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President Mugabe

Political editor
President Mugabe won widespread acclaim from delegates attending the ongoing 16th Zanu-PF National People’s Conference in Masvingo for his address which members said was unifying and spoke to the issues affecting the party and the country.

The Zanu-PF First Secretary spoke about the state of the ruling party and called for unity while castigating factionalism, a “new culture of disrespect”, indiscipline and arrogance.

President Mugabe called on members to desist from airing grievances through private and social media and thrash issues at appropriate party fora.

“The speech was unifying and sobering so much that every delegate heard him clearly as he set the tone for a strong party ahead of 2017 and 2018,” said Central Committee member Cde Justice Zvandasara.

“It was full of wisdom and I was happy when Vice President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa actually echoed the things that President Mugabe mentioned about unity and corruption. It means President Mugabe was not speaking to us only but the whole region,” said Cde Zvandasara.

Cde Walter Mzembi, who is Tourism Minister, said President Mugabe’s emphasis on unity was critical.

“Unity is the foundation for any stable country and a house divided against itself will fall,” said Cde Mzembi.

“President Mugabe spoke against negative energy: we have seen a lot of that as factionalism is driven by negative energy. He called for refocus and harnessing energy for development which derives from unity at party level which cascades to Government. That seamlessness must be there,” he said.

Cde Mzembi said going foreward, especially towards elections in 2018, the ruling party ought to flush out factionalism and focus on delivering on the economy.

Cde Patrick Zhuwao said he took home two key messages from President Mugabe: discipline and the economy.

“He talked about liberation movements and the importance of us applying ourselves within the guidelines of behaviour. In that he meant that we must be disciplined, following the party constitution, rules and regulations. He also said that leadership comes from the people.

“The other issue His Excellency demonstrated is that matters economic are at the forefront and he managed to tease out the salient components of the theme that is unity and the economy,” said Cde Zhuwao.

According to the ruling party’s deputy secretary for legal affairs, Cde Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana, this year’s conference is being held in a relaxed atmosphere, and it is all down to President Mugabe’s exhortation for unity since the conference began with Politburo and Central Committee meetings early in the week.

Said Cde Mangwana: “There is no tension here because of his emphasis on unity since the conference began in Harare. We expect people to carry on the message of peace and unity. Those who are pursuing factionalism should see that the President is not interested.”

He noted that President Mugabe was forthright on corruption and said the party should see to it that everyone who was implicated in corruption was prosecuted regardless of position or status.