'No one owns Zanu-PF,' says Mugabe

Zanu-PF members should be orderly and united, and those fanning factionalism risk being kicked out of the party, President Mugabe has said. Officially opening the 15th Zanu-PF Annual National People's Conference here yesterday, the party's First Secretary and President said no one owned anyone in the party.

"We cannot succeed unless we are united. We cannot succeed if we continue quarrelling. We cannot be a party of continued success and victories — divided we fall, united we stand. Let us be united.

"We say to ourselves comrades. Comradeship should exist in abundance. We are all comrades. There is none of us who is a better comrade than the other.

"We are all comrades whether we are war veterans or not. We are veterans in our own way, whether we went to war or we did not. You are a valuable member of the party, you make contributions in your own way even if you are a peasant farmer. You mean the same to me as a comrade in the party. Uyu neuyu ane basa rake raanoita," said President Mugabe.

He added: "So let us drop zvekuti ava ndivo vangu, ava havasi vangu, ava vanondisupporter, ava havandisapote. Kana uri mutungamiriri chaiye hauzoti uyu anondisupporter, uyu haasi. Vose vanosungirwa kukusupporter pachigaro chauri ichocho nokuti ukadzamara wadaro kuti ava ndivo vangu, ava havasi vangu, watovarwisanisa. Ndipo panovamba ipapo nyaya yokurwisana.

"Tinetwumwe twakaoma musoro twunongoramba twuchiti ava ndivo vekwaMphoko ava vanosupporter Mnangagwa hatidi kuzvinzwa izvozvo zvinouraya musangano.

"Hapana vanonzi ava ndevekwa Mphoko ava ndevekwa Mnangagwa — vangu ndevapi? Vangu ndevese vakandiisa pachigaro. Hazvina kuti ava ndiGushungo, ava Murehwa, ava Shumba. Hongu ndiri garwe asi vese, are our people."

President Mugabe said those fanning factionalism were bent on destroying Zanu-PF and warned that they face the boot if they do not change their ways.



"Vakaramba vachidaro ndivo vatinonakura. Let us be one. We are together for the common Zanu-PF cause. We remain the people's party, ngatirambei takadaro. Ngativeyi nechido mumoyo medu. Kuno kutukana, kusanzwisisana kuripo, kumaprovinces kunyeyana kunoramba kuripo. Iduty renyu kuti pasi nekunyeyana," said the President.

He challenged Zanu-PF cadres to learn to resolve their differences amicably.

"Kana baba namai vane mhuri nevana kunoita bishi pavana, hazvishaikwe izvozvo. Chinodiwa ndechokuti kuve nekuenzaniswa zvichemo zvichiteererwa, zvigumbu zvichiteererwa, zvikonzero zvichiteererwa kumativi ose. Asi pokupedzisira pachiva nekunzwanana kuti tiri mhuri imwechete.

"Makakatanwa haashaikwe, kutukana hakushaikwe, kana kupotserana zvibhakera, zvinoitika asi mozogara pasi moti chatiri kuita chii tine musangano unotipa gwara. Tirikuteedza gwara romusangano here?"

"Imwe nyaya irikushupa vamwe vanoda zvigaro saka vanenge vachida support kuti vatsigirwe. Hongu, ndakati vanhu kuita shungu yezvigaro zvingavepo asi shungu iyoyo ngairege kuita shungu inoita mupatsanurwe murege kuwirirana mukamure vanhu ava vachinzi ndevekwa ngana ava vekwangana. Ndizvo zvatisingade izvovo. Hapana vekwangana. Vese vanhu ndevemusangano we Zanu-PF," said President Mugabe.

He said Zanu-PF belonged to everyone and divisions must end.

"Tose tiri mumusangano uyu unotungamirwa nehutungamiriri hwamurikuona pano apa. Zvino vatungamiriri mukati ava ndivo vangu, vamuri kusiya ndevaani? Ndiyo nyaya iyoyo yapinda, yaita kuti musangano unge uchigedageda, vanaTsvangirai vachiti hekani waro, dai zvaenderera mberi. Isu tine tsika yokuti zvakadaro hazvienderere mberi zvinofanirwa kutariswa zvisati zvaenderera mberi and zvogadziriswa. We should stop it," said President Mugabe.

He said factionalism had reached bad levels.

"Saka tanga tasvika pekuti panga pava nekupindira nevamwe zvekare vatisingade kuona vachipindira munyaya idzi. Vanhu vachiuya kwandiri vachiti zvakanaka here inga vamwe vavakupindira vechisoja, vechipurisa nevechi intelligence. Vese varikuti ava varikwakati vanoda ngana, havadi ngana vanoda ngana. Let us stop that completely. We are ruining the party that way," said President Mugabe

He said congress will come and that is the platform for choosing leadership.

"Hatiti tisati tasvika kune imwe congress, toti ngana nangana ngavachibva. Toda kuvabisira shungu dzedu dzekuti titore zvigaro? Aiwa tinoti pasi nemi. Let us be orderly, let us be systematic, let us be methodical. There are times for running the party, fulfilling the mission that we have got to the party, responding to the people whether we would have performed properly," said President Mugabe.

He said delegates should emerge from the conference united and rejuvenated to work hard for the party. "Tobuda takasimba, tobuda tine shungu dzokusunda musangano. Ndiyo shungu yamunofanirwa kubuda nayo tobva tava vanhu vakabatana," he said.

President Mugabe received wild applause from thousands of delegates attending the conference each time he spoke against factionalism.

Away from party politics, President Mugabe assured the nation that there was enough maize in stock for the next 10 months. He said more maize was being procured to ensure no one starved.

President Mugabe warned that former commercial farmers were slowly returning on the land under the guise of assisting indigenous farmers with equipment. He said some indigenous farmers risked losing their land under such unsanctioned arrangements with the former commercial farmers.

President Mugabe said such arrangements were also against Government policy. He said Government would conduct an audit to establish the real situation on the farms.

The conference is expected, among other things, to digest the state of the party and the implementation of the Zimbabwe Agenda for Social Economic Transformation (ZimAsset). The annual event is running under the theme "Consolidating people's power through ZimAsset."