(HERALD ZW) ‘Voters spoke, remove your sanctions’
September 27, 2013
Tendai Mugabe at the UNITED NATIONS, New York
President Mugabe address the 68th Session of the United Nations General Assembly at the UN Headquarters in New York last night.
SANCTIONS as a tool to abet regime change in Zimbabwe have dismally failed as shown by Zanu-PF’s resounding victory in the harmonised elections and Westerners should immediately remove their ruinous punitive embargoes, President Mugabe has said.
Addressing the 68th Session of the United Nations General Assembly here yesterday, the President rapped Britain and the United States for advocating relative democracy by refusing to accept the widely hailed harmonised elections.
President Mugabe trounced MDC-T leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai with 61,09 percent of the presidential vote to 33,94 with the other three presidential aspirants sharing the remaining 4,97 percent; with Zanu-PF clinching 160 seats out of the 210 National Assembly constituencies to get a crushing 76 percent dominance.
After factoring in 60 women’s quota seats elected by proportional representation of six for each of the country’s 10 provinces, the final composition of the 270 member National Assembly comes to 197 seats for Zanu-PF, 70 for MDC-T, two for MDC, and one independent giving Zanu-PF just under 73 percent of the total seats in the National Assembly, but well over the two thirds majority of 180 seats.
“If these sanctions were imposed to effect illegal regime change, well, the results of the recent national elections have clearly shown what they can do,” President Mugabe said.
“Moreover, these illegal sanctions continue to inflict economic deprivation and human suffering on all Zimbabweans.
“In the eyes of our people, the sanctions constitute a form of hostility and violence against them for the simple crime of undertaking the land reform programme by which land was put in the hands of the majority landless Zimbabweans.”
The decade-long sanctions regime, he said, violated provisions of the UN Charter on State sovereignty and non-interference in the internal affairs of sovereign States.
President Mugabe rapped Western powers for their habitual and abhorrent intimidation of Zimbabwe in a bid to control its resources.
“Our small and peaceful country is threatened daily by covetous and bigoted big powers whose hunger for domination of other nations and their resources has no bounds,” he said.
“Shame, shame, shame to the United States of America. Shame, shame, shame to Britain and its allies. Zimbabwe is for Zimbabweans, so are its resources. Please remove your illegal and filthy sanctions on my country.”
President Mugabe denounced the Western countries for their hypocritical tendencies of preaching democracy they never practice in their backyards.
Zimbabwe, he said, refused to be lectured on democracy and freedom by such duplicitous countries.
“We are preached to daily by the West on the virtues of democracy and freedom they do not totally espouse,” he said.
“Zimbabwe took up arms to precisely achieve our freedom and democracy. Yet we have been punished by the United States through the odious Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act enacted in 2001 to effect regime change in the country.
“Zimbabwe, however, refuses that these Western detractors define democracy and freedom. We paid the ultimate price for it and we shall never relinquish our sovereignty! As we have repeatedly asserted, Zimbabwe will never be a colony again.”
President Mugabe said the US was now pursuing its spiteful persecution of Zimbabweans by rejecting the results of the harmonised elections where the western-sponsored MDC-T slumped to its worst defeat since its launch 14 years ago.
He said this was despite the overwhelming endorsement of the polls by the African Union and other regional bodies that certified the elections free, peaceful, fair, credible and a reflection of the will of Zimbabweans.
President Mugabe said Zimbabwe remained committed to the common African position known as the Ezulwini Consensus which demands the continent to have a permanent representation in the Security Council and fair representation in the non-permanent membership category.
He said Zimbabwe supported efforts to revitalise the UN General Assembly, the biggest and most representative organ of the UN.
In this regard, President Mugabe said, the General Assembly should take a lead in setting the global agenda and restore its primacy that had been encroached by other organs over the years.
“We cannot accept a situation whereby the UN Security Council is increasingly encroaching on issues that traditionally fall within the General Assembly’s purview and competence, including in the area of norm setting,” he said.
“Indeed, recent events have revealed that its formal decisions have provided camouflage to neo-imperialist forces of aggression seeking to militarily intervene in smaller countries in order to effect regime change and acquire complete control of their wealth.”
President Mugabe said such a scenario happened in Libya where NATO forces were deployed on false pretext of protecting civilians in order to eliminate Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.
“A similar campaign had been undertaken in Iraq by Bush and Blair forces in the false name of eradicating weapons of mass destruction which Saddam Hussein never possessed,” said the President.
He hailed efforts by the UN General Assembly in promoting multilateralism instead of unilateralism.
President Mugabe said Zimbabwe appreciated the consultations and negotiations on the eventual destruction of the chemical weapons in Syria.
He expressed gratitude to the role played by Russia and China in blocking the war mongering US from unilaterally bombing Syria without verifiable evidence that Bashar al-Assad was indeed responsible for the use of chemical weapons.
Labels: ROBERT MUGABE, SANCTIONS, ZDERA
Read more...
(HERALD ZW) Zanu-PF policies are for Zim, US told
September 28, 2013 Shingirai Huni Local News
Herald Reporter
GOVERNMENT has castigated United States ambassador to Zimbabwe Mr Bruce Wharton for attempting to influence policy direction in Zimbabwe by saying his country will only normalise relations if the Zanu-PF Government implements policies favourable to the US.
Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Minister Professor Jonathan Moyo yesterday said Mr Wharton’s views were as abnormal as the illegal sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by his country. He said Government would implement policies as espoused by the Zanu-PF manifesto that was overwhelmingly endorsed by voters on July 31.
“This thing is totally unacceptable,” said Prof Moyo. “The Government was not elected by Americans, it was elected by people of Zimbabwe on the basis of a very clear, transparent manifesto.
“This Government has an obligation to implement that manifesto as a promise to the Zimbabwean electorate, not to Americans or ambassador Wharton or any foreigner and this position of saying we are watching your policies is exactly what Zimbabweans fought against.
“It is exactly the reason we have fallen gallant sons and daughters who sacrificed their lives to free our country and give it its sovereignty and it is impossible for us to countenance betrayal of that sovereignty. This Government is the last to betray the sacrifices of our gallant sons and daughters and through that the sovereignty that they won, by saying we shall formulate and implement policies with America in mind in order to please the American government so that it will not impose sanctions or it will lift sanctions, that does not make sense.”
Mr Wharton told journalists in Mutare on Thursday that his country would decide whether or not to engage Zimbabwe based on how the new Zanu-PF Government would implement its policies.
But Prof Moyo said the fact that Mr Wharton said his country was ready to normalise relations with Zimbabwean meant that they recognised that the relations were abnormal.
“Everyone knows that the abnormal future of the relations between the two countries is entirely because of the illegal sanctions imposed against Zimbabwe by the American government through Zidera, which sanctions have devastated the livelihoods of ordinary people,” he said.
Prof Moyo said the same sanctions had affected the country’s ecology as seen at Hwange National Park where nearly 90 elephants were poisoned by poachers after the Parks and Wildlife Management Authority’s monitoring systems were compromised.
“The only way to normalise the relations between Zimbabwe and America is to remove the abnormality of sanctions,” said Prof Moyo.
“This thing the American ambassador told the journalists, which he has been repeating for much too long, to the effect that the American government will keep the sanctions and therefore maintain abnormal relations while they watch the policies of the Government of Zimbabwe and will lift them depending on what those polices are and how they are implemented is not the basis of international relations and that is not the basis of normal relations.
“That is as abnormal as the sanctions. Our Government is committed, willing and ready to engage or re-engage any other foreign government on the basis of mutual respect of each other’s sovereignty in terms of international law and not on the basis of each other’s domestic policies.”
Prof Moyo said the time had come for ambassador Wharton to “stop his abnormal message and join all progressive members of the internal community in calling on his government to remove the illegal and abnormal sanctions they imposed against us”.
“If they do that, we will have normal relations which will improve the livelihoods of the peoples in the two countries,” he said.
Turning to the closure of the pirate television station 1st TV this week, Prof Moyo said the station was a voice of sanctions and had to shut because of the abnormal message it sought to portray.
“The first voice to come up as a pirate TV station has become the first to shut up,” he said. “This was a money making venture and it continues to be such.
“They don’t have a normal voice with any benefits to Zimbabweans and Zimbabweans are prepared for these things and that is why it did not have listeners. It has had no taker. It is natural that if you have an abnormal message you will not have any viewers and listeners and it becomes necessary to close, but the curious fact is that they are saying they are now going to be fund-raising, so this was clearly a fundraising initiative.”
Prof Moyo said the reason Zanu-PF won resoundingly with an emphatic two thirds majority in Parliament even with the pirate broadcasting stations was because Zimbabweans were “tired of the American project that has been polarising and dividing us”.
“They now want to move on to attend to their lives, put bread and butter on their tables for their families, to realise their their aspirations, hope,” he said.
“They are now united behind the Zanu-PF Government and joining team Zanu-PF for the good of the country, for the good of every Zimbabwean, every family, every community, all of us.”
Prof Moyo said Zimbabweans have had 14 years of bickering sponsored by the likes of Mr Wharton and the British.
He said the fact that 1st TV was founded just before the July 31 by the likes of Andrew Chadwick, a British who once worked for the MDC-T, showed that it was British project.
“So, it is now clear that these Americans and British sponsored projects to divide and polarise Zimbabweans are all coming to grief,” said Prof Moyo. “They are all folding up because we can’t continue doing the same thing that divides us for 14 years and expect good results.
“And it is for this reason that everyone can bet their last dollar that these projects will no longer find any favour with any Zimbabweans regardless of their political affiliation…they are now united against sponsored projects whose main purposes is to divide them, hence the collapse of these projects,” he said.
Labels: BRUCE WHARTON, COLONIALISM, NEOCOLONIALISM, SANCTIONS
Read more...
(HERALD ZW) VP Mujuru reads Riot Act
September 28, 2013
Felex Share Herald Reporter
Acting President Joice Mujuru greets Presidential Affairs Minister Didymus Mutasa, while Senior Minister Simon Khaya Moyo looks on at the Government strategic retreat workshop in Harare yesterday. — (Picture by Munyaradzi Chamalimba)
MINISTERS and other Government officials should pull their full weight in the discharge of their duties because the Presidency will not tolerate failure when the nation has pinned its hopes on Zanu-PF, Acting President Joice Mujuru has said.Zanu-PF’s vision, as stated in the party’s election manifesto, she said, should now be turned into reality and performance contracts would be introduced for senior Government officials.
Cde Mujuru made the remarks during a consultative workshop for Cabinet ministers, their deputies, permanent secretaries and officials from the Office of the President and Cabinet in Harare yesterday.
The workshop was for ministers to make contributions to be considered in refining the Zimbabwe Programme for Socio-Economic Transformation, an economic blue print that will guide policy formulation and implementation of Government programmes for the next five years.
The document will be tabled in Cabinet for adoption before being officially launched by President Mugabe.
“We are the Government of the day, failure is not an option because we have to maintain and nurture the people’s confidence in us,” Acting President Mujuru said.
“It is imperative that we fully engage ourselves in the mode of a result-based Government and deliver what people expect of us.”
The crafting of the economic blueprint, done by the Office of the President and Cabinet, was largely informed by the Zanu-PF manifesto as the party had the mandate to form Government after its resounding victory in the July 31 harmonised elections.
The manifesto is centred on indigenisation, empowerment and employment creation, mining and the revival of industry. The economic blueprint also has input from farmers, bankers and the private sector.
Cde Mujuru said Government should work hard to meet the “high expectations” of Zimbabweans.
“As ministers, you will need to work hard given that the economy has a myriad of challenges against the high expectations of the people of Zimbabwe,” she said.
“These expectations include enjoyment of a higher standard of living from improved infrastructure and better service delivery.”
The Acting President said with performance contracts, Government officials would always be on their toes to ensure quality service delivery.
“Introduction of performance contracts will ensure that senior Government officers, as custodians of policy formulation and implementation, are accountable for their actions to the people they serve,” she said.
“At the same time, the citizens must be afforded a platform to interrogate Government on issues of public service delivery and decision-making.”
She said to ensure that Government ministries were more accountable, fair and transparent to the people, independent evaluations on performance would be conducted.
She said corrective measures would be taken where there were deficiencies.
“In all these efforts, the Office of the President and Cabinet will take a lead role in providing the necessary leadership and guidance as well as monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes.
“The office has been reconfigured to ensure that this happens. At the same time, the Civil Service Commission will ensure that the required competencies are efficiently deployed to obtain better results for the people.”
Cde said the people’s hopes lay in the hands of ministers and senior Government officials. Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Dr Misheck Sibanda said the objectives of ZIMPSET were to boost economic recovery and growth as well as investing in sustainable and robust solutions to food insecurity.
“It is also aimed at improving production and export of goods and services through value addition and beneficiation,” he said.
“Another objective is also to expand accessibility and utilisation of ICTs, building and rehabilitating infrastructure and utilities, availing and increasing social and economic opportunities for women, youths and physically challenged persons in our communities.”
Dr Sibanda expressed hope that ZIMPSET would yield results.
“It is our profound hope that implementation of ZIMPSET would yield short to medium term gains that will result in a growing economy that is highly competitive in the region and indeed the rest of Africa as well as building an empowered society that has control of the means of production,” he said.
He said the blueprint would focus on acceleration of public-private partnership to fund economic revival and infrastructural development.
Dr Sibanda said the blueprint should be implemented starting this month to the first quarter of 2014, while the rest of the programme was expected to be implemented between the first quarter 2014 and December 2015.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance Mr Willard Manungo said Government would unveil a Sovereign Wealth Fund aimed at raising capital from internal resources to sustain economic requirements.
The Fund was expected to solve dependence on funding from regional and international financiers.
“This facility is critical and we hope it will unlock more capital,” said Mr Manungo.
“It has an advantage of boosting economic activities as it seeks to use local resources as collateral on offshore loans and is being mooted by Government after the realisation that the Medium Term Plan crafted during the inclusive Government era failed to attain its goals.”
Labels: JOICE MUJURU, ZANU-PF
Read more...
Sata hails Mugabe's anti-US, UK sanctions speech at UN
By Joseph Mwenda and Larry Moonze
Sat 28 Sep. 2013, 14:01 CAT
PRESIDENT Michael Sata on Thursday congratulated his Zimbabwean counterpart Robert Mugabe after the latter castigated the United States and Britain over "illegal and iniquitous sanctions" imposed on that country.
And President Mugabe caused a walkout from the UN General Assembly by American delegates after he rebuked the two countries for rejecting his victory in the July 31st elections, telling them "shame on you."
President Sata commended President Mugabe during his speech and later walked over to him and exchanged greetings before congratulating him for a firm message to the 68th General Assembly.
"Congratulations sekulu; that was a good message. Well done," President Sata was heard saying as the two Presidents exchanged inaudible jokes before taking their seats.
In his speech, President Mugabe chided the European Union as well as the United States over attempts to exert regime change on Zimbabwe.
"Our small and peaceful country is threatened daily by covetous and bigoted big powers whose hunger for domination and control of other nations and their resources knows no bounds," he said.
"Shame! Shame! Shame; we say to the United States of America. Shame! Shame! Shame! We say to Britain and its allies who have continued to impose sanctions, illegal sanctions upon our people. Zimbabwe is for Zimbabweans, so are its ample resources. Please may these countries remove their illegal and iniquitous sanctions from my peaceful country," President Mugabe told the UN.
At this point, the United States delegation to the debate stood and walked out of the General Assembly.
President Mugabe reproached the western countries for causing economic deprivation and human suffering among Zimbabweans through such sanctions.
"Zimbabwe refuses to accept that these western detractors have the right to define democracy and freedom for it… We paid the greatest sacrifice for freedom and independence in Zimbabwe and we remain determined never to relinquish our sovereignty. At the same time, we remain masters of our destiny. As we have repeatedly and loudly said and asserted, Zimbabwe will never be a colony again," President Mugabe said.
In the same speech, President Mugabe underscored the need for the UN to consider Africa's cry for permanent representation to the Security Council.
He also shared Zimbabwe's achievements in attaining Millennium Development Goals and its expectations ahead of the post-2015 development agenda.
Labels: MICHAEL SATA, ROBERT MUGABE, UN
Read more...
Opportunism in Patriotic Front
By Editor
Sat 28 Sep. 2013, 14:00 CAT
There is indecision in the key leadership of the Patriotic Front that is helping to fuel and perpetrate the dismaying and disheartening anarchy that the nation is witnessing.
This indecision is not accidental. It is the result of opportunism. And as Lenin wrote on "Opportunism in Questions of Organisation", "When we think of fighting opportunism, we must never forget a characteristic feature of present-day opportunism in every sphere, namely, its vagueness, amorphousness, elusiveness.
An opportunist, by his very nature, will always evade taking a clear and decisive stand, and he will always seek a middle course, he will always wriggle like a snake between two mutually exclusive points of view and try to 'agree' with both and reduce his differences of opinion to petty amendments, doubts, innocent and pious suggestions, and so on and so forth."
It is clear that the key leadership of the Patriotic Front, for one reason or another, is not in a position to take a decisive stand on the anarchy that has rocked their party and is impacting negatively politically and economically on the whole nation.
For reasons, that we feel are opportunistic but may be presented as tactical, the leadership of the Patriotic Front does not seem to be in a position to take a decisive stand on the confusion and anarchy that has engulfed their party. There seems to be some appeasement of both sides to this issue. The side that is under attack is allowed to continue, to carry on as if nothing is happening. The side that is on the attack is also allowed to carry on attacking, while the key leadership turns a blind eye. Those under attack are allowed to continue in their positions as if all is normal. And those on the offensive are also allowed to continue as if what they are doing is in order and is acceptable to the key party leadership. Some of those on the offensive and who are perpetrating anarchy and confusion are even promoted or confirmed in their 'positions'.
What is the message that the key leadership of the party has been sending to the rank and file of the party over this issue? The message is not clear. It can be read in many ways. But one key aspect of this message seems to be that the leadership of the party has no problems with the anarchy that is going on; 'it is a democratic right' of those who are engaged in it. In a word, the key leadership of the party is not ready or willing to stop this anarchy or confusion because in its wisdom, this will be a violation of the 'rights' of those involved in this anarchy or confusion. This seems to be a muddled way and probably a dishonest way of looking at 'rights' and issues of intra-party discipline. These are the same people who for two years have not allowed the opposition political parties to hold rallies or demonstrations in Lusaka. What type of hypocrisy is this? What type of double standards is this? What principles about 'rights' can they claim to be defending or advancing? Would it be wrong for one to describe their behaviour as crass opportunism?
But we know that, and as James Hightower once quipped, "there is nothing in the middle of the road but yellow stripes and dead armadillos". Being decisive is essential in life if one is to succeed in what they are doing or are engaged in. If you deny yourself commitment, what will you do with your life? Every accomplishment, great or small, starts with a decision.
Choice, not chance, determines destiny. You can't get a hit with the bat on your shoulder. Nothing great was ever done without an act of decision. Too many people go through life not knowing what they want but feeling sure they don't have it.
It is said that there is a time when we must firmly choose the course which we will follow, or the relentless drift of events will make the decision for us.
People often are like wheelbarrows, trailers or canoes: they need to be pushed, pulled or paddled. You are either moving the other people to decisions or they are moving you. Decide to do something now to make your life better. The choice is yours.
It is said that if you have the will to win, you have achieved half your success; if you don't, you have achieved half your failure. And that if you don't make a total commitment to whatever you are doing, then you start looking to bail out the first time the boat starts leaking. It's tough enough getting the boat to the shore with everybody rowing, let alone when someone stands up and starts putting his life jacket on.
It is said that God helps those who help themselves. The moment you definitely commit yourself, God moves as well. All sorts of things happen to help you that never would have otherwise occurred. It is said that every human mind is a great slumbering power until awakened by a keen desire and a definite resolution to act. There is a difference between interest and commitment. When you are interested in doing something, you only do it when it is convenient. When you are committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results.
Lack of decisiveness has caused more failures than lack of intelligence or ability. You seldom get what you go after unless you know in advance what you want. Indecision often gives an advantage to the other person because he did his thinking beforehand. Science may have found a cure for most evils; but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all - the apathy of human beings.
Joshua encouraged, "Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve" (Joshua 24:15). Don't leave a decision for tomorrow that needs to be made today. Nothing is so exhausting as indecision, and nothing is so futile. Likewise, Joseph Newton discerned, "Not what we have, but what we use, not what we see, but what we choose - these are things that mar or bless human happiness."
It doesn't pay to be opportunistic, as Lenin has defined it. There are no rewards for being a middle-of-the-roader, because the middle of the road is the worst place to try to go forward. You can do everything you ought to do - once you make a decision. The Patriotic Front key leadership can save itself from further destruction or decimation by doing something definite about the anarchy and confusion that has rocked their party.
Labels: MICHAEL SATA, PF, WYNTER KABIMBA
Read more...
Evil won't defeat me, says kabimba
By Allan Mulenga and Salim Dawood
Sat 28 Sep. 2013, 14:01 CAT
PF secretary general and justice minister Wynter Kabimba yesterday said he would not be defeated by evil. And Kabimba says corrupt elements wanted to take advantage of the absence of President Michael Sata to hound him out of the party.
"The President issued a circular directing all ministers when they go to districts or provinces to find time to meet our party cadres. Many of my colleagues avoid to meet our party cadres, and that includes some of the people that today are blaming me as running this party in an elitist manner.
I can claim the credit of connectivity with our party leadership and our party members more than anybody else in this party, from the time when we won the election," he said.
"Most of my colleagues are busy flying out of the country almost every other week. They are busy doing business in their government offices. They are busy acquiring tenders to prop up their businesses which were failing when they were in the opposition. I don't do any of those things; my concentration has been on holding this party together," he said.
Kabimba accused his enemies in the party of playing the game of appeasement.
"The genesis of what you see in Lusaka is about the policy that we put in as a party to kill the culture of MMD of party members extorting money from business operators; of party members collecting illegal levies in markets; of party members engaging themselves in envasion of private people's property, for example, land," he said. "Those that have grouped themselves in the party against me have seized on these measures. And are saying to our general party membership, 'you would have been okay; you would have been selling land today in Lusaka; you would have been extorting money or levies from business operators; you would have been levying marketeers had it not been the fact that we have the secretary general like Wynter Kabimba, who is against these measures."
Kabimba said he was not the one against MMD habits, but that it was the party's policy.
"The measures to stop these habits are to protect our citizens that are running business services; are to protect the marketeers that make very little from their daily business; they are to protect the citizens and residents of this country from illegal land invaders. That is anarchy. We cannot sacrifice the interest of the majority of our citizens in order to protect the interest of a small group of people clad in Patriotic Front regalia, most of whom are not even identified to be PF members," he said. "My enemies in the party are playing the game of the appeasement, so that they can shore their political fortunes. They think that is what it means to be good politicians. I do not think so myself. To be a good leader means to govern a country in the interest of everybody."
Kabimba wondered why his tribe had become significant after the PF assumed power.
"Why is it that now that people are in government and enjoying the benefits of this government then the issue of my tribe become significant. That is not being done in good faith, I want to say. No human being has ever chosen the tribe they should belong to. And no human being is good or bad on account of their tribe. The people that think that they can use the tribe as a mark of identity and relating with other human beings in life are bad leaders," he said. "They are men and women of weak conscience. They are men and women that lack confidence in themselves. You can't accuse me of being arrogant; I am not an arrogant person. It is like accusing me about my height, that Wynter Kabimba is short. They are picking on issues that only God can answer why I come from the so-called small tribe; only God can answer for me why I am not 6 feet tall; only God can answer for me what they refer to as arrogant. I am not God."
Kabimba said he was surprised that no one had come up with any tangible information or accusation against him.
"If they had done so they would have taken me before the disciplinary committee of the party to go and answer those charges. The reason why they are going round sponsoring demonstrations and party cadres in districts now it is because they do not have anything tangible against me. I am a clean man in this party. I am committed to the service for my country more than most of my accusers," he said. "My contribution to the party and the values which I stand for are non-negotiable, because I believe in these values."
Kabimba said the truth would come to the fore, no matter how much money his enemies spend sponsoring anarchy in the party.
"It doesn't matter how much money they spend in sponsoring these demonstrations; the truth will one day come to the fore. And the people of Zambia will come to know the truth. Because evil has never defeated good in the history of mankind. That is what the Bible teaches us. That is what the stories of Shakespeare teach us. That is what history teaches us," he said.
"At no time has evil defeated good whether from a religious dimension or from a secular dimension. I am very comfortable that I cannot be defeated by evil."
Kabimba said demonstrations were not coming from recognised party members.
"They demonstrations are coming from people that are being rented; that are from outside the structures of the party. You can't even refer to them as demonstrations by party cadres. They are demonstrations by rented youths. And anybody paid under these circumstances to do anything will do it," he said.
Kabimba said he was a common person whom cadres know by name and face.
"Nobody can convince me or convince anybody in the actual structures of the party that I am running this party by sitting on the computer here in Lusaka, nobody. They know me by name and by face in the length and breadth of this country since 2009," he said.
"This position has taken me to places where I had never imagined that I will ever be. And I enjoy my job. And I am proud of being the secretary general of this great organisation."
Kabimba said sponsored demands for his resignation were a waste of time.
"They tried to put me under pressure this week because they thought that the President was out of the country. They thought it was an opportunity for them to hound me out of the party so that the corrupt elements can remain behind. They failed. So, if they failed here in Lusaka, I don't see how they can succeed by renting people in Kasama or in Ndola or in Choma," said Kabimba.
Labels: MICHAEL SATA, PF, WYNTER KABIMBA
Read more...
Lunacy, lack of civility in PF
By Editor
Fri 27 Sep. 2013, 14:00 CAT
What is going on in the Patriotic Front and its government is pure lunacy. And lunacy is always distressing, but sometimes it is dangerous; and when you get it manifested in a political party and government's top or key leaders, it is about time it should be ruthlessly put away.
The confusion and anarchy that is going on in the Patriotic Front and its government is starting to have effect on the operations of government. Most of the operations are paralysed, ministers are not working as they should be working. But they are being paid salaries, they are driving government automobiles and burning government fuel; they are using government phones and talk time to fan anarchy, to quarrel among themselves.
And as if this was not enough, they are taking to the streets, to the central business district and are paralysing business. Traders have to close their shops in fear of looting. Vendors have to move their merchandise away. Of course, all this is at a cost. Production of economic goods and services is halted or disrupted. For what benefit?
If these squabbles, if this infighting in the Patriotic Front continues for a few more days or weeks in this way, the economic loss to the nation will be gigantic. And those responsible for this loss should be made to account to the Zambian people. Money, people's money cannot be lost in such a reckless way.
We are not saying Patriotic Front members should not quarrel, should not fight with each other or among themselves. What we are saying is that their internal party fights should not have such a cost on the nation, on the country. They should keep their fights among themselves in such a way that there is no spillover to the lives of others who have nothing to do with their problems.
It would be naïve and dishonest for anyone to expect a party of the size, diversity and complexity of the Patriotic Front to have no problems, no conflicts between or among its members. But if they want to remain in government and continue to be the country's ruling party, they have to behave differently and address their problems and challenges differently.
And in our view, there is no better way to solve problems or differences in a political party than the democratic way. Democracy is there for this sole purpose - resolving differences among people. This is so because as human beings, we possess a variety of sometimes contradictory desires. We want safety, yet we relish adventure; we aspire to individual freedom yet we demand social equality.
Democracy in any organisation or institution is no different. And it is important to recognise that many of the tensions, conflicts or even paradoxes that we see in the Patriotic Front today are present in many organisations and institutions. A central paradox exists between conflict and consensus. Democracy is in many ways nothing more than a set of rules for managing conflict or disagreements among people, organisations and institutions. At the same time, these disagreements or conflicts must be managed within certain limits and result in compromises, consensus or some other agreements that all sides accept as legitimate. An over-emphasis on one side of the equation can threaten the entire undertaking. If individuals or groups of individuals perceive democracy as nothing more than a forum in which they can press for their demands - as we have been hearing from the Patriotic Front in the last few days where it is being argued that those cadres being paid to go on the street and disrupt public business demanding the removal of the secretary general of their party are acting within their democratic right - their political party can shatter from within.
Democracy in any organisation or institution is not a machine that runs by itself once the proper principles and procedures are inserted. A democratic political party, like every other democratic institution or organisation, needs the commitment of its members and leaders who accept the inevitability of conflict as well as the necessity for tolerance, moderation and restraint.
It is for these reasons that the culture of democracy is so important to develop in our political parties and indeed in the management or administration of our national affairs. Individuals and groups must be willing, at a minimum, to tolerate each other's differences, recognising that the other side has valid rights and a legitimate point of view. And various sides to a dispute, disagreement or conflict can then meet in a spirit of compromise and seek a specific solution that builds on the general principle of majority rule and minority rights. This can be reached through debate and compromise.
In any organisation or institution, the essence of democratic action is coalition building. This is so because it teaches groups within an institution or organisation to compromise and work within the rules and procedures of the organisation or institution. In this way, those with differences, disagreements or conflicts learn how to argue peaceably, how to pursue their goals in a democratic manner, with civility and ultimately how to live in a world of diversity.
Clearly, democracy is not a set of revealed, unchanging truths, but the mechanism by which, through the clash and compromise of ideas, individuals and groups, the people can, however imperfectly, reach for truth. Democracy is pragmatic. Ideas and solutions to problems, differences or conflicts are not tested against a rigid ideology but tried in the real world where they can be argued over and changed, accepted or discarded.
And as we are starting to witness, democracy cannot protect against mistakes, end tribal strife or guarantee economic prosperity. It does, however, allow for debate and examination that can identify mistakes, permit groups to meet and resolve differences.
This is why we are insisting that the Patriotic Front leaders and members mull over things and look at their differences soberly and in a democratic way. There is no alternative to resolving their differences in a democratic way if they have to continue holding together. The alternative to this is a split, separation, expulsions or chasing of each other. Will this strengthen them or weaken them? Will this increase their capacity to deliver on the promises and pledges they made to the Zambian people in the run-up to the 2011 elections?
Labels: CADRES, PF
Read more...
Tribal prejudice at work in PF - Scott
By Moses Kuwema and Prudence Phiri
Fri 27 Sep. 2013, 14:01 CAT
VICE-President Dr Guy Scott says there is some element of tribal prejudice at work in the calls for PF secretary general Wynter Kabimba to resign.
And Vice-President Scott says there is also a large element of corru ption involved in the people who are causing confusion in the PF because they are trying to immunize themselves against forces of law and order.
Commenting on Kabimba's statement that there was a clique of tribal elements that was sponsoring anarchy in the Patriotic Front, Vice-President Scott who is also party vice president, however, said the use of the term 'tribal clique' could have certain implications.
"The use of a term like tribal clique has certain implications…There is certainly some element of tribal prejudice at work. Whether this amounts to a clique or a conspiracy or simply to old habits that die hard, I would not be in a position to judge because I don't have a tribe, unless Scottish is a tribe. So I don't know very much about tribalism," he said.
Vice-President Scott said there was a procedure that needed to be followed before Kabimba could be removed.
"You cannot call for somebody to leave in this fashion protests. If you want somebody to leave, assuming that that's what you genuinely want, there are procedures. You write a complaint to the secretariat or if it is against the party secretary general, to the executive and say you want to give evidence, you want this matter considered. Then you go and give your evidence about what the secretary general has been up to, why you don't want him, which elements of party disciplinary code he has violated. If the decision goes against him, then he gets removed," he said.
Vice-President Scott said it was the same procedure that was used on Kabwata member of parliament Given Lubinda.
"He Lubinda was not hounded by people baying for his blood, taking off their trousers and standing on the roof of galimoto (vehicles) like 'funtad' (mad) people. He was removed by recourse to the procedures," he said.
And Vice-President Scott said there was certainly a large element of corruption involved in the people who were causing the disruption in the PF.
He said these people were trying to immunise themselves against forces of law and order.
"I think there are a lot of aspects and forces at work including opposition forces, wanting to confuse the party from inside. We are acting against it. I think it is being taken. It will not run forever. I expect it to be under good control in the next few days," he said.
Vice-President Scott said there were people within the PF who had their own agendas.
"Let me give you an example; there are land grabs going on throughout Lusaka. People claiming to be PF cadres who are selling land in Lusaka West, in Chawama, Chalimbana, in Kampasa. We have had a lot of people purporting to be PF cadres. It is difficult to say who is a PF cadre and who is not," he said.
Vice-President Scott said self-appointed PF branch officials do not want to comply with the law were the ones who were causing confusion.
"They think the way to do it is to take a dominant position in the PF. So that, for example, has to be handled and dealt with by the forces of law and order. I am just giving you as an example of the kind of interest that come into play when you get a situation like this. But I would expect everything to be brought back into a disciplined form, disciplined state of affairs," he said.
Asked why the leadership in the PF had allowed the cadres to conduct themselves in the way they had conducted themselves, Vice-President Scott responded: "Who says we are allowing it? It is very difficult to tell in the case of a demonstration, whether it is being allowed or not. But it is not our leadership which allows demonstrations by random people, it is the police. And if you ask me why the police have allowed this, I don't know. I am not part of the police structure but I suppose as long as the demonstration is peaceful, it is very difficult to stop."
Vice-President Scott said there was no active promotion of the indiscipline among the cadres from the leadership of the party.
"If there is then whoever has got the agenda has got a very strange agenda and we have got to find out what it is," he said.
Vice-President Scott further said he never saw most of the cadres that had been marching during the 2011 general elections.
"I have seen people I didn't see in 2011. It is just opportunism. It is a ruling party, if you can intimidate the police, outflank the police, you can use your position as ruling party to abuse the law and to effectively take control of the streets and we are not tolerating it," he said.
Meanwhile, Vice-President Scott agreed with Chishimba Kambwili's observation that the PF would be dead if the infighting were not stopped and added that there was need to bring to an end the anarchy and indiscipline that had rocked the party.
"If you have an organisation that wants to eat itself, it will die. It is like a mad dog eating its own stomach. You cannot have an organisation which is divided against itself, especially an organisation as strong as PF. So we have to bring an end to this anarchy, indiscipline," said Vice-President Scott.
Meanwhile, Kambwili says Kabimba's arrogance towards PF cadres is what will hound him out of the party.
Reacting to Kabimba's accusations that he was part of the tribal clique in the party, Kambwili, who is PF national youth chairperson, said it was unfortunate that the PF secretary general mistook his recent advice for tribalism.
"Munshebwa aile namafi kubuko (He who did not take advice went with faeces to his in-laws). This is the kind of arrogance that we don't need as a nation. Surely, how can someone give you an earnest advice like the one I gave, and I was not biased towards the cadres or towards the secretary general. What I said was a balanced advice to both the cadres and Honourable Wynter Kabimba and if my advice to him means I am a tribalist and I am a member of the PF that wants to hound him out of the party, it's unfortunate," he said.
"What will hound Wynter out of the party is his personal attitude and arrogance. Cadres are complaining that they are chased, he doesn't know how to answer people. The best he can do is to work on those things, rather accusing colleagues and friends of being tribalists."
Kambwili appealed to cadres and Kabimba to stop washing dirty linen in public as this would eventually weaken the party.
"Let us be united because we have a unity of purpose. To my colleague and brother honourable Wynter Kabimba, deep down his heart he knows I have never been associated with tribalism. It is not good to wash dirty linen in public. I am appealing to the cadres, please stop the demonstrations, it's not healthy to the nation and the party. To Wynter, let's be level-headed, be calm. But if he takes on everyone that gives him advice, then it's unfortunate," he said.
Kambwili said the future of the Patriotic Front was intact as no one member was bigger that the party.
On Wednesday, Kabimba accused Kambwili of being part of a clique of tribal elements sponsoring anarchy in PF. Kabimba, who is also justice minister, said Kambwili should know that he Kabimba had many PF supporters who were interested in the affairs of the party.
Speaking to journalists earlier at his office on Wednesday, Kambwili urged Kabimba to apologise to Kabwata PF member of parliament Given Lubinda over the behaviour of PF cadres towards him.
Labels: GUY SCOTT, PF, TRIBALISM
Read more...
Cops arrest 300 PF cadres for criminal trespass
By Allan Mulenga
Fri 27 Sep. 2013, 14:01 CAT
OVER 300 suspected PF cadres, including women vendors selling assorted merchandise around Trishul Farms in Lusaka West, have been arrested for criminal trespass. And police yesterday fought running battles with the cadres who blocked Mumbwa Road in Garden House area.
In the morning, police conducted an operation to remove the cadres who had encroached on 30 hectares of land belonging to a Mr Patel, owner of Trishul Farms.
Upon noticing police presence in the area, the suspected PF cadres mobilised themselves and rushed to Mumbwa road near Garden House Hotel to block police vehicles that were patrolling the area.
But the mob grew, forcing police to retreat thereby sparking a riot.
In the process, the mob looted several shops and Investrust Bank at Colosul Mall.
Police had to call for reinforcements.
Business around Garden House Hotel came to a standstill as the mob continued to terrorise the area, prompting shop owners and traders to abandon their shops as vehicles were prevented from passing through the area.
In an interview later, acting police spokesperson Rae Hamoonga said those who were arrested for criminal trespass would appear in court today.
Hamoonga warned that police would not take kindly to land grabbing by party cadres.
"This morning around 10:00 hours we conducted an operation as Zambia Police. This was after having received numerous complaints relating to people trespassing on other people's property in Lusaka West. We had one of our biggest arrests this year; we have arrested well over 300 persons that were trespassing on a farm in Lusaka West," he said. "We just want to warn the public that as police, we are moving in and we will not relent to deal with any criminal elements of whatsoever political affiliation. We will ensure that they are dealt with."
Hamoonga said police action had shamed its critics who labelled the service a "toothless institution".
"These people that have been apprehended are over 300. As police we are working around the clock that tomorrow these people appear before the courts of law. We want to warn the public that those that have a tendency of buying illegal pieces of land stand to lose out. We will not take any unnecessary excuses from any person who will trespass on the land of another person, the legal owner," said Hamoonga.
Labels: CADRES, PF, POLITICAL VIOLENCE, RAE HAMOONGA
Read more...
Govt mulls increasing rural infrastructure funding
By Joseph Mwenda in New York
Fri 27 Sep. 2013, 14:01 CAT
PRESIDENT Michael Sata says the PF government will consider increasing budgetary allocation towards infrastructure development to foster rural maturation. And President Sata says 80 per cent of Zambians living in poverty are women and children.
The President said this in New York on Wednesday when he addressed other Heads of State at the high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly on the follow-up efforts made towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals.
"In line with the MDG Africa report for 2013, our framework enhances efforts to reduce inequality by pursuing inclusive growth strategies. Some of the interventions identified in the framework include, the promotion of rural development through increased budgetary allocations to infrastructure development and maintenance," President Sata said.
He said his government also attached priority to the promotion of labour-intensive methods for community projects such as roads.
The President further said government had been implementing a social cash transfer programme and a public welfare scheme.
"We are implementing this as part of reducing poverty and hunger. The targeting criteria for the two programmes are based on poverty and vulnerability," he said.
And President Sata said Zambia recognises that women and youth empowerment was the quickest way of reducing poverty.
"It is also important to note that despite robust economic growth in the recent years, the broad characteristic of the Zambian poverty profile is that women continue to face severe consequences. Statistics show that 80 per cent of people living in poverty are women and children," he said.
During the same roundtable meeting, President Sata highlighted the scores made by Zambia in attaining MDGs.
"Notable achievements include access to education and reducing child malnutrition. Progress has been made in reducing infant mortality, although much still remains to be done," he said.
Earlier on Wednesday, the President held private talks with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the New York Palace Hotel.
Special assistant to the President for press and public relations George Chellah told journalists after the meeting that the two Heads of State discussed a range of issues affecting their countries.
"During the meeting, the Sri Lankan President officially invited President Sata to the forthcoming Commonwealth Heads of State and government meeting," said Chellah.
Labels: INFRASTRUCTURE, MICHAEL SATA, RURAL AREAS
Read more...
'Criminals will associate themselves with power'
By Moses Kuwema
Fri 27 Sep. 2013, 14:01 CAT
VICE-President Guy Scott says it cannot be denied that criminals will associate themselves with power. And MMD acting national secretary Kapembwa Simbao says there is so much fear among citizens to speak out on various issues affecting the country.
During a recording of a BBC Focus on Africa debate programme yesterday at the Government Complex, whose title was: 'Can democracy deliver for Africa', But Vice-President Scott, who was among the panelists for the debate, dismissed the allegations that the PF was taking the country backwards in terms of democracy.
He said the people that were critical of the government were relaxed and free to do so.
"They are all relaxed and even smiling at me. If they really believe I am a hyena or a representative of hyenas, they will not be smiling, they will be running the other way," he said.
Vice-President Scott said even the cadres that were allegedly terrorising citizens had not been born and drawn up in the last two years of the PF's rule.
He said the cadres had always been around even before the PF came into power and many of them were cadres of the MMD.
"There are a lot of unemployed youths who find it very politic to associate themselves or to wear the regalia and assume the title of the ruling party. We are cracking down on illegal land grabbing issues. It cannot be denied that criminals will associate themselves with power, it happens. What is important in a democracy is that the rule of law is applied and that is what PF is doing," Vice-President Scott said.
He said there was need for strong and independent institutions.
And Simbao claimed that the PF was driving the country into so much fear.
"Members of parliament have been made to keep quiet unless when they are in the House," said Simbao.
During the same debate, MMD president Nevers Mumba said the PF government does not understand or respect democracy. He said the PF had a culture of violence.
"We need our freedoms back. It will improve the economy, it will improve the social services," said Mumba.
And Linda Kasonde, a representative of the Law Association of Zambia, said there was a lot of intolerance to dissenting views on the Zambian political scene.
Former first lady Maureen Mwanawasa, who was part of the audience, said ordinary people see democracy as something that has to deliver social amenities.
Maureen said the opposition and the government needed to give each other space.
Labels: CORRUPTION, GUY SCOTT, KAPEMBWA SIMBAO, LAZ, LINDA KASONDE, MAUREEN MWANAWASA, MMD
Read more...
(NEWZIMBABWE) 'Shame, shame, shame': Mugabe tells US, UK
26/09/2013 00:00:00
by Lesley Wroughton I Reuters
PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe on Thursday berated the United States and former colonial power Britain and its allies for trying to control his nation and its resources, telling them to remove their "illegal and filthy sanctions."
"Shame, shame, shame to the United States of America. Shame, shame, shame to Britain and its allies," Mugabe, 89, said in a speech to the United Nations General Assembly.
"Zimbabwe is for Zimbabweans, so are its resources. Please remove your illegal and filthy sanctions from my peaceful country."
Mugabe said the sanctions imposed by the European Union and the United States violated the U.N. Charter on state sovereignty and condemned them as a "foreign-policy tool to effect regime change".
The United States and the European Union imposed sanctions on Zimbabwean state firms and travel restrictions on Mugabe and dozens of his associates over alleged rights abuses, and at the start of sometimes violent seizures of white-owned commercial farms for black resettlement.
Mugabe did not refer to the lifting of EU sanctions on September 17 against Zimbabwe Mining Development Corp., which will allow the diamond-mining firm to sell its diamonds in Europe.
He said sanctions constituted a form of hostility and violence against his government, which was only trying to redistribute land to the majority of landless Zimbabweans.
"Our small and peaceful country is threatened daily by covetous and bigoted big powers whose hunger for domination and control of other nations and their resources knows no bounds," he said.
He said that if the sanctions were intended to unseat him from power "the results of the recent national elections have clearly shown you what they can do."
Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980, overwhelmingly won a July 31 vote extending his 33-year rule. His main rival, Morgan Tsvangirai, denounced the poll as a "huge fraud."
Washington has said the election was flawed and that it does not plan to loosen sanctions against Mugabe's government.
Mugabe said the United States was determined to continue its "relentless persecution" of Zimbabwe, even though the African Union and other regional organisations had supported the election result.
"It appears that when the USA and its allies speak of democracy and freedom they are doing so only in relative terms," Mugabe said. "Zimbabwe, however, refuses to accept that these Western detractors have the right to define democracy and freedom for us.
"We paid the ultimate price for it and we are determined never to relinquish our sovereignty and remain master of our destiny. Zimbabwe will never be a colony again."
Labels: ROBERT MUGABE, SANCTIONS, UN, ZDERA
Read more...
(NEWZIMBABWE) Full text: Mugabe's speech to 68th session of UN General Assembly
26/09/2013 00:00:00
by Robert Gabriel Mugabe
Statement by His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Comrade Robert Gabriel Mugabe during the general debate of the 68th session of the United Nations Generally Assembly, New York, on September 26, 2013:
Your Excellency, the President of the 68tb Session of the United Nations General Assembly, Mr. John William Ashe,
Your Majesties,
Your Excellences, Heads of State and Government,
Your Excellency, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Ban Ki-moon,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Comrades and Friends
Let me begin by extending warmest congratulations to you Mr. John William Ashe, on your election as President of the 68tb Session of the General Assembly. Your election to this esteemed office is a befitting tribute to the personal and diplomatic qualities that you have exhibited over the years.
Mr. President,
Throughout the world, peace and development have remained the dominant themes of our times. People all over the world have been raising their voices in favour of peace, development and cooperation and against war, poverty and confrontation. Here at the UN we all acknowledge that peace, security, development and human rights are the pillars of the UN system and the cornerstones of our collective well-being.
In this regard, the theme for this Session - The Post-2015 Agenda : Setting the Stage - is quite pertinent and timely as it gives fresh impetus to our undertaking that achieving the internationally agreed Development Goals, including the MDGs and mapping the way forward beyond 2015, requires our collective efforts. The UN, as the centre for international cooperation, should lead in promoting the envisaged development.
Mr. President,
Thirteen years ago, our global efforts were mobilised behind the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and we now have less that 1,000 days to meet those targets. Our review and stock taking exercise reveal that while there have been some significant achievements, there are still gaps and unevenness in the attainment of these goals. In the case of Zimbabwe, we have made progress towards achieving universal access to primary education, combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and TB.
Some of the goals, however, are, due to lack of capacity, mainly financial, off track and in some areas, progress has stalled including in those areas relating to the eradication of poverty and hunger, child mortality, universal access to maternal and reproductive health, environmental sustainability and access to potable water and sanitation.
As a country, we are committed to undertake coordinated efforts to accelerate progress to complete the unfinished business of the MDGs in the remaining period to 2015. Any unachieved goals by then, should be integrated into the post-2015 development agenda.
Mr. President,
Zimbabwe fully shares and supports the emerging consensus that eradicating poverty in all its dimensions should be the overarching goal of our post 2015 agenda. Eradicating poverty by 2030 may be an ambitious goal, but it is attainable if we mobilise our collective efforts. Building on the foundation of the MDGs, the post 2015 agenda should go beyond the social development agenda of the MDGs and achieve structural transformation in our economies that delivers inclusive and sustainable growth.
We expect a shift that will bring about industrialisation, decent jobs and qualitative change to the lives of our citizens. We are determined to modernise our infrastructure and ensure access to sustainable energy for all, food security and nutrition. However, we recognise that we cannot do this in isolation from other partners.
In the same vein, we also support calls to prioritise gender equality, the health related MDGs, education and environmental sustainability in the post-2015 development agenda among other issues. These are critical issues in our quest to achieve sustainable development for all our people.
Mr. President,
The lofty objectives of the UN Charter in the economic arena will remain unfulfilled unless all Member States join in efforts genuinely and seriously, to address challenges that developing countries face in their pursuit of development including meeting the MDGs.
It is therefore imperative that our discussions address what has so far been the weakest link – the means of implementation. It must be understood that in addition to national efforts, substantial international support and an enabling international economic environment are essential if the MDGs are to be achieved by 2015 especially in Africa. It is therefore important to fulfil the commitments made to support Africa in various international fora. The UN should track the fulfilment of these commitments.
Mr. President,
Zimbabwe supports the reform of the UN to strengthen its central role in promoting multilateralism and to be effective in tackling current and future global challenges. We are convinced that the reform will strengthen the organisation's capacity to fully promote and implement the principles and objectives of the UN Charter and improve its democratic decision making.
In this regard, the reforms in the economic and social actions of the UN remain of fundamental importance to us. Our firm belief in multilateral cooperation means that we place a premium in the ability of the United Nations system to deliver efficient development co-operation.
The democratic transformation of the architecture of the international financial system is quintessential as is a root-and-branch reform of the international trading system. The terms of trade have hugely burdened developing countries for too long.
Mr. President,
Zimbabwe supports the ongoing efforts to revitalize the General Assembly which is the most representative organ of the United Nations. We believe that the General Assembly should take the lead in setting the global agenda and restore its primacy that has over the years been encroached upon by other organs.
We cannot accept situations whereby the UN Security Council is increasingly encroaching on issues that traditionally fall within the General Assembly's purview and competence, including in the area of norm setting.
Indeed, recent events have revealed that its formal decisions have provided camouflage to neo-imperialist forces of aggression seeking to militarily intervene in smaller countries in order to effect regime change and acquire complete control of their wealth. This was so in Libya where in the name of protecting civilians, NATO forces were deployed with an undeclared mission to eliminate Muammar Gaddafi and his family. A similar campaign had been undertaken in Iraq by the Bush and Blair forces in the false name of eradicating weapons of mass destruction which Saddam Hussein never possessed.
We appreciate the central role that UN should play in furthering multilateralism in preference to unilateralism. In this regard, we applaud the consultations and negotiations on the eventual destruction of the chemical weapons in Syria. My country expresses its gratitude and appreciation to Russia and China for their principled stand on Syria. We hope and trust that the Syrian people will soon sit in dialogue to discuss peace and desirable political reforms. Those western countries in pursuit of hegemony as they pretend to be advocates of democracy must be resisted.
Mr. President,
For Africa, the reform of the United Nations Security Council is especially long overdue. The anachronistic and unrepresentative character of the Security Council must be redressed. For how long should Africa continue to be denied the right to play a pivotal role in the United Nations Security Council as it decides measures on conflicts within its own borders?
The Security Council needs to be more representative, democratic, transparent, accountable and accessible to the wider membership for its decisions to have more legitimacy. Africa's case for the correction of the glaring historical injustice of being unrepresented in the permanent category and under-represented in the non-permanent category has been made through the clear, fair and well-articulated Ezulwini Consensus. Zimbabwe remains steadfast in its support of the Ezulwini demand.
Mr. President,
Zimbabwe strongly condemns the use of unilateral economic sanctions as a foreign policy tool to effect regime change. Thus, the illegal economic sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by the United States and the European Union violate fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter on state sovereignty and non-interference in the domestic affairs of a sovereign state.
Moreover, these illegal sanctions continue to inflict economic deprivation and human suffering on all Zimbabweans. In the eyes of our people, the sanctions constitute a form of hostility and violence against them for the simple crime of undertaking the land reform programme by which land was put in the hands of the then majority landless Zimbabweans.
Our small and peaceful country is threatened daily by covetous and bigoted big powers whose hunger for domination and control of other nations and their resources knows no bounds. Shame, shame, shame to the United States of America. Shame, shame, shame to Britain and its allies. Zimbabwe is for Zimbabweans, so are its resources. Please remove your illegal and filthy sanctions from my peaceful country. If these sanctions were intended to effect regime change, well, the results of the recent national elections have clearly shown you what they can do.
Mr. President,
We are preached to daily by the west on the virtues of democracy and freedom which they do not totally espouse. Zimbabwe took up arms precisely to achieve our freedom and democracy. Yet we have been punished by United States through the odious Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act enacted in 2001 to effect regime change in the country.
Now, this malicious intent to continue the relentless persecution of our small and peaceful country has happened again through the USA's rejection of the recent absolutely democratic and fair election results of our July 31st general elections, even as they were applauded by the African Union and all our regional organisations.
It appears that when the USA and its allies speak of democracy and freedom they are doing so only in relative terms. Zimbabwe however refuses to accept that these western detractors have the right to define democracy and freedom for us. We paid the ultimate price for it and we are determined never to relinquish our sovereignty and remain masters of our destiny. As we have repeatedly asserted, Zimbabwe will never be a colony again!!
I thank you.
RGM
Labels: ROBERT MUGABE, SANCTIONS, SPEECHES, UN, ZDERA
Read more...
(HERALD ZW) US$100m loan facility for agric
September 26, 2013
Golden Sibanda Senior Business Reporter—
CBZ Bank Limited has secured a US$100 million medium term line of credit from the African Export and Import Bank to support agriculture and related infrastructure projects in the sector for the 2013/4 farming season.The funding, which augments resources Government is mobilising to support farmers, is a vote of confidence in the new Zanu-PF Government and comes as a relief to farmers who were neglected by the inclusive Government.
In its winning election manifesto, Zanu-PF identifies agriculture as a key driver of the economic turnaround programme and pledges to mobilise up to US$8 billion to finance the sector over the next five years.
Speaking on arrival from the Afreximbank headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, on Tuesday, CBZ Holdings group chief executive Dr John Mangudya said the funds will also improve the economy, which has been facing liquidity challenges over the past seven months.
“We have secured a US$100 million medium-term loan from Afreximbank for agriculture.
“The funds will be extended to farmers over one year. This will also improve liquidity in the economy,” he said.
Zimbabwe continues to battle liquidity constraints owing to the impact of the West’s illegal economic sanctions which restricted foreign currency inflows and access to external lines of credit.
Dr Mangudya could not be drawn into revealing the cost of the funds to farmers, but said loans to farmers would be at affordable interest rates.
“The funding from Afreximbank comes on the back of 2012 Agricultural Marketing Authority Bills whose tenure lapsed in August and the amount tendered was repaid in full.”
In a further show of commitment in supporting agriculture, CBZ Bank last week floated another US$35 million AMA Bills to support the production of soya beans.
In the recent past, the bank has been most active in mobilising lines of credit from regional banks and has to date drawn down a cumulative US$645 million from Afreximbank since 1998.
The bank’s efforts complement the Government efforts to mobilise resources for the 2013/4 farming season in support of resettled commercial, small-scale and A1 farmers.
Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa last week said while it was not yet clear how much Government will have to mobilise for this season, it would certainly ensure farmers are assisted.
Minister Chinamasa said the basic package will include at least a bag of compound D and AN fertilisers and 10 kilogrammes of seed.
While there is enough of large grain seed, the minister said stocks of small grain seed and fertilisers might be insufficient.
The minister said while Government might not be able to mobilise all the resources required due to the short time left before the farming season starts, efforts will be made to assist farmers.
“In terms of what we want, it might not be sufficient; efforts will be made to make sure we assist small-scale farmers.
“The commitment to agriculture is there. They should not expect miracles overnight, but the commitment is there, agriculture is the mainstay of the economy.”
Minister Chinamsa said Government felt obliged to assist farmers because the cost of funding agriculture for food security was much less than that of importing to cover shortages.
In its election manifesto, Zanu-PF pledged to unlock indigenisation assets to capacitate Agribank with a US$2 billion endowment to enable it to mobilise resources amounting to US$8 billion for the agriculture sector over the next five years.
Adequate financing of agriculture, the party says, will benefit millions of people through higher incomes, food security and generation of employment in addition to stimulating economic growth through the sector’s strong backward and forward linkages with other critical sectors of the economy, among them the manufacturing and financial sectors.
Labels: AFREXIMBANK, AGRICULTURE, PATRICK CHINAMASA
Read more...
(NEWZIMBABWE) Robert Mugabe: a hero and great patriot
25/09/2013 00:00:00
by Dharma Appavoo
ROBERT Mugabe is the greatest patriot and hero that has ever lived. He is the only leader that ever re-possessed land and deported the usurpers whilst they were in full occupation, and well-armed, resistive and prosperous.
Those foreigners were very powerful imperialists. They had become accustomed to simply printing title deeds in order to lay claim to any real estate within their “empire”.
In this way, the white farmers of Rhodesia were transformed from the Hoi polloi of the United Kingdom into the Squires of Rhodesia. They ended up as an opulent, hubristic, elegant, and sophisticated landed gentry. They were the sun-kissed monarchs of Rhodesia.
They possessed the title deeds for the finest agricultural land upon which the established 70,000 mega-farms. And they farmed the land for 110 years. They waxed rich, even to a point that exceeded the avarice of their own dreams.
But the physical labour was provided by the natives of the country. And these people were virtually enslaved. For over a century, they were serfs who stagnated in a condition of sub-humanity.
They were the tattered lackeys whose only reason to exist was to serve their white masters. They were the under-fed, shabby, unwashed, un-schooled, bare-footed tattered lackeys.
Then Mugabe arrived on the scene! He was a highly-educated, scholarly and erudite politician. He was a highly-focused, rebellious mono-maniac. When the white farmers threatened him and his organisation, ZANU, he stentoriously trumpeted his defiance.
And when the white farmers used their firearms and their military might, there was no constitutional way for Mugabe to defend himself. So he resorted to methods that disrupted and terrorised the entire farming community.
Within a few years, the entire country was discombobulated and Ian Smith realised that Mugabe was unshakeable.
Mugabe is the only native leader who ever re-possessed territory that was usurped by foreign colonisers. And he did so whilst they were in full occupation and whilst they were actively farming and prospering.
Mugabe also vowed to expel the foreigners and when their exodus was evolving, he expedited their repatriation.
Mugabe’s triumphs were unique. No other native leader has ever re-possessed land whilst the purloined real estate was actively occupied by the usurpers. Mugabe did it! And he did so single-handedly!
Comparisons are always odious, and at the risk of sounding mean-spirited, I aver that African politicians have been a ruination to their own people. With a very few exceptions [Nkrumah, Mandela and Machel], they have been self-anointing and intoxicated with prestige, power and opulence.
In any event, they did very little to denounce the white farmers or the British. And they did nothing to assist Mugabe. Mugabe’s neighbours stood by as mute spectators. Others were loquacious, but contributed nothing except lip service.
Opportunists such as Morgan Tsvangirai were the willing puppets of his enemies. But the natives of Zimbabwe trusted Mugabe and emulated his defiance. They saw the likes of Tsvangirai as transparent frauds and failures.
The white Rhodesians led by Ian Smith controlled a well-equipped and modern army and an Air Force. And the white Rhodesians were blatantly and raucously supported by the governments of the United Kingdom. And the rest of the Western world.
Although Ian Smith appeared to fight like a tiger, he realised that the white farmers were destined to fail. So he furtively stashed away a tremendous personal fortune in real estate and cash stored away in various foreign banks. Many in the Rhodesian intelligence services, which had hundreds of “safe houses” across Africa, simply helped themselves to this fortune, then retreated to South Africa where they retired in opulence and relished the Apartheid culture.
Almost every politician has access to the coffers of the nation, and some malfeasance is inevitable. I don’t know Mugabe personally, but I would not trust him with my credit card or cheque book because he is, after all, a mere mortal with foibles.
But, even if evidence can be adduced to prove that Mugabe had “dipped into the cookie jar, such a peccadillo must not be allowed to detract from, or eclipse the superlative accolades to which this great patriot is fully entitled.
The white farmers were aided and abetted by the news-mongers who delineated Mugabe as the ruination of Zimbabwe and as the devil incarnate. It is our moral obligation to discredit the demonisation and the character assassination of Mugabe. We should neutralise those negatives by relying upon simple truth.
We must offer monetary compensation to the exiled white farmers. They will be required to present authenticated documentation to indicate the price that they had paid for the land, as well as such documentation as will indicate that the seller was a native who was entitled to sell the land.
And then we must flaunt Mugabe as a patriot and as a hero who triumphed over gargantuan odds. We must do so by means of statues and posters, video documentaries, full-page newspaper exposure on a weekly basis for two years, re-name highways after Mugabe, re-name Victoria Falls, Kariba Dam and Lake Victoria after Rober Mugabe.
I have set up a Foundation that will attempt to saturate sub-Saharan Africa with the truth about the white farmers and Mugabe. I will place a statue and posters of Mugabe in the town square of every city, major airport and railway station.
Bumper stickers will be made available and pamphlets will be distributed throughout. The full story will be etched upon these items and on statues.
It is your moral obligation to contribute your energies, your cash, and your ideas.
Dharma Appavoo is the president of the Buddhist Group of North America. He can be contacted on e-mail: buddhablaster@gmail.com
Labels: LAND REFORM, LIBERATION, ROBERT MUGABE
Read more...
(NEWZIMBABWE) Econet insures farmers against crop failure
25/09/2013 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter
ECONET Wireless says it has developed a weather-indexed drought insurance service for small-holder farmers. The service allows farmers to make a financial claim if their crops fail because of either inadequate or excessive rainfall.
Under the Econet scheme, which is part of a programme for farmers known as EcoFarmer, a farmer can buy insurance for as little as eight cents per day, which is deducted from their prepaid phone account during the agricultural season.
"If the rain does not fall, resulting in a drought, the farmer will be given as much as $100 for every 10kg seed pack planted," the company said in a statement on Thursday.
The key to the system is a highly innovative weather monitoring network which enables Econet to know exactly how much rain fell on the farmer's field.
Econet has also partnered with Seed Co to produce special seed packs that contain a small plastic container with a special number that the farmer must SMS to the network. As soon as Econet receives the number, they know exactly where the farmer is located.
The Econet base station in the farmer's area monitors weather patterns including rainfall, temperature and humidity. This information is used by weather experts to tell if there has been a drought in the area.
Econet said the "weather-indexed insurance cover" was deviced as a response to calls by agricultural experts for small-holder farmers to be given access to insurance cover for their crops.
"When a farmer can plant crops knowing that crop failure does not mean hunger for the family, they will be encouraged to plant more crops and therefore increase national production," the company said.
Econet has chosen Mashonaland East province as the location for a pilot scheme, which will last between November this year and March 2014. The system for weather measurement and monitoring has already been installed and the plastic capsules are being put into seed packs.
Based on the results of the pilot scheme, Econet will then expand it nationally, in time for next year's planting season.
The service being developed by Econet for Zimbabwe is similar to one which has been rolled out in Kenya by that country's leading operator, Safaricom.
Labels: AGRICULTURE, ECONET
Read more...
(NEWZIMBABWE) MDC-T rebels to join Madhuku’s party
25/09/2013 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter
MDC-T members who contested the last elections as independents will seek to join the new party expected to be formed by National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) chair, Lovemore Madhuku, it was confirmed this week.
The rebels formed the Independent Candidates Coalition (ICC) ahead of the July polls after failing to contest the vote on the MDC-T ticket due to what they described as gross irregularities in the conduct of the party’s primary elections.
The MDC-T successfully petitioned the courts to block them from using its open palm symbol and pictures of party leader Morgan Tsvangirai arguing they would confuse supporters ahead of the elections which it then lost by a landslide to Zanu PF.
Tsvangirai refuses to concede defeat, claiming the elections were rigged but some MDC-T activists say the imposition of candidates by the leadership undermined the party’s chances.
Meanwhile, the disgruntled members held a meeting in the Midlands city of Gweru early this week where it was agreed they would seek to join Madhuku’s prospective party after realising they had “no future in the MDC-T”.
Key figures who attended the meeting include Emmanuel Chiroto, Felix Magalela Mafa, Aaron Chinhara who lost the MDC-T primaries for Redcliff, Samuel Sandla Khumalo who wanted to represent the MDC-T in the Magwegwe constituency and former Sunningdale councillor Musa Macheza.
“We formed a six member steering committee at the meeting whose responsibility among others would be that of crafting a position paper stating what we want in the new political party,” one of the officials told NewZimbabwe.com.
“We have realised that there is no future for us in the MDC-T. The party imposed candidates on our constituencies in the last election meaning that we are no longer wanted; hence the decision to join the Madhuku-led political party.
“Our steering committee will meet in Bulawayo to fine tune the draft position paper before the NCA congress. They will also meet Madhuku before the launch of (his) party for the presentation of the final position paper.”
Madhuku has confirmed he would step-down from the NCA which has been campaigning for a new constitution and opposed the charter adopted by the last coalition government saying it was not people-driven.
The NCA will hold its congress in Harare at the weekend where a decision will be taken on whether to transform the organisation into a political party.
“The first point of discussion would be the future of the organisation,” Madhuku said told reporters this week.
“If the organisation decides to use civic methods, which have failed, then I am stepping down but if we are to form a political party then I believe the current leadership would want to pursue our quest to have a democratic constitution.
“We are not abandoning our agenda, that is of a new democratic constitution and we simply want to use other avenues through a structure like a political party.”
Labels: LOVEMORE MADHUKU, MDC, PARLIAMENT (ZW)
Read more...
Should Nevers go to jail for insults?
By Editor
Wed 25 Sep. 2013, 14:00 CAT
We do not agree or support the intention by the police to arrest Nevers Mumba on allegations of insulting President Michael Sata. However, this is not in any way to say that we support the habit of politicians insulting each other. Insults have never solved any problem between or among human beings, let alone those in the political leadership of a country.
Even in our private lives, insults are of no value; they don't bring peace and harmony. They simply inflame whatever differences might have been there between or among people. So what is the value of insults?
But as much as we don't like or support insults, we also don't agree with the criminalisation of insults, especially against the president.
Insulting the president in this country is a criminal offence for which one can be sent to jail. This is a law we inherited from the British, where it was a criminal offence to insult the Queen or the King. We are not a monarchy. And this law is unjustifiable in a modern democracy and we must do away with it.
If the president, like any other citizen, has been slandered or defamed in any way, we have enough civil laws to deal with this. Insult laws are not in any way needed in this country given the democratic nature of our politics and of our society.
Any legislation that singles out a specific individual or position in order to give that one individual or one position special treatment compared to everyone else flouts the very basic principles of the rule of law which entails equality before the law or equal protection of the law.
Besides, an insult law as our experience has shown, has always been open to abuse by those in power to shield themselves from legitimate criticism.
We were arrested and accused of insulting president Frederick Chiluba by calling him a thief. We knew very well, and we had the evidence, that Chiluba had stolen public funds and we needed to bring this to the attention of the Zambian people. How else could we have referred to a president who had stolen public funds other than by calling him a thief?
Anyone who steals, whether he is a president or not, is a thief. So we should have gone to prison for calling a thief a thief and later to be proved right when Chiluba ceased to be president and he was open to investigations and prosecutions?
Legitimate political criticism of political leaders is the lifeblood of any democracy. A law that in effect places one elected politician above the rest of us would therefore fundamentally undermine our democracy and would create a quasi-monarchy. This cannot be squared with the principles underlying our constitutional democracy.
It is said that respect is earned and that all our leaders should earn the respect they want. It is easy to argue that respect is earned and that no political leader can demand blind respect regardless of his statements and actions. But in a world where political diversity or multiparty politics is new and not well entrenched in the hearts of people, double standards on this score exist. If they affect you or those you support, insults are unacceptable and should be punished under criminal laws. We don't seem to have respect for the dignity of every individual without regard to how we relate to them politically.
Those we detest can be insulted in any way without us getting offended or affected. When those we support or are affiliated to politically are insulted, our blood boils. In this situation, or under these conditions, the mantra that respect must be earned becomes far more problematic.
After all, few things are as satisfying as mocking a politician one most detests, a thin-skinned tyrant. But whatever we may think of the statements and actions of our political leaders, they have been democratically elected by the Zambian people. Probably, the only person who cannot claim that is Nevers himself. Michael has been elected by the majority of the Zambian voters and that is why he is President of the Republic today. He is not a tyrant or a dictator who has imposed himself on the Zambian people. But this in itself does not stop Zambians from mocking him and showing their displeasure with him in all sorts of ways.
Michael, like any other human being, deserves respect. And this is not because of what position he occupies or what he has done. It is simply because he is a human being deserving our respect and compassion. And it is therefore unjustifiable, unfair to subject him to unnecessary insults.
But very few would argue that all politicians deserve respect and that it would be unacceptable to insult some of them. There are some who have done horrible things, who have abused their offices to steal public funds and qualify to be called thieves, lazos and all sorts of names that might be found to be insulting.
There are human beings who have committed horrible crimes and surely do not deserve our respect. There are some killers, criminals who do not deserve anyone's respect.
In saying all this, we are not in any way implying that people should get away with slander or defamation of any sort of other people, including that of the president. Those who defame others need to meet the temerity of their actions under our civil laws. Benjamin Franklin, a printer and statesman, once remarked: "It is ill manners to silence a fool and cruelty to let him go on." Insult laws are very difficult, if not impossible, to apply in a democracybecause they have the effect of silencing legitimate criticism. And to silence criticism is to silence freedom.
Again, this is not an encouragement or a clarion call for insults. What we are simply saying is that we can deal with insults without criminalising them. Our people have to be made aware of the reality that while enjoying their freedom of expression, it is wise to remember that the toes they are stepping on today may be connected to the rump that they must kiss tomorrow.
Insult laws can curtail truth. And when truth is no longer free, freedom is no longer real. All freedom springs from necessity.
And it is dangerous to send someone to prison for words they have uttered against another person because words are chameleons, which reflect the colour of their environment. And when the environment changes, the meaning of words can also change. But what happens to the individual who has been jailed over his words that have now acquired a different meaning due to the changed environment?
There are great challenges to some of these things. And we shouldn't cheat ourselves that having the freedom of expression is a natural phenomenon.
It is not. It is the result of intense care and vigilance. For these reasons, let's do away with this insult law in general and insofar as it applies to the president. Let Nevers get away with it but it won't take him far if he doesn't control his mouth. Careless talk will soon land him in more problems - they may not be criminal problems, but they will be problems nevertheless to put him in his place politically and otherwise. Facts are subversive.
Labels: INSULTS, MICHAEL SATA, MMD, NEVERS MUMBA
Read more...
It's tribalists at work - Kabimba
By Allan Mulenga
Wed 25 Sep. 2013, 14:01 CAT
WE have a clique of tribalists emerging in the PF who are sponsoring anarchy, says the party's secretary general Wynter Kabimba. And slogan-chanting PF cadres yesterday morning marched from PF Lusaka district offices to the national secretariat housed at Lusaka House, demanding Kabimba's removal.
Reacting to the PF cadres demanding his removal as secretary general, Kabimba, who is also justice minister, said it is tribalists at work and he would not succumb to tribal elements in the party and relinquish his position.
"We have in PF a clique of tribalists that is emerging. The youths that you see marching on the streets of Lusaka today are being used as tools in the hands of a clique of tribalists that is emerging in the Patriotic Front. I didn't know myself or let me say that, I have been naive all along in my belief and judgement that all those of us that have been referring to UPND as being a tribal political party were themselves non-believers in tribalism. I have been naive," he said.
"The truth of the matter is that a lot of the people that have been condemning the UPND as being a political party of tribalists are themselves tribalists; maybe even stronger tribalists than UPND members."
Kabimba said a clique of "tribal elements" was financing PF cadres to cover up for their tribal agenda.
"In order to cover up for that tribal agenda, they have now resorted to hiring innocent youths to propel their political agenda. That is what is going on. These are the people that went to the people of Zambia in 2010 and 2011, campaigning that we would like to unite the country across ethnic diversity and that people should not vote for the UPND because it was ethnically tribal," he said. "The people of Zambia believed us in that message. After taking power, a clique now has emerged in PF which is more tribal in their thinking, in their action, in their attitude, in their deeds, than the UPND."
Kabimba said his contribution to the PF was across ethnic diversity.
"You can't cheat the Zambian people in that way. So, I am becoming the sacrificial lamb of that tribal agenda. Because I didn't go out to the Zambian people to cheat them, to lie to them that I was participating in the PF on tribal lines," he said.
"I genuinely believed and I still believe today that my service, my contribution to the PF as a political party and to the PF government, is to all Zambians across ethnic diversity."
Kabimba wondered why a "clique of tribalists" had emerged when the PF did not campaign on tribal lines.
"That was my position then and that is still my position today. I will never lie to the Zambian people the way this clique has lied. I want to make emphasis that those poor youths are being financed by this clique of tribalists that is emerging in the Patriotic Front after assuming power. And the Zambian people must judge them for what they are. Because this country has remained united, it remained united under UNIP because of ethnic unity," he said.
"That is the message we put to the Zambian people when we were campaigning, that MMD was taking us on the route of having this country divided on ethnic lines and we said as PF that we shall not allow that to happen."
And Kabimba said he would not succumb to the "clique of tribalists" to relinquish his position as PF secretary general.
"To my surprise, there existed and still exists in our midst a camp of tribal elements that think now that they can use the youths on the streets to achieve their tribal agenda. This is the core of this anarchy being fuelled by these tribal elements. The sooner we get them exposed, the better for the unity of this country. I will not succumb to these tribal elements," said Kabimba.
And business in the central business district of Lusaka came to a standstill yesterday morning when PF cadres chanting anti-Kabimba slogans staged a peaceful procession.
The placard-carrying cadres were also chanting Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba's names.
They vowed to continue staging protests until Kabimba relinquishes his position.
Police had to be called in to calm the situation as the crowd became violent upon joining Cairo Road from Kafue Roundabout.
This prompted pedestrians to rush to the roadside to catch a glimpse of what was happening.
Meanwhile, PF deputy secretary general Bridget Atanga said the wrangles in the party could only be resolved by President Michael Sata and Kabimba.
Atanga said the behaviour of PF cadres was embarrassing in the eyes of the opposition.
"I am just too junior; this problem can only be solved by the President himself and the secretary general himself. The President and the secretary general have to make a decision. At the end of the day, I don't think anybody can solve this problem. I am not against Mr Kabimba. I have worked with Mr Kabimba well. After all, in every institution where there are two people or so, the're always differences, but they are not differences that one would want another person to suffer," Atanga said.
"I am also watching the top bosses and see how they will solve this problem. I am just too junior to solve it myself. It is very sad; even our opponents will start laughing at us. We feel embarrassed us who are found in office. It is like we have failed to tame them (cadres). These are the majority voters and when we were fighting, they were there through and through. We just have to handle them properly."
And PF Lusaka district chairperson Robert Chikwelete said PF cadres would not stop protesting until Kabimba relinquishes his position.
Chikwelete, who was recently recognised as PF Lusaka district chairperson, said the removal of Kabimba from his position was in the interest of the party.
Labels: CADRES, TRIBALISM, WYNTER KABIMBA
Read more...
