Maravi

(TALKZIMBABWE) Fight intellectually, not physically: President Mugabe

Fight intellectually, not physically: President Mugabe
Posted: Wednesday, July 14, 2010 4:40 am

President Robert Mugabe (C) inspects the guard of honour during the opening ceremony of the third session of the parliament in Harare on July 13, 2010 where he pledged to improve ties with the international community and urged Zimbabweans to remain united

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe has urged Zimbabweans to engage in a battle of ideas and engage in intellectual fights, rather than physical fights.

Speaking at a luncheon hosted by Local Government, Rural and Urban Development Minister Ignatius Chombo after the official opening of the Third Session of the Seventh Parliament on Tuesday, President Mugabe said the inclusive Government would work for permanent peace and stability in Zimbabwe despite efforts by the country’s detractors to foster disharmony.

"We shall not rest until there is permanent peace and permanent calm in the country. One hopes that we all have learnt a lesson; a lesson that when elections are fought they are not meant to produce violent, physical fights.

"It’s a fight of ideas, an intellectual fight," he said.

The president added that even western countries that have imposed illegal sanctions on the country are even shocked by the spirit of togetherness shown by Zimbabweans and the spirit of brotherhood (sisterhood) in the inclusive Government:

"Even our detractors who have all wished the worst on us cannot believe it.

"When they saw us address the business forum in Tanzania they said we are pretending. We do not pretend! We are one, we are from the soil and that is where we belong.

President Mugabe said we are all Zimbabweans and our struggles and aspirations should be the same. He added that we should be able to admit when things go wrong and learn to accommodate each other.

"That is what should drive us; that we belong to the soil, that there is no individual in the country who is more Zimbabwean than the other one. It takes real men of great rationality and morality to do a post-mortem such as we did and say ‘let us admit things went wrong’.

"Our brothers (Sadc) helped us by creating a forum to enable us to think and produce an agreement. They did not think for us, no, we thought it out ourselves."

Government, he said, remained committed to providing basic infrastructure and increasing economic productivity for the benefit of all citizens.

"We want to see the situation improve in terms of the welfare of our people and for the worker," he said.

President Mugabe said foreign investors were welcome in Zimbabwe, but on terms determined by locals and should never be allowed to determine our destiny.

He said foreigners should not stand in the way of our development, but help us develop as we would do the same.

"We want money that is freely invested by friends, partners who would want us to see us all derive benefit from the transformation of our economy," he said.

He urged civil servants to be patient while the Government mobilised resources to improve working conditions.

Vice Presidents Joice Mujuru and John Nkomo, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, and DPMs Arthur Mutambara and Thokozani Khupe attended the luncheon in a show of unity that is now characteristic of the inclusive Government.

Senior Government officials and members of the diplomatic community were also in attendance.

GIANT SCREENS

Meanwhile, scores of people for the first time viewed parliamentary proceedings from a giant screen in Africa Unity Square.

Over a thousand people gathered to watch President Mugabe deliver his opening speech.

Business in central Harare also came to a standstill as Zimbabweans lined up the streets to catch a glimpse of the colourful procession preceding the opening of Parliament.

Labels: 2011 ELECTIONS, MUGABE

posted by MrK @ 9:47 PM