Rev Dr Kenneth Mtata (NCP Spokesperson)
Yesterday, 13th of December 2019 the National Convergence Platform (NCP) was successfully launched in Harare at Kentucky Hotel in Hatfield, Harare.
The event was marked by a colourful Church session led by the Zimbabwe Heads of Christian Denominations(ZHOCD) through a powerful and flowing liturgy.
ATTENDANCE
The event was attended by over 1200 delegates drawn from all districts of Zimbabwe.
Also in attendance were members of the diplomatic community, civil society organisations, residents from various cities, informal sector, labour, diaspora, Church, academia, business, professional bodies, Chapter 12 Commissions, police (including Senior Chaplains and Officer Commanding Harare) and students from different universities.
Provincial consultative meetings spearheaded by the ZHOCD in all the ten provinces served as a build up to the launch.
KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Rev Dr Kenneth Mtata, the, the NCP Spokesperson, delivered the key note address on behalf of the NCP Working Group. The content of the address was shaped by the working group in the consultations leading to the launch.
In the address, Rev Dr Mtata traced the NCP to the various national convergence in the past. He showed the role the Church had played in these nation building processes since 1979 when Rev Murombedzi Kuchera, former ZCC General Secretary and Bishop JC Shiri, the former ZCC President provided pastoral support to the Lancaster House processes (they were present at Lancaster, not as delegates). The two were also at the launch yesterday. It was an emotional moment when Rev Mtata requested the two leaders to stand for the delegates to see them.
Rev Mtata also highlighted the role played by the late Rev Canaan Sodindo Banana in brokering peace between Zanu-Pf and PF ZAPU leadership in 1987. He also traced the role of the Church during the development of the current constitution having proposed some key reforms through the Zimbabwe We Want Discussion Document of 2006. He further traced the establishment of the Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development as well as the Youth Empowerment and Transformation Trust and the broader role of the church in shaping the development of Civil Society in Zimbabwe and influencing nation building processes.
In his address, whose theme remained “Are we in the right direction? “, Rev Mtata pointed out that due to this history, the current NCP initiative was not a new invention but wad building on past attempts on convergence. The NCP in particular was initially muted by several people led by Bishop Sebastian Bakare and others in 2015. People like the Journalist Maggie Muzumara and Advocate Eric Matinenga who were part of that initial attempt also attended yesterday’s event.
BIRTH OF THE NCP
The current NCP was born following the 7 October 2019, ZHOCD pastoral statement in which the Church leaders proposed the Sabbath rest. This was a proposal for the nation to consider suspension or postponement of all forms of political contestations to allow for the fulfillment of all key reforms in the humanitarian, political, social and economic areas. In that Call, the church leaders wanted a period of REST (the significance of the Sabbath) for the citizens. How that Sabbath period run would be run would be be an outcome of a structured national dialogue leading to a referendum.
The Sabbath proposal was received with mixed feelings. While the Church leaders were analysing the feedback, they were encouraged by the dialogue the Sabbath call had triggered.
It was at that moment that other stakeholders in the civil society, professional bodies, and academia realized the value of the Sabbath Call and sought to structure convergence around its key proposals. Subsequent meetings led to the idea of national convergence among non political actors for an inclusive, broad based and comprehensive national dialogue. The dialogue would Inclusive, through the involvement of all stakeholders from the grassroots, the organised society and the political actors. It would be Comprehensive by addressing all the deficiencies in our constitutional democracy, economic exclusivity and societal fragmentation in a more holistic approach.
The NCP was therefore established as the space for all non political actors to contribute the national reimagination process on the basis of Unity Justice and Prosperous for all Zimbabweans.
Four key processes would inform the NCP operations:
1. The NCP, having been launched will gather the nation together towards addressing the current emergency issues as well as long term dialogue. Our health and education sectors need urgent attention. And the nation is under serious threat from food insecurity. These will be part of the NCP targets.
2. The NCP will also contribute to agenda setting for long term solutions that the country needs.
3. Thirdly, the NCP will mobilise all citizens towards a comprehensive and inclusive national dialogue process at all levels( grassroots, organised society and policy actors).
4. The NCP will establish a mutually agreed monitoring framework that will become the basis for ensuring the implementation of national dialogue process outcomes.
Rev Mtata concluded his address by indicating that through the NCP, Zimbabweans will now say “this is the Zimbabwe that we have always wanted” and not to continue asking “are we in the right direction?”
COMMITMENT, OATH AND SIGNING CEREMONY
Rev Dr Kennedy Gondongwe presided over the signing ceremony for the NCP. A Momerandum of Association (MOA) was signed by the following representative apex bodies:
1. ZHOCD
2. Citizen Manifesto
3. National Association of Societies for the Care of the Handcapped
4. National Transitional Justice Working Group
5. Platform for Concerned Citizens
6. Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum
Many more apex bodies (over ten bodies working on elections, education, business, youth, women, labour and legal issues) including NANGO, Woman’s Coalition of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), Law Society of Zimbabwe, many business associations, NAYO and others who signalled interest were allowed time to consult with their constituencies before signing up for being part of the Platform. These organizations have already informally thrown their support behind the NCP. They were instrumental in the preparations, coordination and mobilisation for the NCP launch. Their membership attended the launch in numbers yesterday.
NEXT STEPS
1. The signing up process of the remaining Apex bodies will continue in the next few weeks.
2. The NCP General Council will be set up at at the upcoming NCP planning retreat
3. The NCP will already seek to contribute to finding solutions to the emergency issues in the next few weeks.