Opinion / Columnist
Daily lies on the President would not work
20 Apr 2016 at 08:15hrs | Views
A report in the Daily News of 19 April 2016, titled Stop making empty promises, brings to the fore the issue of make-believe, which seems to be driving force behind that paper's editorial leanings and those of other critics of President Robert Mugabe.
The question to ask is did President Robert Mugabe promise a salary increase to civil servants during his Independence speech at the Harare International Sports Stadium?
Let us look at what the President said.
He said; ‘It is the desire of Government that salaries progressively match the Poverty Datum Line. Government apologises for the late disbursement of salaries, bonuses and monthly payments to pensioners, but be rest assured that Government is working flat out to improve the situation."
To any level-headed person, it is clear that the President was expressing Government's desire to improve the welfare of civil servants and not promising anything.
President Mugabe is simply communicating what Government would want to do and not promising what Government is going to do.
So, for one to deduce that the President had indeed promised to increase salaries for civil servants is rather mischievous and exposes a congenital tendency to twist facts in favour of spiced lies aimed at maligning the Head of State and Government.
If the President had wanted to offer salary increments to civil servants, he would have simply said it in clear terms like he did with the pledge to pay bonuses to all Government workers.
Going by the pledge of bonus payments and how it is being honoured, it is clear that the President is a man of his word as civil servants are in the process of receiving their 13th cheque despite doomsayers having cast aspersions at his bonus pledge.
It is worrying therefore that some media outlets such as the Daily News seem to thrive on contrived pessimistic news.
They will do anything to denigrate President Robert Mugabe and the performance of Government.
These papers see nothing positive from Government hence their reports are always negative, whether factual or concocted.
It is no wonder that these parties are linked to a regime change crusade fronted by western countries and championed by the MDC-T and other opposition political parties, for all they wish for is the removal of President Robert Mugabe from power.
What these papers and other detractors fail to understand is that their lies and contortion of the truth would not erode the President's constitutional right to complete his electoral mandate and also compete in the 2018 harmonised polls if he so wishes.
Their regime change persuasions would remain evasive and wishful as Zimbabwe is a constitutional democracy that frowns at those who wants to remove the President from power through unconstitutional means.
The question to ask is did President Robert Mugabe promise a salary increase to civil servants during his Independence speech at the Harare International Sports Stadium?
Let us look at what the President said.
He said; ‘It is the desire of Government that salaries progressively match the Poverty Datum Line. Government apologises for the late disbursement of salaries, bonuses and monthly payments to pensioners, but be rest assured that Government is working flat out to improve the situation."
To any level-headed person, it is clear that the President was expressing Government's desire to improve the welfare of civil servants and not promising anything.
President Mugabe is simply communicating what Government would want to do and not promising what Government is going to do.
If the President had wanted to offer salary increments to civil servants, he would have simply said it in clear terms like he did with the pledge to pay bonuses to all Government workers.
Going by the pledge of bonus payments and how it is being honoured, it is clear that the President is a man of his word as civil servants are in the process of receiving their 13th cheque despite doomsayers having cast aspersions at his bonus pledge.
It is worrying therefore that some media outlets such as the Daily News seem to thrive on contrived pessimistic news.
They will do anything to denigrate President Robert Mugabe and the performance of Government.
These papers see nothing positive from Government hence their reports are always negative, whether factual or concocted.
It is no wonder that these parties are linked to a regime change crusade fronted by western countries and championed by the MDC-T and other opposition political parties, for all they wish for is the removal of President Robert Mugabe from power.
What these papers and other detractors fail to understand is that their lies and contortion of the truth would not erode the President's constitutional right to complete his electoral mandate and also compete in the 2018 harmonised polls if he so wishes.
Their regime change persuasions would remain evasive and wishful as Zimbabwe is a constitutional democracy that frowns at those who wants to remove the President from power through unconstitutional means.
Source - Gwinyai Mutongi
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