Maravi

Mugabe mocks Tsvangirai

Mugabe mocks Tsvangirai
By Amos Malupenga, George Chellah and Kingsley Kaswende
Saturday March 29, 2008 [03:00]

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe on Thursday mocked MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai's credentials, saying he derives his principles of democracy from the white colonialists he worked for as a tea boy. And President Mugabe has declared that Zimbabwe's economy will never collapse despite the challenges facing the country.

Addressing a mass rally at Bindura, about 78 kilometres from Harare, President Mugabe said Tsvangirai misleads himself that he is a democrat just by virtue of having worked with the colonialists as a tea boy.

"Morgan was working here at Trojan Mine in Mashonaland West as a tea boy. He is saying 'I was giving whites tea that's where I derived my principles of democracy through serving the whites with tea'," President Mugabe said.

President Mugabe expressed optimism that the Zimbabwean economy would remain standing despite the pressing challenges.

President Mugabe said under the "Look East Policy", the Zimbabwean government was now dealing with countries like Malaysia, India, China, Indonesia and Iran.

"We will never collapse and I have told them. I told them at the United Nations (UN) as well, never, never.

They are talking about regime change... regime change will only be called by our people. We are a people driven party," President Mugabe said.

He urged Zimbabweans to be more cautious than ever before. "Let us be careful with our security and politics," he said.

And President Mugabe announced that Cabinet held its final meeting on Thursday morning before its dissolution. "I have told them that the good performers will continue but the weak performers will drop," he said.

President Mugabe called on the ruling ZANU-PF supporters to vote in today's harmonized presidential, parliamentary and council elections.

Earlier during the launch of the first phase of the medical sector skills retention programme at Harare Hospital, President Mugabe said detractors have tried to derail the government's efforts but unity and resourcefulness of Zimbabweans had always triumphed.

"Victory is here for us to see and celebrate today. In the early history of our independence, our health sector operated in a regional and international context that was free of the illegal sanctions that weigh us down today," President Mugabe said. "Then, we could access affordable vital equipment, medical drugs and other essential consumables without the inhuman and insensitive declared and undeclared sanctions called for by Britain, America and their racist cousins in response to our land reform.

"Today, the British and Americans and those who think like them, would rather see our children, the old and the infirm suffer under the weight of their evil sanctions they have imposed as part of their desire to effect regime change in our country."

President Mugabe said the country would continue to march on undeterred.
"Forward as we march, we honour and recognize the large hearts of our entire civil service who include teachers, doctors and nurses.

They have steadfastly responded to the call of duty to serve the people of Zimbabwe," President Mugabe said. "In turn, government wishes to give deep appreciation of the areas of concern to the medical fraternity, hence today, we launch the following support interventions to benefit and retain skills in this strategic social sector."

President Mugabe said these initiatives were just complementary interventions to other programmes the government was implementing.

"It is, therefore, imperative that we recognize them as national programmes that are a direct offshoot of our people's struggle for self-reliance and self-determination. It is a struggle that fought racist settler colonialism," President Mugabe said. "It is the struggle that brought us political independence and it will carry us to the economic empowerment of our people.

This is the Zimbabwe we fight for, the Zimbabwe we want. Anything less would be a betrayal of the struggle that together with our people, we fought so valiantly against colonialism. And those who seek to negate it should know that their efforts will fall flat."

And Central Bank governor Dr Gideon Gono said the programme was not a knee-jerk reaction to challenges facing the health sector.

"We have adopted, together with the Minister of Finance, a philosophy of less talk and more action. So the nation should brace itself for more wonderful times in the not too distant a future," Dr Gono said.
He dismissed statements from critics accusing the Central Bank of playing political gimmicks.

"Life should not stop simply because we have an election on our hands," Dr Gono said.
Health minister Dr David Parirenyatwa called on all political parties to condemn and call for the lifting of sanctions.

Under the first phase of the medical sector skills retention programme, the government through the Central Bank has secured brand new 450 Mitsubishi Gallant cars for medical practitioners across the country, 52 buses, 82 ambulances and power generators, among other things.

President Mugabe announced that his family had also sourced 350 television sets to provide entertainment to patients in hospitals.

Labels: MORGAN TSVANGIRAI, MUGABE

posted by MrK @ 5:00 AM