Kasukuwere proposes a national healing summit and $1bn fund for Gukurahundi victims

Independent presidential candidate, Saviour Kasukuwere, has ‘promised’ that if elected, he will hold a national healing and reconciliation summit to bring closure to the Gukurahundi genocide and also avail a billion-dollar compensation fund so that Matabeleland can catch up with the rest of the country. 

Kasukuwere, who is currently based in South Africa, said Zimbabwe has suffered from several violent episodes that must be addressed in order to rebuild the country.

Responding to questions on This Morning on Asakhe, a CITE-hosted Twitter space on Monday, the presidential candidate stated that the “very important first thing” he would do, which is also reflected in his election manifesto under reconciliation, is to hold a national healing and reconciliation summit.

“It is time we put closure to this matter by acknowledging the evils of the past, the mistakes that were made. We will also have compensation. We have a huge equalisation fund in our manifesto, which is aimed at bringing up Matabeleland,” he said.

Matabeleland, according to the former cabinet minister, is lagging behind in terms of progress, with some individuals still lacking birth certificates.

LISTEN TO THE CONVERSATION HERE: https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1MnxnpkDVyeGO?s=20

To that end, Kasukuwere proposed $1 billion fund for the affected families in the region.

“I am proposing a billion-dollar facility over a five-year period that must be aimed at addressing compensation that is aimed at rebuilding and allowing these families who lost their parents to catch up. You will ask me where this money is going to come from, Zimbabwe has been losing a billion dollars every year through corruption through illicit gold trading, through various other things,” Kasukuwere said.

Kasukuwere admitted that an apology was required to help people heal.

“We must apologise to people of that region for things that were done that were wrong. We want to proceed very quickly and call a summit that looks at that matter,” he said noting that, aside from Gukurahundi, there has been violence against political opponents in Zimbabwe since 2000, including Operation Murambatsvina and other instances

“We must address this once and for all and say ‘never again.’ We are a small population, Zimbabwe doesn’t deserve this violence. We are peace-loving, let us bury the past but let us be responsible for whatever we do going forward. That ‘moment of madness’ cannot be allowed to happen in our country.”

The former Zanu PF commissar said for Matabeleland, the issue of Gukurahundi ranks number one and efforts to address it would be supported by a “huge fund” that will be set up to bring about closure.

“This issue has made our people very dejected and felt unwanted in that part of the country and to be honest, you can see it when you travel around the region. Many of our brothers and sisters have left the country. We should not continue to see that happen, people have been leaving for instance Tsholotsho and other areas. Let’s give every Zimbabwean space to develop, grow and accept our mistakes,” Kasukuwere said.

Kasukuwere’s election manifesto outlines five pillars: leadership renewal, reconciliation, reviving  the economy, reforming institutions and rebuilding the economy.

To grow Zimbabwe’s economy, the presidential candidate promised to stabilise the currency and crackdown on corruption.

“Corruption has started eating on our fabric as a society. We have to make sure we start looking at fiscal policies, reform our fiscal management and bring that to a point where we start making contributions to people. Our minerals must be beneficial to the people of Zimbabwe to a large extent,” Kasukuwere said.

“We must expand investment opportunities and address the debt we have as a  country. The debt must be tamed and carry on with negotiations that have been worked on. Once the debt burden is resolved Zimbabwe will  have a new breath.”

The former cabinet minister said his government would also tackle sanctions because they were linked to debt resolution.

“Sanctions have to be removed then Zimbabwe will be a place for all. But we have to find peace within and these elections are very necessary in that roadmap. We must have an election beyond reproach, that does not leave people crying foul. It is in the interest for each Zimbabwe to disappoint those who abuse authority,” he said.

Kasukuwere argued that sanctions and corruption had become “twin brothers” because these were used interchangeably as excuses as to why Zimbabwe was underperforming.

“Those corrupt will use sanctions as an excuse because sanctions have given room for this malfeasance. We can’t trade openly with the rest of the world, can’t access lines of credit and clearly once the country has individuals who are sanctioned, the country gets parts of the flak in a big way and this has affected the country,” he explained.

This challenge, Kasukuwere said, has given room to corrupt individuals because they engage in corruption claiming they are “trying to beat sanctions.”

“This is a twin challenge and are all walking in our streets, injuring our people,” claimed the former Zanu PF commissar, who said he accepts responsibility for his role in the Robert Mugabe administration’s maladministration.

“Clearly we take collective responsibility. There is a lot that happened that is not right and a lot that was correct. But it is those mistakes of the past that will help us craft a new way forward so we can avoid those pitfalls.”