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Lovemore Mataire Harare Bureau
PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe yesterday said the government will not hesitate to kick out British and American ambassadors if they continue instigating chaos by funding vendors to resist relocation to designated areas in urban centres.

Officially opening the Global Small and Medium Expo in Harare, President Mugabe warned the two ambassadors to stop formenting anarchy in Zimbabwe.

“The resistance by vendors, we see the British and American ambassadors coming to the vendors and giving them money wanting them to continue to resist and these are ambassadors of countries that have sanctions on us,” he said.

“So, we’ve said if they continue doing that we’ll kick them out of the country.”

President Mugabe said Zimbabweans were known worldwide as enlightened people and it was incumbent upon them not to be led into anarchy.

He said the Americans and the British were averse to peace in developing countries and “just want to see chaos, people fighting each other, terrorism everywhere.”

President Mugabe said the British and Americans behaved as if they were possessed by demons that did not want to see peace prevailing in the country.

“What demons do they have? When a person insists on wanting to do wrong things to undermine the peace and calm of a nation, to undermine the unity of a people, then they’re no good for us,” he said.

“We don’t need the British ambassador here; we don’t need the American ambassador here. But they would want diplomatic representation with us. We don’t do that in their own countries. So, they’ve to behave, behave and you will be in peace with us, misbehave and we’ll kick you out right from the bottom. It’s our country.”

President Mugabe said Zimbabwe was an independent State that cherished peace, which is a prerequisite for economic development.

He said people used to sell their wares at undesignated places but now that the council has found them places where there are bays, they should comply with the directive to move to the designated places.

President Mugabe urged vendors to relocate to designated areas and not turn urban centres into chaos and confusion.

“We don’t want chaos like what’s happening in other countries where you find goats in the city centre like in First Street,” said President Mugabe.

“That’s what I once witnessed in West Africa, no, we want to ensure that those who have shops are able to sell their wares freely, then goats must go kumbudzi.”

President Mugabe commended the Minister of Small and Medium Enterprises and Co-operative Development, Cde Sithembiso Nyoni for organising the Small and Medium Expo and urged her to ensure that similar future expos were well publicised so that they become larger.

He said it was an acknowledged fact that the SME sector played a pivotal role in the economic development of many countries.

President Mugabe said according to the International Finance Corporation of 2012, there are more than 125 million SMEs globally absorbing about 67 percent of employment, and contributing more than 51 percent to the gross domestic product.

“Locally, SMEs employ more than 60 percent of the country’s workforce and contribute over 50 percent to the country’s GDP,” said President Mugabe.

“Having recognised the importance of such a viable and dynamic sector, essential and pivotal for economic development, we in Zimbabwe established the Ministry of SMEs and Co-operatives.”

President Mugabe urged SMEs to obtain local and global certification standards so that their products can compete in the global economy.

He said entrepreneurs should take advantage of Zimbabwe’s geographical location which is strategically placed at the centre of Sadc and the Comesa region.

President Mugabe said the government was committed to addressing challenges being faced by SMEs which include lack of appropriate workspace, regulatory challenges and limited lines of credit.

He said SMEs were the ones that have sustained the country and showed great resistance to the enemies’ moral, political and economic onslaught aimed at installing regime change. President Mugabe said the small and medium enterprises were the ones that have continued to sustain the economy in the face of economic hardships exacerbated by drought and economic sanctions imposed by the West.

He said even people in rural areas had so much resilience that they make sure that children attend school through various initiatives that included selling livestock to buy uniforms.

“Even if we’re small, we’ve the power to resist. We’ve the power to say never again shall we come under the yoke of colonialism,” said President Mugabe.

He commended the relations that exist between Zimbabwe and Iran and expressed hope that the two countries will exchange ideas on how best the SMEs can be harnessed and promoted for economic development.