Maravi

(HERALD) ‘Land must be yours before I can retire’

‘Land must be yours before I can retire’
Bulawayo Bureau

PRESIDENT Mugabe says he will only retire from office when he is satisfied that the land is truly and safely in the hands of the black majority. He also launched the first-ever people’s shop at Gwelutshena Busi-ness Centre in Nkayi District, as the Government moved in to cushion citizens against wanton price increases. Addressing thousands of Zanu-PF supporters at two rallies in Nkayi and Tsholotsho in Matabeleland North, Cde Mugabe, who is Zanu-PF’s candidate in the run-off election scheduled for June 27, said he had to ensure the legacy of returning land stolen by the British settlers to its rightful owners — the black people — before entertaining any thoughts of relinquishing power.

"Vamwe vanoti iye Mugabe uyu, okungumdala lokhu akufuni kutshiya,’’ he said amid laughter.

"Ndakasiirwa basa. Handimbofa ndakabva until land yava mumaoko enyu.’’

Cde Mugabe said he could not allow sellouts to mortgage the country to its erstwhile coloniser, Britain.

"I don’t want to betray Umdala Wethu, Dr Joshua Nkomo, Cde Simon Muzenda, Nikita Mangena and others. That is why I am disappointed when people vote MDC. Linjani kanti bantu bakithi?

"Once I am sure this legacy (of returning land to the blacks) is truly in your hands, people are empowered, nyika yava mumaoko edu pasina maBritish wanting to take over the land, then I can say: Aha, the work is now done.’’

Blood was shed for the liberation of the country from colonial bondage and, therefore, there was no way in which revolu-tionaries like himself could let Zimbabwe slip back into the hands of the British, who mai-med and killed the indigenous population for resisting colonisation.

"I walk on this land. I farm on this land. I sleep on it. My house is built on it. Our children play on it. Our schools are built on it.

"That is truly our number one legacy. Ndiyo nhaka yedu yekutanga. Haitengeswe, haitengeswe, please!’’ he said.

"If I take a handful of sand from the ground like this, to me that is my treasure, it’s from my land. It’s not from Britain. It’s Zimbabwean soil. That is our treasure. Regayi kutengesa (nyika). Tinga-tengese zvimwe but not our land. Ngiyacela! Ndinoku-mbirisisa!’’

President Mugabe said June 27 2008 was an opportunity for all patriotic Zimbabweans to reject attempts to recolonise the country once and for all.

"Zuva ra27 June izuva ratinosungirwa kuti titi kwete, kwete, mabhunu kwete. Never! Never! Never again shall Zimbabwe be a colony!’’ he said amid thunderous applause.

"What kind of a people would we be to say the country should return into the hands of the British? We would reduce ourselves to be the laughing stock of the whole of Africa. Tinosekesa. Imi hamuoni kuti chimusangano ichi cheMDC chimusangano chekutengesa? Asigcineni ilifa lethu. Tibatisise. We give the land to the people. Please let the people remain united in the land, on the land, using the land.’’

He said former freedom fighters told him that the defence of the country’s independence, sovereignty and land from foreign threats was not an issue that could be left to an election process such as the one that will take place on June 27.

"The war veterans came to me and said: ‘President we can never accept that our country which we won through the barrel of the gun, be taken merely by an ‘x’ made by a ballpoint pen.’

"Zvino ballpoint pen ichirwisana neAK? Is there going to be a struggle between the two? Ipapo munoona kuchirwiwa zvakakomba. Asikana ma‘x’ achitevera nzira yakatarwa nepfuti? Is that alright? Liyekele ukuphikisana lombhobho. Tasunga-naka. Tohwina shudhu,’’ said President Mugabe.

Cde Mugabe said that Zimbabweans should realise that Morgan Tsvangirai wanted to reverse the gains of independence and was clueless on policy and had no vision to steer the country to prosperity.

He said when there was propaganda being bandied around that Tsvangirai had managed to garner enough votes to be declared President of Zimbabwe, white former commercial farmers started trooping back into the country to reclaim what they called "our land’’."Vaiti tadzoka. Vachiti ‘tavakutora mapurazi edu’. Vaiita izvi muzita reMDC nokuti MDC ndiwo musangano wavo, ndivo vakauvaka. The policy of the MDC is that it will reverse everything good that we have done. Vamwe pavakati Tsvangirai handei kuhondo, akatiza munzira, achidzoka. Akadududza. He reversed. Zvese zvakanaka anoda zvidududze. He must reverse everything like he reversed himself,’’ said Cde Mugabe.

In Tsholotsho, traditional leaders and a group running a people’s shop supported by Government where basic commodities are sold at affordable prices gave Cde Mugabe two goats in appreciation of his leadership of the country.

Earlier in Nkayi, President Mugabe opened a people’s shop, saying Government took the initiative to alleviate the suffering of the rural communities by bringing basic commodities to them through the people’s shops.

"This (people’s shop) is the first of its kind in the whole of the country. The Government will assist by making available basic commodities and we have started distributing these to the communities.

"This means that the prices will be within the reach of most of you," said President Mugabe, drawing applause from the big crowd.

He told the crowd at a rally after the opening that the move should not be taken as a vote-buying gimmick.

"This is not meant to buy your vote, but the people will vote for the leader of a party which is a party for the people," said President Mugabe.

"As the leadership of the party, we are concerned about your needs and we always do our best where we can."

The President said cash problems could be overcome by engaging villagers in public works programmes.

"We need to expand these public works programmes so that they can involve a sizeable number of people in the community. The money paid will have to be reviewed from time to time."

He told the rally that the country was facing serious economic problems due to illegal sanctions imposed by Britain and her allies.

"We are working hard towards alleviating some of the economic problems that the country is facing, but the problem is that we have some companies that are working against the Government," said President Mugabe.

"The aim is to make the people revolt against me and the Government and vote for MDC, but if you vote for MDC it means our hard-won independence will go to waste."

President Mugabe said MDC-T was a British-sponsored party. Despite the economic hardships, the Government was doing its best to give assistance until total empowerment was achieved.

President Mugabe, who is being challenged by Morgan Tsvangirai of MDC-T, urged the people of Nkayi to vote wisely on Friday next week.

He said this was an election which would decide the fate of the country, as voting for the opposition would be a betrayal of the gains of independence.

President Mugabe encouraged the people of Nkayi to be self-reliant by starting small to medium businesses, which would economically empower them.

He told the gathering that they were fortunate in having Cde Sithembiso Nyoni as their MP because she was a champion of SMEs.

Thanking the President, Cde Nyoni told him that the people of Nkayi had not benefited from land reform, as they did not get farms.

She said the district had a lot of livestock and people would like to venture into cattle ranching and goat rearing.

The other problem, she said, was lack of a reliable water supply as two dams in the area had breached their walls during the last rainy season.

Basic commodities worth billions of dollars, including bath and washing soap, cooking oil, sugar and salt, were then sold at gazetted prices yesterday.

Labels: LAND REFORM, MUGABE, ZIMBABWE

posted by MrK @ 4:32 AM