President Mugabe Addressing war veterans who thronged the City Sports Centre in Harare yesterday. — (Picture by Munyaradzi Chamalimba)
Tendai Mugabe and Felex Share
President Mugabe yesterday spelt out the need for unity, discipline and respect among Zanu-PF leaders, saying those in leadership should not abuse their positions to undermine others.
Addressing over 10 000 war veterans who thronged the City Sports Centre in Harare, President Mugabe urged party supporters not to be pre-occupied with talk of succession, saying he served at the pleasure of the people, and if they wanted him to step down, he would as they were the final arbiters.
“But having said that, I am there at the mercy of the people. If the people say no, go, I go, the party I go. But the people say no, we still want you, I stay on. Let’s get organised. Let’s not bother ourselves with succession and things like that. We have enemies who are trying to destroy us.”
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The crunch indaba between the war veterans and their patron was aimed at looking at best ways of addressing welfare matters of the former freedom fighters and do an introspection of Zanu-PF’s operations.
The President decried lack of discipline in some party members, saying that the war of words now characterising most party meetings should be stopped.
“Kwete kuti ungazoburitsa parurimi rwako izwi rekutuka vakuru. Hazviitwe, hazvibvumidzwe. Vakuru vanoti hoo, uchaona zvauchaona. Havataure zvakawanda. Don’t ever do that because you have a position. I never do that. Kana ndine machief, even when I go to my own chief kwaZvimba ndinotovaomberawo. Ivo vanondipa rukudzo as President, but customarily I am a child of the clan. So you have to have that discipline. Zvino vamwe venyu, you have lost that discipline. That’s not good.”
He went on: “You can’t say big words–you should never, never be heard saying big words to your elders. Never! The discipline we give in the army; that’s it. Right turn, left turn, forward march. Whether you like it or not you must right turn, left turn, about turn and forward march whether you like it or not, that’s military. It’s external but in life its internal discipline and what you give yourself, you forward march yourself, right turn, left turn yourself. Know that there are these two forms of discipline –the external and the internal.”
President Mugabe urged the war veterans to forge ahead with the unity that was hammered between Zanu-PF and PF Zapu in 1987 to ensure national development.
He said although the two revolutionary parties parted ways in 1963, they never lost vision that the country was supposed to be built on the pillars of unity.
“Asi takazofunga kuti hazvibatsiri tikabatana va (Joshua) Nkomo neni. Takazosara torwa hondo 1976 patakaenda ku Geneva, 78 nemaBritish tichikurukura navo, 79 nemaBritish tichikurukura navo futi dakara azobvuma kuti kuve negungano kunyika yavo muguta re Lancaster tikaramba takabatana kudaro. Vana (Josiah Magama) Tongogara vanga vachiri vapenyu. Vanana (Simon Vengai) Muzenda vachiri vapenyu, vese vamwe commanders vatisisinavo eeh vaye vatakaisa kuheroes acre vakanga vachiri vapenyu vana (Joseph) Msika, John Nkomo vese vanga vari kuZapu. Unity iyoyi tinoramba takaibata, kuibata kuichengetedza.
‘’Hatidi kuti tiiputsunure. Wakatiza Dumiso (Dabengwa), wobva vakamboita chimusangano chavo, chemavambo chiya ichi zvikatadza vakabuda imomo. Kwakunoita hanzi ndaakunovamba Zapu, Zapu yakare yapinda mu Zanu Patriotric Front ichiri kupi. Saka kune mamwe ma comrades ikoko. Ndinovimba kuti nekuona kubatana kwamakaita pano zuva ranhasi nemhomho iyi, vamwe vavo vachadzoka.”
President Mugabe said it was always ideal for leaders to humble themselves and respect those they worked with.
“You (war veterans) had that self discipline. Self discipline yekukudza. Giving respect to the culture of the people and then you give respect yourself – to humble yourself pane vanhu.’’
“Iwe pachako wobva wati ndine basa ini. Wozvipa iwe discipline yakakomba pavakuru, uri kupinda mutsika dzavo, uri kupinda mutsika dzavo, unoombera. Teerera unzwe kuti vanotevedza tsika dzakaita sei. Ndekupi kune zvinoera, ndekupi kusingaendwe? Kana uchienda kunzvimbo dzinoera, vanoita sei? Dzimwe nguva vanoti ombera, dzimwe nguva huya pamuti wakati, muti usina zita. Zvese maiita izvozvo.”
The President chronicled his journey to Mozambique on April 4, 1975, adding he respected the views of Chief Tangwena and his wife who was a spirit medium.
“Tasvika nava (Edgar) Tekere tabuda zvino, kwaChief Tangwena, taienda navaTangwena. SaChief taivaombera zvichinzi apa vana vangu munobvisa shangu taitobvisa shangu. Apa munoita zvakati, asi mobva maenda pakati nepakati. Mudzimai wavo aive nesvikiro, taiteerera kwavari. That is how we behave. You don’t ignore, you don’t despise. Ndoozvinoitwa. Kwete kuti, at the end of the day, kana wadaro kana wange uchipira kuzvityora during the war, after the war you must have the same discipline.”
President Mugabe said war veterans were the custodians of the party’s ideology and should not be seen supping with the imperialists.
“War veterans tisu tinoziva gwara, ideology. We should not be seen supping with the imperialists. Tonzwa kuti vamwe mawar veterans avo tinovaona nemaAmericans kuma restaurants uko. Ko vanenge vachitaurei navo? It’s the work of Foreign Affairs to interact with those external representatives. Are you a spy or are you an agent? It will be misinterpreted by your own people, so take care.”
On party ideology, President Mugabe said; “Then, within the party, we may be aggrieved on the other aspects of our ideology but the party has within it even now ambitious people.
“Umwe anoda kutora position yakati kumaprovince, position yakati apa, apa and some are looking forward kuti ah tomorrow President is going to die. Vamwe vanonyora kumapepa, ah the President is sick.
“He is going to Singapore or kuMalaysia, ari kurwara so he is on his way dying. Woona zvino vanhu vave kumhanyidzana kuti zvazvadai President ave kuzofa. Handisi kufa ini, kuti munyare!
On the welfare of war veterans, President Mugabe said the freedom fighters were free to start new mines where they could own them 100 percent.
This was in response to a request from the war veterans that they wanted 20 percent stake in the mining sector.
President Mugabe said locals should form groups and engage in meaningful mining activities rather than to work as employees of the whiteman.
He said since the country was endowed with abundant resources, several Asian countries were willing to help Zimbabwe.
He urged the war veterans to apply for land for resettlement as all the applications were coming through him following complaints of corrupt tendencies within the Ministry of Lands and Rural Resettlement.
“Mapurazi nzvimbo dzakuita dzichipera asi nzvimbo dzichiripo munoaplaya,” he said.
“Handifungi kuti kana maapplications aripo ari mawar veterans, ahhhh, hatingashayi nzvimbo nekuti achiripo mabhunu atinokwanisa kubvisa mumapurazi. Ndakati hapana vanhu vachapiwa mapurazi usina kuuya nawo iwe minister maapplications kwandiri. Saka maapplication, mukaita maapplication, hapana application inoitwa yeland isingauyi kwandiri. Zvino kana muchiti makanyimwa zvinoreva kuti inenge isina kupiwa kwandiri. Hapana angapiwa land iye zvino ndisingazivi.”