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President Mnangagwa

Patrick Chitumba in Gokwe
Elections will go ahead as scheduled on July 30 and no one has the power to reverse the proclamation scheduling voting on that date, President Mnangagwa said yesterday.

Addressing senior Cottco officials and Government officials who include Vice President Constantino Chiwenga at Cottco ginnery at Gokwe Centre, President Mnangagwa said questions over which presidential candidate was coming first or last on the ballot paper were not an issue.

He said the issue of where a name of a presidential candidate will be placed on the ballot paper would not stop the elections.

“Everywhere we have been to, the people are very clear. This confusion that there are no elections is only in Harare. The rest of the country, they are geared, they understand what they want to do,” he said.

The President said no one was born with a name.

“This question of saying my name should be here or there or an alphabetical order must be used is null and void. When they saw my name on top of the ballot they said they should have used alphabetical order and therefore Mnangagwa’s name should not be on top,” he said.

“Elections will go ahead whether you start with the initial C or M on the ballot paper.  Elections will go ahead. But you must remember that there is only one person who can decide to stop the elections and it’s me who proclaimed them and no one else made the proclamation. It’s only Zanu-PF which can decide whether elections are held or not”.

President Mnangagwa said the election observers should be allowed to observe the polls from anywhere in the country. He reiterated that elections will be peaceful, transparent and free and fair.

“When election observers visit you, allow them to observe, treat them well. Explain to them how we operate and assure them that we will hold credible, peaceful and free and fair elections,” he said.

The President later addressed a well-attended Zanu- PF rally at Mapfungautsi Primary School in Gokwe South yesterday where he said Zimbabwe was in a developmental mode that will bring prosperity to the people

“Yesterday I was opening the Empower Bank which is aimed at capacitating young entrepreneurs with loans to start business projects. Last week I officially opened the Zimbabwe Women’s Micro Finance Bank which provides loans to women and small scale businesses. Everyday this current leadership is asked to officiate at ground breaking ceremonies or opening factories, this and that every day as we build our economy,” he said.

President Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe was an awakening socio-economic giant that needs the input of every Zimbabwean. He said the new dispensation was putting in place a conducive environment for businesses. “As a Government we work to ensure that the companies are supported locally and that investors are also given an opportunity to invest in all sectors of the economy. Now hotels are becoming very few as more and more tourists continue to visit the country which is open for business. Jerusalem which had been destroyed is now under reconstruction. A stone on top of a stone, we are building layer by layer and the home we are building as Zimbabweans will be very strong,” said the President.

He said the country will continue with its re-engagement drive to maintain friendly relations with all countries. “The last 20 years or so we were isolated as a nation and didn’t have any friends but now we are saying we are open to engagement and reengagement. Those countries we had strained our relations with, we are reengaging them and we are starting new relationships with those we previously had no relations”, said the President.

He said Government was committed to opening up closed companies like Ziscosteel in the Midlands Province. “We want to create a better Zimbabwe so that we leave a legacy for our children. Midlands Province almost has all the minerals we have in the country and as such we have a programme to assist small scale miners so that they have equipment to mine,” he said. “On infrastructure development we are going a head with developing roads from Beitbridge, Masvingo, Harare to Chirundu as well as the Beitbridge, Bulawayo to Victoria Falls road. These roads must be dualised. In Gokwe I hear DDF is busy rehabilitating roads so that they can be used by motorists.”

The Government, he said, was looking into sources of energy like solar, thermal and gas to move the economy.

“We need to see power here in Gokwe to push the growth of our economy. We are looking at hydro power, gas and solar programmes and we have investors or companies that are looking into that so that we take power to the people. There should be clean water to the people of Gokwe and passable roads as part of socio-economic development of this area. The school also should be well equipped and I am donating 50 computers,” he said.