News / National
SK Moyo's speach to EU Head of Missions in Zimbabwe
13 Apr 2011 at 13:45hrs | Views
THE Head of Missions of the members states of the European Union in Zimbabwe meet bimonthly to discuss the situation in Zimbabwe. They invited the Zanu PF national chairman Ambassador Simon Khaya Moyo to address them at their meeting held yesterday. Below is Ambassador's address
Introduction
Your Excellencies, it is my honour and privilege to have this opportunity to share with you this morning my reflections on the prevailing situation in Zimbabwe and the various competing perspectives around it, which naturally include your own views.
It may please you to know that I did not hesitate to accept your very kind invitation, notwithstanding its short notice, because as someone with some 10-years-of-service to my country in the diplomatic corps, coming here to be with you is like coming home to be with my own colleagues and there's no better place to be than home!
But even with our shared background in the diplomatic community which I cherish very much, you have of course invited me here in my capacity as the National Chairman of Zanu-PF, which is the political vanguard and guardian of Zimbabwe's liberation struggle and independence whose 31st anniversary we will be celebrating next Monday on April 18.
I understand that, in order to allow for a frank exchange of views, discussions and perspectives, this forum is organised more as an interactive dialogue rather than as a lecture.
Accordingly, I propose to kick start our dialogue this morning by raising with you five topical issues which I believe make up the core of key talking points about our country today.
Five key talking points
The first is the much anticipated elections we expect to hold this year.
The second is the Copac constitution-making process which has now reached its critical stages after some unnecessary and even mischievous delays.
The third is the national economic empowerment programme we are vigorously pursuing through indigenisation.
The fourth is the all too important question of illegal economic sanctions whose negative impact on our people has become unbearable.
the fifth and final point is our assessment of the performance of the GPA Government itself.
While I am sure you will agree that there's a lot to be said about these very important talking points, our time today and the format of our discussion does not permit. And so let me make some schematic observations that reflect the position of my party, Zanu-PF, on each of the five points for purposes of discussion.
Let's look closer at each of the above five key talking points about Zimbabwe's political situation today and let me, if you will, begin first with the last point, the assessment of the performance of the GPA Government, going upwards.
Assessment of the GPA Government
As a party which is a signatory to the GPA, we have done everything in our power and capacity to ensure the success of the GPA government which in some quarters has been described as a Government of National Unity or Inclusive Government.
It is our submission that, by and large, the GPA has been a success even if that success has been rather mixed. In our view, a major factor that has accounted for the success of the GPA over the last 26 or so months is the introduction of the multi-currency economic policy adopted and implemented by the Zanu-PF Government on January 29 2009 well before the formation of the GNU or IG under the GPA on March 13 2009. As then Ambassador to South Africa, I speak with compelling authority.
That Zanu-PF policy has gone a long way towards eliminating hyperinflation, easing inflation and enabling foodstuffs and goods to return to the shelves of supermarkets along with the restoration of essential services.
I believe that it is also true that for the better part of its 26 month lifespan, the GPA Government has seen the prevalence of relative peace and stability in our country today.
The challenge of illegal economic sanctions
Unfortunately, the much needed economic turnaround in the country has not fully taken place to the extent it should and could have been in the context of the GPA because the countries that you, my colleagues represent, have failed to support not only the full implementation of the GPA but also the people of Zimbabwe by not removing the sanctions that the EU imposed in 2002 as a result of our Land Reform Programme, arising from a purely bilateral matter between Britain and Zimbabwe.
That imposition was in violation of not just international law, as there was no UN approval, but also violated the Cotonou Agreement which regulates the relationship between the EU with its African, Pacific and Caribbean countries as partners in development.
There's really no need to belabour the point about sanctions because there's now a broad based international consensus that the illegal economic sanctions are wrong and are not just targeted at some Zanu-PF leadership as often claimed but that they have affected the economy as a whole by, among other things, undermining critical social services such as health and education.
Indeed, the failure by the EU, the US and their allies to remove the illegal economic sanctions has not only compromised the GPA Government by causing divisions within its ranks but has also caused division in your own ranks in the EU and among other interested partners.
What is worse, though, is that the illegal economic sanctions have in fact caused suffering among ordinary people in ways whose full impact is yet to be told. Our people are literate enough to distinguish fiction from reality.
On this point, my dear colleagues, I think the time has come to be honest with each other by having these sanctions, which should not have been imposed in the first place, removed without further delay. Surely we can demonstrate better civilised conduct amongst our nations, as Zimbabwe deserves better, from the EU.
In the meantime, Zanu-PF has launched a mass based anti-sanctions petition to give our people a hitherto missing voice against what they see as an evil that they experience in their everyday life. This petition is not only going very well but it is set to gain new political momentum in the days, weeks and months ahead. The outcome will shock the civilised world.
Indigenisation
While our efforts to turnaround the economy have been undermined by the continuation of the illegal economic sanctions which has also negatively affected the progress of the GPA Government, we in Zanu-PF have embarked on the policy of economically empowering our people through indigenisation and we are doing so through the Government and under a very clear and transparent legal dispensation.
The thrust of our policy is to ensure that the exploitation of our God given natural resources and indeed the pursuit of all economic activity in our country is enshrined in the hands of our people through taking majority ownership of equity in the companies that exploit our resources or that undertake economic activity in our country.
As I am sure you have heard, it is our party's view that companies from the countries that have imposed illegal economic sanctions against Zimbabwe should be the first to be fully indigenised as an expression of the internationally recognised principle of reciprocity. It's not revenge but reciprocity!
Copac constitution-making process
An important task before the three political parties in the GPA Government, and indeed before our nation, is the constitution -making process. As Zanu-PF, we want this process to be undertaken properly, transparently and expeditiously.
We have no reason to seek to derail or undermine this process because of our clear commitment to it in the GPA. Copac outreach programme echoed the positions of our people in no uncertain terms. The people spoke very boldly. As Johanna Van Goethe would say, "Boldness has genius, power and magic in it."
Perhaps this explains why our political opponents and their supporters have variously sought to corrupt the content of the outreach views and when they are not doing that they have tried to find all sorts of excuses to delay the work of the thematic committees.
Let me use this opportunity to assure you dear colleagues that our commitment to having the Copac process concluded properly is unshakable. I hope we can be able to count on your help in this regard.
Elections
One of the very important reasons why it has become critically important that we properly conclude the Copac process as soon as possible without further delay is that it is an important benchmark or milestone towards the holding of a harmonised general election which is now due.
Let me emphasise here that what is critical is the proper, transparent and legal conclusion of the Copac process in the form of a referendum and not necessarily having a new constitution.
We must hold a general election whether or not the Copac process concludes with a new constitution. The mere fact that there must be a referendum on a draft new constitution means that we cannot and should not prejudge the outcome of that referendum which could either be a "Yes" or "No" to a new constitution. If it's a "Yes", then that would be good but if it's a "No" that would be good too from a democratic point of view. Elections would then follow.
In any event, the GPA Government has outlived its lifespan which was supposed to be 24 months from February 13 2009.
The delay in the implementation and conclusion of the Copac process is neither a necessary nor sufficient reason to delay the election whose holding has become absolutely necessary, in order to remove the current vagaries of the GPA gridlock.
One clear and uncompromising message I wish to leave you with on this issue is that we as a country will not brook any interference in the organisation and running of our forthcoming election.
We have never needed, we do not need and we will never need anyone from outside to determine who shall govern or how we shall be governed.
This is a matter of our birth right to which many of our sons and daughters sacrificed their lives during the liberation struggle for our independence.
This principle should apply to all sovereign states the world over.
It would be very ironic for us as Zanu-PF to allow the funding of our election by countries, or group of countries that have imposed illegal economic sanctions on our country and that have refused to remove them; countries or group of countries that have refused to fund development projects in Zimbabwe while choosing to support self-serving humanitarian projects that are directly linked to their regime-change objectives.
We will not allow that development. When it comes to this issue, there's no compromise and each one of us must carry their own cross!
Conclusion
I have proffered the foregoing to facilitate discussion, debate and a frank exchange of views among colleagues.
There is a common saying that the devil is always in the detail but that saying often overlooks the fact that the angels are always in the principle.
We are prepared to discuss details and to even negotiate details in order to flush out the devil but we are not prepared to debate or negotiate our principles, especially with respect to such inalienable fundamentals as the sovereignty, the self-determination and the total empowerment of our people as an expression of their hard won independence.
The future has several names. Let the EU and Zimbabwe share this one - cooperation and development. Together we can prosper.
Introduction
Your Excellencies, it is my honour and privilege to have this opportunity to share with you this morning my reflections on the prevailing situation in Zimbabwe and the various competing perspectives around it, which naturally include your own views.
It may please you to know that I did not hesitate to accept your very kind invitation, notwithstanding its short notice, because as someone with some 10-years-of-service to my country in the diplomatic corps, coming here to be with you is like coming home to be with my own colleagues and there's no better place to be than home!
But even with our shared background in the diplomatic community which I cherish very much, you have of course invited me here in my capacity as the National Chairman of Zanu-PF, which is the political vanguard and guardian of Zimbabwe's liberation struggle and independence whose 31st anniversary we will be celebrating next Monday on April 18.
I understand that, in order to allow for a frank exchange of views, discussions and perspectives, this forum is organised more as an interactive dialogue rather than as a lecture.
Accordingly, I propose to kick start our dialogue this morning by raising with you five topical issues which I believe make up the core of key talking points about our country today.
Five key talking points
The first is the much anticipated elections we expect to hold this year.
The second is the Copac constitution-making process which has now reached its critical stages after some unnecessary and even mischievous delays.
The third is the national economic empowerment programme we are vigorously pursuing through indigenisation.
The fourth is the all too important question of illegal economic sanctions whose negative impact on our people has become unbearable.
the fifth and final point is our assessment of the performance of the GPA Government itself.
While I am sure you will agree that there's a lot to be said about these very important talking points, our time today and the format of our discussion does not permit. And so let me make some schematic observations that reflect the position of my party, Zanu-PF, on each of the five points for purposes of discussion.
Let's look closer at each of the above five key talking points about Zimbabwe's political situation today and let me, if you will, begin first with the last point, the assessment of the performance of the GPA Government, going upwards.
Assessment of the GPA Government
As a party which is a signatory to the GPA, we have done everything in our power and capacity to ensure the success of the GPA government which in some quarters has been described as a Government of National Unity or Inclusive Government.
It is our submission that, by and large, the GPA has been a success even if that success has been rather mixed. In our view, a major factor that has accounted for the success of the GPA over the last 26 or so months is the introduction of the multi-currency economic policy adopted and implemented by the Zanu-PF Government on January 29 2009 well before the formation of the GNU or IG under the GPA on March 13 2009. As then Ambassador to South Africa, I speak with compelling authority.
That Zanu-PF policy has gone a long way towards eliminating hyperinflation, easing inflation and enabling foodstuffs and goods to return to the shelves of supermarkets along with the restoration of essential services.
I believe that it is also true that for the better part of its 26 month lifespan, the GPA Government has seen the prevalence of relative peace and stability in our country today.
The challenge of illegal economic sanctions
Unfortunately, the much needed economic turnaround in the country has not fully taken place to the extent it should and could have been in the context of the GPA because the countries that you, my colleagues represent, have failed to support not only the full implementation of the GPA but also the people of Zimbabwe by not removing the sanctions that the EU imposed in 2002 as a result of our Land Reform Programme, arising from a purely bilateral matter between Britain and Zimbabwe.
That imposition was in violation of not just international law, as there was no UN approval, but also violated the Cotonou Agreement which regulates the relationship between the EU with its African, Pacific and Caribbean countries as partners in development.
There's really no need to belabour the point about sanctions because there's now a broad based international consensus that the illegal economic sanctions are wrong and are not just targeted at some Zanu-PF leadership as often claimed but that they have affected the economy as a whole by, among other things, undermining critical social services such as health and education.
Indeed, the failure by the EU, the US and their allies to remove the illegal economic sanctions has not only compromised the GPA Government by causing divisions within its ranks but has also caused division in your own ranks in the EU and among other interested partners.
What is worse, though, is that the illegal economic sanctions have in fact caused suffering among ordinary people in ways whose full impact is yet to be told. Our people are literate enough to distinguish fiction from reality.
On this point, my dear colleagues, I think the time has come to be honest with each other by having these sanctions, which should not have been imposed in the first place, removed without further delay. Surely we can demonstrate better civilised conduct amongst our nations, as Zimbabwe deserves better, from the EU.
In the meantime, Zanu-PF has launched a mass based anti-sanctions petition to give our people a hitherto missing voice against what they see as an evil that they experience in their everyday life. This petition is not only going very well but it is set to gain new political momentum in the days, weeks and months ahead. The outcome will shock the civilised world.
Indigenisation
While our efforts to turnaround the economy have been undermined by the continuation of the illegal economic sanctions which has also negatively affected the progress of the GPA Government, we in Zanu-PF have embarked on the policy of economically empowering our people through indigenisation and we are doing so through the Government and under a very clear and transparent legal dispensation.
The thrust of our policy is to ensure that the exploitation of our God given natural resources and indeed the pursuit of all economic activity in our country is enshrined in the hands of our people through taking majority ownership of equity in the companies that exploit our resources or that undertake economic activity in our country.
As I am sure you have heard, it is our party's view that companies from the countries that have imposed illegal economic sanctions against Zimbabwe should be the first to be fully indigenised as an expression of the internationally recognised principle of reciprocity. It's not revenge but reciprocity!
Copac constitution-making process
An important task before the three political parties in the GPA Government, and indeed before our nation, is the constitution -making process. As Zanu-PF, we want this process to be undertaken properly, transparently and expeditiously.
We have no reason to seek to derail or undermine this process because of our clear commitment to it in the GPA. Copac outreach programme echoed the positions of our people in no uncertain terms. The people spoke very boldly. As Johanna Van Goethe would say, "Boldness has genius, power and magic in it."
Perhaps this explains why our political opponents and their supporters have variously sought to corrupt the content of the outreach views and when they are not doing that they have tried to find all sorts of excuses to delay the work of the thematic committees.
Let me use this opportunity to assure you dear colleagues that our commitment to having the Copac process concluded properly is unshakable. I hope we can be able to count on your help in this regard.
Elections
One of the very important reasons why it has become critically important that we properly conclude the Copac process as soon as possible without further delay is that it is an important benchmark or milestone towards the holding of a harmonised general election which is now due.
Let me emphasise here that what is critical is the proper, transparent and legal conclusion of the Copac process in the form of a referendum and not necessarily having a new constitution.
We must hold a general election whether or not the Copac process concludes with a new constitution. The mere fact that there must be a referendum on a draft new constitution means that we cannot and should not prejudge the outcome of that referendum which could either be a "Yes" or "No" to a new constitution. If it's a "Yes", then that would be good but if it's a "No" that would be good too from a democratic point of view. Elections would then follow.
In any event, the GPA Government has outlived its lifespan which was supposed to be 24 months from February 13 2009.
The delay in the implementation and conclusion of the Copac process is neither a necessary nor sufficient reason to delay the election whose holding has become absolutely necessary, in order to remove the current vagaries of the GPA gridlock.
One clear and uncompromising message I wish to leave you with on this issue is that we as a country will not brook any interference in the organisation and running of our forthcoming election.
We have never needed, we do not need and we will never need anyone from outside to determine who shall govern or how we shall be governed.
This is a matter of our birth right to which many of our sons and daughters sacrificed their lives during the liberation struggle for our independence.
This principle should apply to all sovereign states the world over.
It would be very ironic for us as Zanu-PF to allow the funding of our election by countries, or group of countries that have imposed illegal economic sanctions on our country and that have refused to remove them; countries or group of countries that have refused to fund development projects in Zimbabwe while choosing to support self-serving humanitarian projects that are directly linked to their regime-change objectives.
We will not allow that development. When it comes to this issue, there's no compromise and each one of us must carry their own cross!
Conclusion
I have proffered the foregoing to facilitate discussion, debate and a frank exchange of views among colleagues.
There is a common saying that the devil is always in the detail but that saying often overlooks the fact that the angels are always in the principle.
We are prepared to discuss details and to even negotiate details in order to flush out the devil but we are not prepared to debate or negotiate our principles, especially with respect to such inalienable fundamentals as the sovereignty, the self-determination and the total empowerment of our people as an expression of their hard won independence.
The future has several names. Let the EU and Zimbabwe share this one - cooperation and development. Together we can prosper.
Source - Simon Khaya Moyo
