Midweek Reporter
HARARE-President of the newly formed National Progressive Democrats party Togara Fambi has said they are not an extension of any political organisation in the country.
Fambi said this during the first media briefinmg in Harare at Batanai Gardens on Tuesday evening.
“We are not an extension of any existing party”
From the onset, Fambi emphasized that the NPD is not a splinter group nor an offshoot of any existing political institution, instead, he described it as a movement born out of “a general consensus by the people of Zimbabwe” a consensus that current governance systems are “corrupt, corrosive and oppressive” and that previous alternatives have taken too long to deliver meaningful change.
Fambi also told the media that it is “the beginning of a very important journey in the history of our country, new scripts in the history pages of the world begin today.”
He likened the struggle for democracy to a relay race, “Today the NPD picks the stick, with much pace, determination and energy.”
He pledged to continue the fight begun by earlier generations while offering a new execution strategy to free Zimbabwe from “the jaws of the present dictatorial elite.”
Fambi laid out six major grievances which the NPD says must be corrected “right now”, Zimbabweans are still not truly free 45 years after independence, leadership change is urgently overdue, the economy remains largely imaginary, with 60% of citizens living below the Poverty Datum Line despite claims of progress, the country continues to gamble with unstable currencies at every change of central bank governors, social services have collapsed; companies are closing and de-industrialisation continues and vulnerable groups including civil servants, pensioners and persons with disabilities are neglected while resources benefit a select elite.
Looking to the future, Fambi declared that the 2028 harmonised elections would be “a defining moment,” not just a calendar event.
He dismissed defeatist attitudes, saying, “Defeatism is the language of the oppressor,” urging citizens to join NPD in organising a nationwide force capable of “breaking the politics of poverty, patronage and fear.”
He also made direct appeals to the security sector and senior civil servants, urging them to stop being used as tools of oppression and instead serve the people with integrity.
Fambi outlined NPD’s ambitions for a transformed Zimbabwe, a thriving innovation-driven economy, an independent judiciary protecting all citizens, an education system that empowers Africa’s future leaders, equal access to quality healthcare, affordable housing and dignified shelter for all, freedom to organise, speak and vote without fear.
“The time for waiting is over,” he added.
Closing his address, Fambi declared, “This is not a dream it is a political project and it begins today.
“A win for the National Progressive Democrats is a win for Zimbabwe.”