UK based Zimbabwean pressure groups pledge united front
By Lance Guma
27 July 2007.

Leaders of several UK based Zimbabwean pressure groups have resolved to forge a common platform which will see them coordinating their activities in a united front. In a series of debates on our Behind the Headlines series, Rose Benton from the Zimbabwe Vigil, Matthew Nyashanu (MDC) Wellington Chibhanguza (Free-Zim Youth), Maureen Ndawana (Zimbabwe Women’s Network) and Robert Gonouya (Zimbabwe Action Group) all pledged to ensure their organisations work together and remove duplication of effort. It had been suggested the reason for the lacklustre approach to activism in the UK was due in part to a divided framework of action, with different groups competing against each other.

Gonouya from the Zimbabwe Action Group threw down the gauntlet challenging participants to set up a framework that would bring all the pressure groups under one umbrella body by next week. He said it was necessary to harness the different strengths of all the groups in the UK, saying Zimbabweans had the talent to make a difference. Gonouya said there needed to be division of labour with groups allocating each other areas of responsibility. Those doing the same things needed to work together while those good at things like lobbying parliament or street campaigns should get support from everyone else. ‘We need less talkers and more doers,’ he told the programme.

Benton from the ZimVigil said their Saturday campaigns, which have been going on for almost 6 years, were open to everyone. Chibhanguza from the Free Zim Youths expressed fears about smaller groups not wanting to get swallowed up by bigger groups. He also spoke about ideological differences making it difficult on occasion to get groups working together. Another key point from the discussion was that groups tended to compete for resources and in the end viewed each other as competitors. The reservations were set aside Thursday as the panellists agreed to launch a new era of cooperation. Whether a Save Zimbabwe Campaign platform is set up in the United Kingdom remains to be seen.