News / National
Mugabe's strategy to counter violent demos
11 Sep 2016 at 09:31hrs | Views
President Mugabe has come up with a 10-point strategy to counter an elaborate Western plot to destabilise Zimbabwe via opposition-led protests and anarchy, the state media reported on Sunday.
This comes as Harare-based NGO Africa Farming Solutions was outed as one of the conduits the West was using to fund violent protests and influence opposition elements.
Zanu-PF Secretary for Administration Dr Ignatius Chombo told The Sunday Mail that President Mugabe laid the essential framework to guide Zanu-PF and the entire nation during the ruling party's Politburo and Central Committee meetings in Harare last week.
Dr Chombo said, "As the party's Secretary for Administration, I want to remind party members and the rest of Zimbabweans of the 10 exhortations which were made by the President during the Politburo and Central Committee (meetings) last week.
"These exhortations are what will guide the party accordingly as we prepare to go for the December Conference as well as position ourselves against the threats posed by the West. "Firstly, there is need to organise the party from cell, village, branch, district and provinces. We should also genuinely unite the people under the banner of Zanu-PF. We should also undertake to shun factionalism, divisions, nepotism, tribalism and regionalism.
"The President also implored us to shun corruption at all levels of society, listen to the concerns of the people, stop jostling for positions and wait to be elected by the people and respect the choice of the electorate, be a leadership of good conduct, which stays with the people always.
"We should teach people the party line and strategy; be orderly and systematic in doing things; remain people-oriented by knowing how the people live, what their problems are and then proffer solutions; be cautious of social media and avoid using it as platforms to attack each other and settle scores."
Dr Chombo - who is also Home Affairs Minister - said authorities were investigating Africa Farming Solutions and other NGOs the West was using to transmit money to opposition groups and organise violent protests.
He said information gathered so far indicates former MDC-T parliamentarian Mr Ian Kay's wife, an AFS employee, was the point person for Western funders who were pouring money into the protests under the guise of agriculture development.
"We want to warn these NGOs that they risk being expelled from the country if they are involved in sponsoring violence," said Dr Chombo.
At last week's Central Committee meeting, President Mugabe said the violent opposition-led protests staged in Harare last month had been carefully planned.
"The demonstrations we have witnessed in the last few weeks were not by accident of history, but were purposefully choreographed and launched in the mistaken belief that that time was now ripe for a popular uprising against Government.
"… The banner National Electoral Reforms Agenda which they have used as a pretext to resort to violent demonstrations is quite clearly a smokescreen of their real intentions. Deep in their minds, they want to avoid going to the general elections in 2018 by creating a false electoral crisis, which, they hope, would be addressed ahead of any plebiscite by outsiders," he said.
This comes as Harare-based NGO Africa Farming Solutions was outed as one of the conduits the West was using to fund violent protests and influence opposition elements.
Zanu-PF Secretary for Administration Dr Ignatius Chombo told The Sunday Mail that President Mugabe laid the essential framework to guide Zanu-PF and the entire nation during the ruling party's Politburo and Central Committee meetings in Harare last week.
Dr Chombo said, "As the party's Secretary for Administration, I want to remind party members and the rest of Zimbabweans of the 10 exhortations which were made by the President during the Politburo and Central Committee (meetings) last week.
"These exhortations are what will guide the party accordingly as we prepare to go for the December Conference as well as position ourselves against the threats posed by the West. "Firstly, there is need to organise the party from cell, village, branch, district and provinces. We should also genuinely unite the people under the banner of Zanu-PF. We should also undertake to shun factionalism, divisions, nepotism, tribalism and regionalism.
"The President also implored us to shun corruption at all levels of society, listen to the concerns of the people, stop jostling for positions and wait to be elected by the people and respect the choice of the electorate, be a leadership of good conduct, which stays with the people always.
Dr Chombo - who is also Home Affairs Minister - said authorities were investigating Africa Farming Solutions and other NGOs the West was using to transmit money to opposition groups and organise violent protests.
He said information gathered so far indicates former MDC-T parliamentarian Mr Ian Kay's wife, an AFS employee, was the point person for Western funders who were pouring money into the protests under the guise of agriculture development.
"We want to warn these NGOs that they risk being expelled from the country if they are involved in sponsoring violence," said Dr Chombo.
At last week's Central Committee meeting, President Mugabe said the violent opposition-led protests staged in Harare last month had been carefully planned.
"The demonstrations we have witnessed in the last few weeks were not by accident of history, but were purposefully choreographed and launched in the mistaken belief that that time was now ripe for a popular uprising against Government.
"… The banner National Electoral Reforms Agenda which they have used as a pretext to resort to violent demonstrations is quite clearly a smokescreen of their real intentions. Deep in their minds, they want to avoid going to the general elections in 2018 by creating a false electoral crisis, which, they hope, would be addressed ahead of any plebiscite by outsiders," he said.
Source - Sunday Mail
