Nduduzo Tshuma in Victoria Falls—
PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe yesterday castigated factionalism in Zanu-PF and called for unity within the party ranks. Presenting his keynote address at the official opening of the 15th Zanu-PF Annual People’s Conference at the Elephant Hills Resort grounds, President Mugabe warned those fanning factionalism that they would be expelled from the party.
The President reprimanded some chairpersons for questioning his appointment of officials by calling for their removal before they serve their respective tenures. He said conflicts were common in any organisation but members needed to sit, find common solutions, guided by the constitution.
President Mugabe said problems usually arise when leaders aspiring for positions employ divisive tactics that result in conflict between members. “People are said to belong to this side and that other side. We don’t want that. Everyone belongs to the party, Zanu-PF. All of us are in one party and the leadership is the one that you’re seeing here. If you say these are my people, then where do those you’re leaving out belong?
“This is the issue we’re dealing with, that of vetting others. These are the things that’re causing problems in the party. They must be checked before they get out of hand. We should stop those things that bring challenges to the party,” said President Mugabe.
He castigated senior party officials who were roping in some sections of the police, army and intelligence services into their factional agendas and warned that their divisive tactics were at the detriment of the party. “Let’s stop that. You’re ruining the party that way, the constitution of the party is there,” said the President.
He reiterated that all leaders would step down from their posts at the party’s congress as their terms would have expired and provinces would elect leaders. Cde Mugabe said those leaders that would have been chosen occupy those positions until the next congress.
“Now you want to remove those that were put in those positions because you don’t want them? We say down with you,” said President Mugabe calling for order within the party. He said the party can only stand when it’s united.
“We can’t be a party assured of continuous success, progress, victories if we get divided. Let’s be united and we say to ourselves comrade so and so, comradeship should actually exist in practice, we’re all comrades, there is none of us in that point of view who is a better comrade than another,” said President Mugabe.
The President said whether war veteran or not, everyone was a valuable member of the party and makes valuable contributions in their own way.
“You’re a peasant farmer who plants peanuts but as long as you support the party, you’re a comrade, you mean the same to me as a comrade in the party as a machine driver, a car driver. Everyone has their respective contribution, that’s how we keep the country going. The country is like a big vehicle, we’re all pushing forward,” he said.
“Let’s drop statements that these are mine, these are not mine. These are supporting me and these are not.” President Mugabe said real leaders unite the people and should be supported by everyone and not just a section of the party, warning that dividing people would cause fights in the party.
“We’ve some hot heads who remain saying we want these to support Mphoko and these support Mnangagwa, we don’t want to hear that. No one says these are Mnangagwa’s and these are Mphoko’s. If they are said to be Mnangagwa’s and Mphoko’s so which ones are mine? Mine are all who put me in this position,’ said President Mugabe.
He said he leads everyone in the party, calling on provincial chairpersons to support the entire leadership and not be selective and divide people along factional lines. President Mugabe said such kind of behaviour would earn perpetrators expulsion from the party as they want to destroy Zanu-PF.
“The party must stand on the basis of our membership and our comradeship. Let’s be one and work together for the common Zanu-PF cause, the people’s cause then we remain the people’s party,” he said.
“Some chairpersons have been given powers and are now saying we don’t want these people. We don’t know where that is coming from. It’s a chairman of a province who is saying they don’t want ministers who were appointed by the President. Who are you? We’ve two provinces like that where it was said let us remove that person.”
President Mugabe said there was no need to remove leaders from their positions when they were performing satisfactorily. “In our conduct, the character of a leader must be clean,” said President Mugabe. This, he said, would determine whether or not leaders would be retained by the people.
He said the central committee is the body that represents congress yet the congress is held to check that the party and government’s obligations to the people are achieved.
The President left the floor in stitches when he refused to say down with the People First project reportedly fronted by axed Vice president Joice Mujuru, saying he would not denounce a non-existent entity.
He said this was a time to run the party and respond to the people and check whether the party has carried out programmes to the expectations of the masses.
“Let’s never distance ourselves from the people, in their own circumstances, the people are able to say these are the ones who take care of us when we are in difficulties, these are the ones who try to make us a better people in life, these are the ones who therefore are more progressive and that’s what the people look at,” said President Mugabe.
“They look at us in perspective, it’s not just what the people have as challenges today, it’s also what they have yesterday as challenges and as we all know, there can never be challenges worse than those we faced during the struggle to try and overcome the enemy who had entrenched themselves. Overcome him now in that position in which he was using guns to defend his position that required the sacrifices that we made and that’s why we still respect our war veterans.”
He paid tribute to Zipra and Zanla cadres who braved the ravages of the war and refused to surrender until the country was rescued from the shackles of colonial bondage. Cde Mugabe said the country was in the hands of sovereign people and notions like tribalism and personalities cannot be accommodated.
President Mugabe said the conference was held at a time the country was experiencing drought with virtually all the country’s provinces affected. He said the country has enough grain for the next 10 months and the government was making efforts to get more to reach 2017 as 2016 and part of 2017 would be affected by drought.
President Mugabe said the conference also comes three years since Zanu-PF resoundingly won in the 2013 harmonised elections. He said the results delivered a blow to the opposition who had thought that they stood a chance at clinching the polls after they were part of the Global Political Agreement infamously known as the Government of National Unity.
President Mugabe said the MDCs thought the elections would be a walkover but it turned out Zanu-PF actually walked over them. He said the people had seen through the MDCs that they have no real message to deliver to the masses. “All they talked about was taking over but taking over on the basis of what programme? That’s the question they couldn’t answer,” said President Mugabe.
He said Zanu-PF was the only people-oriented party that cares about the welfare of the people. The President paid tribute to provinces for attending the conference expressing hope that the next one will attract up to 7,000 delegates. He said the party had done its best in the restructuring exercise, calling on Harare and Bulawayo provinces to unite the people and send messages on the programmes the party was doing so that they build the party.
The conference is being held under the theme: “Consolidating People’s Power through Zim-Asset.”