from CSOs and the country’s main opposition party leader Advocate Nelson Chamisa who has consistently refused to join the platform stating that it does not represent the public’s dominant preferences, adding that the resources used to fund the POLAD activities is a misplaced priority especially when looking at Zimbabwe as a country with the highest inflation.

In his defense, President Mnangagwa said POLAD is in sync with the Second Republic’s inclusive regimes under the mantra; ‘Leaving no one and no place behind’.

After its establishment in 2019, President Mnangagwa purchased vehicles for each member of Polad.

Civil Society Organizations criticized the move by President Emerson Mnangagwa as a way of capturing the opposition leaders.

President Mnangagwa said the platform will remain in place to include the opposition leaders in the country’s development agenda.

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