News / National
Police must be professional - Tsvangirai
21 Nov 2011 at 13:26hrs | Views
MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai said Chihuri must be responsible for the executive discharge of the police force adding that failure to do so means the 'tail is wagging the dog'.
"The role of police is to maintain law and order. The role of the police is not to be a law unto themselves. Instead of being police of law and order they are police of lawlessness and disorder. I do not hate Chihuri, but as the person in charge of police behaviour and values, he must be professional," he said.
He urged the police to arrest perpetrators of violence without being selective.
"If an MDC-T member commits a crime, they should be arrested. Likewise, when a Zanu PF member commits a crime, they should be arrested. We can not have democracy without the rule of law. It is a fundamental need. The judiciary must be independent, the media must be independent, there must be equal application of the law," said Tsvangirai.
The Chitungwiza rally comes two weeks after another one scheduled for the same venue was disrupted violently by Zanu PF's Chipangano terror group. Scores of MDC-T officials and supporters were injured when the group besieged the venue where preparations for the rally were underway forcing the party to abandon the meeting.
"There was an attempt to disrupt violently a legitimate rally organised by the MDC. When we speak about a legitimate meeting, we are talking about an event to which the police were notified. But when disruption comes and police goes between those with a legitimate meeting and those who want to disrupt the meeting, the one who has disrupted the meeting wins because that would have been their objective. So our rally two weeks ago was disrupted violently by Zanu PF youth," he said.
Similar incidences took place in Matabeleland north where the police disrupted MDC scheduled rallies there. As a follow up, an indaba was held between Zanu PF and the MDC last week to call for the need to observe peace in the country.
Tsvangirai said the Inclusive government had overstayed its welcome and should sit down to agree on when to hold elections.
"What has happened in the last six months or so is not only discord, but total dis-cohesion. That government can not inspire investment. That can not be a government that the people of Zimbabwe are finding solutions to the economic challenges," he said.
"The mistrust and sabotaging of government is clearly intended for political gains. Government work programmes are not meant for Zanu PF or MDC, but for the people of Zimbabwe. So the destiny of this nation can not be held to ransom by the vagaries of a political party which has lost its legitimacy," he said.
He said a free and fair election should ensure the protection of the vote, protection of the voter and respect of the will of the people.
"You can not run an election without ensuring that these three fundamentals are taken into account. Wherever we travel, we are not ashamed to say we want a free and fair election in Zimbabwe. Our message to SADC, the AU and UN is that we need a free and fair election," he said
On that point, Theresa Makone, the Women's Assembly chairperson said there was need to ensure that those who cause violence should not be leading the government.
"After the Indaba, we have since lost Albert Vhiriri in Glenview. Without violence, Zanu PF knows it can not get back into government. Women know where their vote is. MDC-T and Zanu PF women are going to vote for MDC-T because it is good for the families. Our children are now going to school. Our hospitals are working. We are able to feed our children," she said.
She said women are waiting for the election as it will give the MDC a leverage to get the country working again.
She said she was happy that henceforth, those who can not write or are bring will go to the polling station with their child to cast their vote.
"Now we will no longer have a scenario similar to that of 2008 where the CIO, the police were casting the vote for disadvantaged members of our communities. At least if one goes with a relative who knows where to place the X, then it becomes easier on the person to confidently cast their ballot," said Makone.
The Party chairperson, Lovemore Moyo said we needed to organise ourselves into a strong, disciplined organisation that we are to ensure that we are able to lead this nation.
"We all know the inclusive government is a bus stop. I want to urge all of you to go and register to vote so that we are able to remove this government through the ballot. The MDC-T is a peaceful party," he said
Tendai Biti said love was the singular missing ingredient in government. He said it is possible to achieve a 400 billion economy in the next 20 years only if there is a people – centered government.
"We have learnt in the last few months that leadership is not a problem. What is needed is love. We have discovered that love is the secret to good governance, we have also discovered that the absence of love is the secret to dictatorship," said Biti.
"This explains why we have underdevelopment in this country against the resources available. This explains why people are suffering and our yields in mines have gone down. It is because of lack of love," he said.
The Youth Assembly Acting Chairperson, Costa Machingauta said when they were protecting the venue of this rally, they caught one of the Zanu PF thugs who claimed to have been sent by Tichaona Chapfika for a programme to disrupt the rally again.
"We caught this man as he entered the ground. He had a knife and a catapult and assumed the youth in the ground were from Zanu PF. After interrogation, we realised that while some leaders are indicating left, others in the same party are turning right, financing violent activities," he said
The Youth Assembly castigated the use of violence to grab companies saying this was retrogressive. He said there was need to ensure that funds targeting youth should reach the young people and not end up in the hands of selected people's children.
"We want investment flows to improve in the country. We want our youth to find employment. If everyone is to own a business, who is going to provide the labour? We need to open up industries for the youth so that they begin to contribute to national growth," Machingauta said.
"The role of police is to maintain law and order. The role of the police is not to be a law unto themselves. Instead of being police of law and order they are police of lawlessness and disorder. I do not hate Chihuri, but as the person in charge of police behaviour and values, he must be professional," he said.
He urged the police to arrest perpetrators of violence without being selective.
"If an MDC-T member commits a crime, they should be arrested. Likewise, when a Zanu PF member commits a crime, they should be arrested. We can not have democracy without the rule of law. It is a fundamental need. The judiciary must be independent, the media must be independent, there must be equal application of the law," said Tsvangirai.
The Chitungwiza rally comes two weeks after another one scheduled for the same venue was disrupted violently by Zanu PF's Chipangano terror group. Scores of MDC-T officials and supporters were injured when the group besieged the venue where preparations for the rally were underway forcing the party to abandon the meeting.
"There was an attempt to disrupt violently a legitimate rally organised by the MDC. When we speak about a legitimate meeting, we are talking about an event to which the police were notified. But when disruption comes and police goes between those with a legitimate meeting and those who want to disrupt the meeting, the one who has disrupted the meeting wins because that would have been their objective. So our rally two weeks ago was disrupted violently by Zanu PF youth," he said.
Similar incidences took place in Matabeleland north where the police disrupted MDC scheduled rallies there. As a follow up, an indaba was held between Zanu PF and the MDC last week to call for the need to observe peace in the country.
Tsvangirai said the Inclusive government had overstayed its welcome and should sit down to agree on when to hold elections.
"What has happened in the last six months or so is not only discord, but total dis-cohesion. That government can not inspire investment. That can not be a government that the people of Zimbabwe are finding solutions to the economic challenges," he said.
"The mistrust and sabotaging of government is clearly intended for political gains. Government work programmes are not meant for Zanu PF or MDC, but for the people of Zimbabwe. So the destiny of this nation can not be held to ransom by the vagaries of a political party which has lost its legitimacy," he said.
He said a free and fair election should ensure the protection of the vote, protection of the voter and respect of the will of the people.
"You can not run an election without ensuring that these three fundamentals are taken into account. Wherever we travel, we are not ashamed to say we want a free and fair election in Zimbabwe. Our message to SADC, the AU and UN is that we need a free and fair election," he said
On that point, Theresa Makone, the Women's Assembly chairperson said there was need to ensure that those who cause violence should not be leading the government.
She said women are waiting for the election as it will give the MDC a leverage to get the country working again.
She said she was happy that henceforth, those who can not write or are bring will go to the polling station with their child to cast their vote.
"Now we will no longer have a scenario similar to that of 2008 where the CIO, the police were casting the vote for disadvantaged members of our communities. At least if one goes with a relative who knows where to place the X, then it becomes easier on the person to confidently cast their ballot," said Makone.
The Party chairperson, Lovemore Moyo said we needed to organise ourselves into a strong, disciplined organisation that we are to ensure that we are able to lead this nation.
"We all know the inclusive government is a bus stop. I want to urge all of you to go and register to vote so that we are able to remove this government through the ballot. The MDC-T is a peaceful party," he said
Tendai Biti said love was the singular missing ingredient in government. He said it is possible to achieve a 400 billion economy in the next 20 years only if there is a people – centered government.
"We have learnt in the last few months that leadership is not a problem. What is needed is love. We have discovered that love is the secret to good governance, we have also discovered that the absence of love is the secret to dictatorship," said Biti.
"This explains why we have underdevelopment in this country against the resources available. This explains why people are suffering and our yields in mines have gone down. It is because of lack of love," he said.
The Youth Assembly Acting Chairperson, Costa Machingauta said when they were protecting the venue of this rally, they caught one of the Zanu PF thugs who claimed to have been sent by Tichaona Chapfika for a programme to disrupt the rally again.
"We caught this man as he entered the ground. He had a knife and a catapult and assumed the youth in the ground were from Zanu PF. After interrogation, we realised that while some leaders are indicating left, others in the same party are turning right, financing violent activities," he said
The Youth Assembly castigated the use of violence to grab companies saying this was retrogressive. He said there was need to ensure that funds targeting youth should reach the young people and not end up in the hands of selected people's children.
"We want investment flows to improve in the country. We want our youth to find employment. If everyone is to own a business, who is going to provide the labour? We need to open up industries for the youth so that they begin to contribute to national growth," Machingauta said.
Source - Byo24News
