Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops voice concern as ‘leadership vacuum’ creates political unrest
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Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops voice concern as ‘leadership vacuum’ creates political unrest

92-year-old Robert Mugabe has been in power in Zimbabwe since 1987

The Secretary-General of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Zimbabwe has spoken out about his concern that a “leadership vacuum” is forming as ageing President Robert Mugabe clings to power despite ill health and growing national unrest.

Fr Frederick Chiromba
Fr Frederick Chiromba

A dual uncertainty about the succession planning process and the president’s capabilities is causing untold damage to the country, he implied.

Fr Frederick Chiromba said churches were calling for “leadership renewal” as the incumbent President reaches 92. “Biologically things come to a stage in life where somebody can no longer fully function in certain offices and hence even the churches were calling for that review, that leadership renewal,” he told Vatican Radio.

The Catholic priest was providing context to the recently published ecumenical document ‘Church leaders’ statement on the national crisis in Zimbabwe’, which laid out the Churches concerns for the future of their country.

He explained how weak leadership was leading to a “jostling for power”, both behind the doors of the ruling party and elsewhere in the nation. “Really this puts the nation in a very precarious situation because you don’t know…if there is no clear structure, which way things will go”, he said.

Referring to the recent #ThisFlag protest movement started by Protestant pastor, Evan Mawarire, Fr Chiromba said this was an example of the kind of factionalism gaining traction. He said Zimbabweans were willing to support such movements despite their lack of political clout and coherent policies because “people are hoping for some salvation, for a way out of this situation”.

“I wouldn’t give much credit to the ThisFlag movement except that it has captured the imagination of the people about what is possible”, he said, adding that the leaders of the movement “couldn’t form a government tomorrow if they were asked because it’s not in the first place a political movement”.

During the interview he appealed to the global Catholic Church to lobby governments to lift sanctions against Zimbabwe “because ultimately it is these restrictions that are killing the ordinary people”, he said.

“Those targeted actually have everything. Their children are overseas studying in those countries which imposed the sanctions in the first place. And when they fall sick they are not treated in the country, they go outside the country where they get good health facilities”.

He called in particular on Catholics in Britain and America to speak to their governments on behalf of the Zimbabwean people who are suffering. The British Government currently controls exports to Zimbabwe and imposes “financial, travel and other sanctions”.

Finally, Fr Chiromba lamented the dire economic situation which has led to entrenched poverty and unemployment. “The culture of working has been destroyed”, he said and “a lost generation” has been created, who could not go to school and now cannot find work.

Mugabe has been in power since 1987, during which time the Government’s spending has risen to 97.8 per cent of GDP and unemployment to 80 per cent. In a bid to end hyperinflation, it abandoned its own currency in 2009 and now mainly uses US dollars.-Tablet

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