Zimbabwean President Mnangagwa rules out unity government with opposition

HARARE - Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa said Wednesday that the ruling ZANU-PF party does not intend to invite the opposition to form a Government of National Unity (GNU) following its resounding victory in the July 30 tripartite elections.

Mnangagwa narrowly beat Nelson Chamisa of the MDC Alliance while his party won a two-thirds majority in Parliament and also swept the majority of local authority seats, except in urban areas where the MDC Alliance holds sway.

Chamisa and his party have since refused to accept Mnangagwa's victory and in late November demonstrated in Harare against his legitimacy and the deteriorating economic situation in the country.

The opposition now wants Mnangagwa to come to the negotiating table saying that the ruling party cannot solve the country's economic problem on its own.

The party's national vice chairperson Tendai Biti said recently that it would want to negotiate for a national transitional authority instead of a GNU.

However, Mnangagwa poured cold water on the opposition's overtures saying that the ruling party had the mandate to govern on its own for the next five years.

"We won and we are planning on how we are going to go about governing for the next five years to grow our economy," he said.

"We, as ZANU-PF, are now seized with the growing of the economy, finding solutions to resolve all those challenges that the country is facing." he said.

Many people have experienced economic hardships lately with prices of basic commodities skyrocketing while many schools are now demanding school fees in US dollars or four or five times the amount in bond notes and electronic bank transfers.

Prices of school uniforms have also gone up, prompting parents to demand that schools should not demand them to buy branded uniforms from select retailers.