News / National
'Mutasa's court application will fail,' says Mugabe
07 Mar 2015 at 14:40hrs | Views
PRESIDENT Mugabe yesterday scoffed at a court challenge instituted by expelled Zanu-PF politburo members, Didymus Mutasa and Rugare Gumbo, saying the application was bound to fail. The Head of State and Government said the application was a waste of resources as no court could interfere with disciplinary matters of the revolutionary party.
He said Zanu-PF would remain guided by its constitution and would not be shaken by Mutasa's court application.
Addressing thousands of people at Chinyika Range, Ward 2, Chirumanzu-Zibagwe constituency at a demonstration of African Chrome Fields' ferrochrome beneficiation and value addition project, President Mugabe said Zanu-PF had proper structures and a constitution to be followed outside the judiciary.
Mutasa and Gumbo last week took President Mugabe and Zanu-PF to court, challenging their recent dismissal and seeking nullification of the party's 2014 national people's congress.
The legal challenge, filed at the High Court by the pair's lawyers, came a few hours after Mutasa and his nephew, Temba Mliswa, had been stripped of their parliamentary seats by Speaker of Parliament, Advocate Jacob Mudenda on the ruling party's orders.
Mutasa was Member of House of Assembly for Headlands while Mliswa was the Hurungwe West legislator.
The President said even if a judge or magistrate was going to consider the matter for possible hearing, Zanu-PF would question his or her educational qualifications.
"Whoever said that party constitution is the constitution of the country? Our party constitution directs, tells us that if one is aggrieved, there are structures to be followed from the district, province, Central Committee, Politburo and the Congress.
"In the event that there is no Congress, the Politburo Disciplinary Committee can be approached by an aggrieved member. So there is no matter that is taken to the magistrate (court). That magistrate who wants to hear the matter""? toti wakafunda kupi? (which school did you attend)," he said.
"The country's constitution empowering judges to hear Zanu-PF matters?where did you hear that from? You don't want to report your case to the party. There are disciplinary levels in the party (to be followed). Your matter hasn't reached Congress, it's not with the Central Committee."
President Mugabe questioned Mutasa's level of reasoning for failing to comprehend the constitution of the party.
He reiterated that party matters should be dealt with from within while matters outside the party would be dealt with by the judiciary.
The President said fools should be allowed to expose themselves if they do not listen to sound advice.
"There are those people who don't listen to advice. Let him (Mutasa) throw his money in the river. Steel cannot change to fish if you drop it in water. You find someone throwing $10 in a river thinking that the money will multiply," he said.
President Mugabe said some people were being misled by fraudulent inyangas to visit graveyards and leave their money believing that when they return on the following day it would have multiplied.
He said people should be wise enough not to be taken for a ride and lose property.
"People are misled to go to the cemetery with their money, they go with $3 and are told that it will multiply to $6. When they go back on the following day, they are shocked to find the money gone. They don't even know where to find the person who duped them," said the President.
He urged people to be wary of emerging Pentecostal churches that were mushrooming in the country.
President Mugabe said the leaders of these churches were ripping-off innocent people of their hard earned money.
The President said some pastors were there to rip-off the congregants of their wealth. He urged Zimbabweans to stick to traditional churches like Roman Catholic, Methodist and Anglican church.
President Mugabe assured the ACF leadership that the government was fully behind their investment.
"You can continue working on the project. It's an investment project and you won't find any hindrance in your project. We will facilitate its establishment," he said.
President Mugabe urged ACF to start operations as soon as possible.
The ACF management had told the President that they would commence production within 11 months.
"You said you will take 11 months to fully establish the projects. I don't know how that time could be reduced. If it's labour, let the people work even at night like what the Chinese do, they work 24 hours and that's how they manage to finish their structures in record time. I think it's a method we should adopt so that we've a continuous process in existence," said President Mugabe.
The President said gone were the days of exporting the country's natural resources unprocessed.
He said value addition was critical if the country was to fully benefit from its God given natural resources.
President Mugabe said value addition was a key component of the economic blueprint, Zim-Asset. He said the country still had many reserves of untapped natural resources.
President Mugabe said unlike South Africa, the country's minerals were still on the surface and could easily be tapped.
"There is no country in the world with huge reserves of chrome like Zimbabwe. Gold, diamonds we have and are still on the surface. In South Africa they are finished on top. So we must follow the guidelines of Zim-Asset. There is nothing that Zim-Assert omits. It touches on every aspect of our socio-economic development, be it natural resources, or farming. We must make money out of our resources," said the President.
He said the country needed to invest in dams owing to climate change challenges. President Mugabe said the country was now lagging behind in agriculture.
"Rains fall for two months and go but we lack water harvesting. At the end of the day we've the maize crop wilting faster than other crops. If we have dams, then we resort to irrigation," he said.
The President assured Zimbabweans no one was going to starve due to the potential drought facing the country. He said the government was going to do everything in its power to feed the nation.
"The government is prepared to assist you. No one will die of hunger. The young people shouldn't drop out of school due to hunger because the little we have, the people are going to receive," he said.
He said Zanu-PF would remain guided by its constitution and would not be shaken by Mutasa's court application.
Addressing thousands of people at Chinyika Range, Ward 2, Chirumanzu-Zibagwe constituency at a demonstration of African Chrome Fields' ferrochrome beneficiation and value addition project, President Mugabe said Zanu-PF had proper structures and a constitution to be followed outside the judiciary.
Mutasa and Gumbo last week took President Mugabe and Zanu-PF to court, challenging their recent dismissal and seeking nullification of the party's 2014 national people's congress.
The legal challenge, filed at the High Court by the pair's lawyers, came a few hours after Mutasa and his nephew, Temba Mliswa, had been stripped of their parliamentary seats by Speaker of Parliament, Advocate Jacob Mudenda on the ruling party's orders.
Mutasa was Member of House of Assembly for Headlands while Mliswa was the Hurungwe West legislator.
The President said even if a judge or magistrate was going to consider the matter for possible hearing, Zanu-PF would question his or her educational qualifications.
"Whoever said that party constitution is the constitution of the country? Our party constitution directs, tells us that if one is aggrieved, there are structures to be followed from the district, province, Central Committee, Politburo and the Congress.
"In the event that there is no Congress, the Politburo Disciplinary Committee can be approached by an aggrieved member. So there is no matter that is taken to the magistrate (court). That magistrate who wants to hear the matter""? toti wakafunda kupi? (which school did you attend)," he said.
"The country's constitution empowering judges to hear Zanu-PF matters?where did you hear that from? You don't want to report your case to the party. There are disciplinary levels in the party (to be followed). Your matter hasn't reached Congress, it's not with the Central Committee."
President Mugabe questioned Mutasa's level of reasoning for failing to comprehend the constitution of the party.
He reiterated that party matters should be dealt with from within while matters outside the party would be dealt with by the judiciary.
The President said fools should be allowed to expose themselves if they do not listen to sound advice.
"There are those people who don't listen to advice. Let him (Mutasa) throw his money in the river. Steel cannot change to fish if you drop it in water. You find someone throwing $10 in a river thinking that the money will multiply," he said.
President Mugabe said some people were being misled by fraudulent inyangas to visit graveyards and leave their money believing that when they return on the following day it would have multiplied.
He said people should be wise enough not to be taken for a ride and lose property.
"People are misled to go to the cemetery with their money, they go with $3 and are told that it will multiply to $6. When they go back on the following day, they are shocked to find the money gone. They don't even know where to find the person who duped them," said the President.
He urged people to be wary of emerging Pentecostal churches that were mushrooming in the country.
President Mugabe said the leaders of these churches were ripping-off innocent people of their hard earned money.
The President said some pastors were there to rip-off the congregants of their wealth. He urged Zimbabweans to stick to traditional churches like Roman Catholic, Methodist and Anglican church.
President Mugabe assured the ACF leadership that the government was fully behind their investment.
"You can continue working on the project. It's an investment project and you won't find any hindrance in your project. We will facilitate its establishment," he said.
President Mugabe urged ACF to start operations as soon as possible.
The ACF management had told the President that they would commence production within 11 months.
"You said you will take 11 months to fully establish the projects. I don't know how that time could be reduced. If it's labour, let the people work even at night like what the Chinese do, they work 24 hours and that's how they manage to finish their structures in record time. I think it's a method we should adopt so that we've a continuous process in existence," said President Mugabe.
The President said gone were the days of exporting the country's natural resources unprocessed.
He said value addition was critical if the country was to fully benefit from its God given natural resources.
President Mugabe said value addition was a key component of the economic blueprint, Zim-Asset. He said the country still had many reserves of untapped natural resources.
President Mugabe said unlike South Africa, the country's minerals were still on the surface and could easily be tapped.
"There is no country in the world with huge reserves of chrome like Zimbabwe. Gold, diamonds we have and are still on the surface. In South Africa they are finished on top. So we must follow the guidelines of Zim-Asset. There is nothing that Zim-Assert omits. It touches on every aspect of our socio-economic development, be it natural resources, or farming. We must make money out of our resources," said the President.
He said the country needed to invest in dams owing to climate change challenges. President Mugabe said the country was now lagging behind in agriculture.
"Rains fall for two months and go but we lack water harvesting. At the end of the day we've the maize crop wilting faster than other crops. If we have dams, then we resort to irrigation," he said.
The President assured Zimbabweans no one was going to starve due to the potential drought facing the country. He said the government was going to do everything in its power to feed the nation.
"The government is prepared to assist you. No one will die of hunger. The young people shouldn't drop out of school due to hunger because the little we have, the people are going to receive," he said.
Source - chronicle
