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Zimbabwe's former deputy prime minister Thokozani Khupe has reportedly called for "unity of purpose" among various stakeholders in the southern African country, which is currently battling a battered economy.
According to Daily News, Khuphe, who leads the break-away faction of the Movement for Democratic Change, said she told her party representatives in parliament to engage and offer President Emmerson Mnangagwa's government ideas.
Khupe said although opposition parties should not forget their mandate to fight for political reforms, it was now important to share "ideas on how to move this country forward".
"...right now let us talk about moving the country forward at the same time let’s talk about reforms, so that by the time we get to 2023, our electoral reforms will be in place. Like I said before, 2018 was a better election than all elections we have had before. We are hoping that by 2023, there will be an improvement but our focus should for now must be moving the country forward," said Khupe.
Khupe said the majority of Zimbabweans were worried about "food on their tables, jobs and hospitals that are functional".
Khupe’s remarks came less than a month after her rival Nelson Chamisa from the MDC Alliance called for a transitional government to resolve the worsening economic and political crisis engulfing the country.
Chamisa, who narrowly lost the July 31 election, accused Mnangagwa's government of excessive borrowing and lacking ideas to solve Zimbabwe's biggest crisis in a decade, An AP reported.
"Because we have not resolved the political issues our economy cannot perform. The economy is in a shambles," he said.
"The economy is a reflection of politics that is not in proper shape. We have solutions to the economic crisis," he added.
Zimbabwe has been facing foreign currency shortages - in recent weeks - that have sparked an economic crisis, with supplies of fuel, food and pharmaceuticals drying up.
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