Zimpapers Logo

Farirai Machivenyika, Harare Bureau
President Mnangagwa yesterday ruled out the formation of a Government of National Unity with the MDC Alliance, saying the ruling Zanu-PF had won an overwhelming people’s mandate in the July 30 harmonised elections.

The President, who is also the ruling party’s First Secretary, said this while opening the 110th Ordinary Session of the Central Committee at the Zanu-PF headquarters in Harare.

“After the announcement of the election results by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, Zanu-PF got a two thirds majority in Parliament which was two times more than what they (MDC Alliance) got,” he said.

“So when you hear them saying we want a GNU you should ignore them. They are day-dreaming. As Zanu-PF you should not even think that there would be a GNU. We don’t have any plans for a GNU in our party as Zanu-PF,” he said.

“They challenged the election results at the Constitutional Court and lost. They did not ask for the opening of the ballot boxes because they knew they would lose again. You now hear them making all sorts of noises but you should not be bothered about that. That is what losers do.

“We should now concentrate on fulfilling the mandate we were given by the electorate in the next five years. We should build the economy and put politics aside. We are now seized as Zanu-PF with growing of the economy; with finding solutions to resolve all the economic challenges the country is facing as a result of sanctions which we are facing as a country.”

The MDC-Alliance has been calling for the formation of an inclusive Government or what they call a “transitional authority” despite its electoral losses.

Party leader, Mr Nelson Chamisa pleaded for the formation of a GNU during a march by his party activists last month.

The MDC-Alliance has refused the acknowledge President Mnangagwa’s victory, saying it was a result of fiddling with figures by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission.

The President on the other hand was prepared in the beginning to work with Chamisa as leader of the official opposition from the beginning.

The offer was met with insults, with MDC Alliance MPs refusing to honour the President in the National Assembly recently.

Last week sections of the private media claimed President Mnangagwa and Chamisa were engaged in negotiations indirectly, an assertion dismissed as fiction by Vice President Kembo Mohadi this week.

He said Zanu PF had won by a clear majority. In any case, he said, the focus was now on the economy, not political gamesmanship.

Calls now by the opposition no longer have traction, with Sadc saying there was no need for a GNU since President Mnangagwa and Zanu-PF’s victory had been widely accepted.

He called for unity within the party saying all structures should implement agreed party programmes.

“As we work towards building the economy we should be united and implement programmes that we have agreed on.

“All party organs should therefore understand where we are going and all the programmes that we have,” President Mnangagwa said.

Turning to the 17th edition of the Zanu-PF Annual People’s Conference that started at Esigodini on Tuesday, the President said the event will focus on laying a firm foundation to improve the economic fortunes of the country and uplift citizens’ livelihoods.

The President acknowledged the economic challenges the country is facing.

He said some of them were being fuelled by saboteurs bent on causing instability in the country.

The conference is running under the theme, “Zimbabwe is Open for Business: Peace, Unity towards an Upper Middle Income Economy by 2030.”

“During the liberation struggle we would always sit down to strategise on how to execute the war. The task before us now is to look for ways to build our country and uplift the people’s livelihoods and ensure that we have better schools, clinics, hospitals and clean water. So we are saying the task of rebuilding the economy is what we are facing,” said President Mnangagwa.

“So when we meet in Esigodini that is what we should focus on.”

President Mnangagwa said the conference would also review achievements and plan for next year’s activities.

“We are going to the conference to review our programmes and identify areas where we recorded successes and where we did not. We will also plan activities for the coming year,” said the President.

He said some economic challenges such the massive hikes in prices of basic commodities were man-made and therefore deliberate.

“We have challenges we are facing, some being normal when you are trying to fix an economy although some of them are acts of sabotage by our detractors,” he said.

The President cited an example of seed maize prices that were hiked overnight from $33 to $110 in October without explanation or plausible justification.

“We called the management of these companies as the Presidium to discuss the issue at State House and they quickly acknowledged the unjustified increase and pledged to reduce the price without explaining what had caused the overnight increase,” said President Mnangagwa.

He spoke out against corruption saying it would not be tolerated under the new dispensation.

“Under the new dispensation, we will not tolerate corruption. If there are some amongst us who are corrupt they should immediately discard that practice because you will not survive in the party if you are corrupt,” he added.

President Mnangagwa said Government was committed to implementing devolution as seen by the allocation of $310 million for that purpose in the National Budget.

He said they had instructed the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and that of Finance and Economic Development to calculate provincial GDPs to foster competition among provinces in initiating developmental activities.

On party issues, the Zanu-PF First Secretary called for discipline among cadres.

“We might have problems in the party but we do not want gossiping and backbiting.

“If anyone has any queries or any concerns they should bring those up for discussion with others and not do it in a clandestine manner.

“We should all work to be remembered for the good work we would have done for the party. So we must be honest leaders, hard working leaders and servant leaders,” he said.

“The most important is loyalty to the party and unity among us, hard work and harmony towards common goals.”

At least 6 000 delegates are expected to attend the conference in Esigodini which ends of Saturday.

Before addressing the Central Committee, the President addressed hundreds of party youths and thanked them for conducting themselves in a peaceful manner before and during the harmonised elections.