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The Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) is troubled by reports that Zimbabwe is currently experiencing civil strife. The reason for these protests is the economic hardships being experienced by the majority of Zimbabwean citizens.
This state of affairs has precipitated a series of spontaneous protests starting with demonstrations at Beit Bridge Boarder gate. The UDC wishes to caution that if the civil strife engulfing the country is not contained and managed through conflict resolution mechanism, it could spill into other parts of the region.
The only way for Zimbabwe to attain much needed peace is through dialogue. The Zimbabwean government needs to engage all stakeholders such as political parties, civil society groups, churches, and different industry sectors to develop a road map towards both political and economic recovery.
For close to two decades now the political problems in Zimbabwe have led to a near economic blockage of the country. Many international financiers and western governments have long imposed economic sanctions on the government led by Robert Mugabe.
Consequently the Zimbabwean economy has over the years been in recession. It is common knowledge that the Zimbabwean dollar currency has collapsed some years ago leading to the country’s treasury sanctioning the use of multiple currencies.
The situation is reportedly dire such that children do not go to school, hospitals are short of drugs and basic commodities are not easy to get in the country. Moreover, these circumstances have been exacerbated by the recent stoppage of imports of basic goods from South Africa.
Dr Prince Dibeela, UCD Secretary for International Relations
