Robert Mugabe talks tough

A tough-talking President Robert Mugabe says Zanu-PF bigwigs are not guaranteed to retain their posts in the central committee and the politburo after the December elective congress as every party position would be up for contestation.

Officially opening the women's league congress, Mugabe said those in senior positions should deliver before the congress or else they would fall by the way side.

"As we are meeting here, we are preparing for the elective congress. At that congress, all the leaders of the party at central committee level, politburo level, must resign, all of us must resign so that new ones can be chosen," he said.

Mugabe said that he was aware of some "ambitious" party members who were splashing cash and buying support ahead of the elective congress.

"There are, naturally, people who would want to be elected to certain positions, some are already campaigning vigorously and using lots of money," he said.

The president said the election results of the youth league as well as of the women's league were being used as trump cards by those who are plotting to get power, albeit using money.

"So they would want to see the youth league, the women's league producing persons whom they think support them and would at  congress then combine in electing them," he said.

Last week, Kudzanai Chipanga from Manicaland won the youth league deputy secretary position after out-polling Tongai Kasukuwere of Mashonaland Central in an election Mugabe described as shameful as there was high incidences of vote-buying.

"Right now, as we started with the youth league held recently and here at the women's league, there are people who are misbehaving, plotting outcomes of these conferences, but you, here, be careful. If you want to be slaves of these people, it's up to you," he said.

"We are saying people should be allowed to choose a leader they want. Our hopes are that right now, we have party programmes that need support, we expect people to support these programmes and then the people would reward us."

Turning to the just-ended youth conference, Mugabe said he was ashamed of watching the youth conference that had many blunders, some of them of a criminal nature, as top party officials forced the youths to choose who to vote for.

"We made blunders when preparing for the youth conference and very many, many blunders, some of them criminal blunders, in interfering with the rights of members of the youth league to make their own choice of who they preferred to lead them," he said.

"We failed to organise the youth league conference, we interfered in a shameful way, old people interfering in the politics of the youths," he said much to the applause of delegates.

"We did this as we wanted to push for those we wanted to take up the two positions that were there, if we did not interfere, who knows, maybe the same person who won could have still won without this rubbish interference that we did," he said.

"The party had no money to provide transport to the people, but there was money to buy votes. I beg with you women, I have heard that there are people who are doing certain things here, please. We don't want to have interference in the same way done with the youths. We don't want you to come up with decisions that you don't like," he said.

The women's conference is expected to close today with elections of a new executive likely to be led by First Lady Grace Mugabe after the December congress.