News / Press Release
'The demons of violence are back': PM Morgan Tsvangirai's statement to the Press
02 Nov 2011 at 10:13hrs | Views
Introduction
Good afternoon members of the Press and I welcome you to the second edition of the monthly Prime Minister's Press Day.
We meet at a time of rising political tension in the country, increasing cases of violence, sabotage and total disrespect by the Police and other government agencies of the Prime Minister, even as he executes government programmes.
It appears the demons of violence are back, a siege mood seems to be slowly gripping the country. This is a reincarnation of the violence of 2008 and this country risks sliding back if immediate action is not taken to bring back order and peace in the country.
The inclusive government
The inclusive government trudges on, albeit with differences on how best we can empower the people of Zimbabwe.
We differ with our Zanu PF colleagues in government because they seek to empower a few, well-connected elite while some of us are advocating for a comprehensive plan which creates jobs, uplifts the ordinary people, increases the cake and attracts investment so that every Zimbabwean benefits.
I have travelled the whole country and addressed meetings and what is evident is that despite the rhetoric of indigenisation, over 90 percent of our population has no jobs and no income. That is their priority and we must there come up with a plan that addresses the plight of every Zimbabwean and not a few well-connected politicians.
This government has serious challenges on its hands, including lack of food in various parts of the country. As I toured various provinces to assess projects under the Government Work Programme, villagers in most parts of the country were eager to know what plans government has put in place to ensure that no one starves.
About six out of the 10 provinces are likely to experience food shortages. I have tasked the Ministers of Agriculture and Labour and Social Services to put in place a full-proof mechanism to ensure food is moved from the surplus areas to the deficit areas.
Once again, it is pertinent to stress that it is the responsibility of Government to ensure that every Zimbabwean does not starve and as Prime Minister, I hope that there will be non-partisan food distribution in the deficit areas.
One other key challenge the inclusive government faces is the lack of movement on key reforms to ensure that there is a proper environment for the conduct of a free and fair election.
One of the most important of these is media reforms. I am saddened to note that there is no movement on this arena, especially the liberalisation of the airwaves.
The Minister of Media, Information and Publicity and his staff have simply refused to act to ensure movement in this key area.
The four media houses short-listed by the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe for the granting of radio licences, which Authority we agreed with the President should be reconstituted, include among them Zimpapers, a public print media house.
This is the biggest assault on our quest to media freedom in this country.
Zimbabweans want a plural media. They do not want more of the same.
They want a multiplicity of voices not another ZBC in a different form. It would not be surprising at this rate to learn one of these days that the ZBC itself is now seeking a newspaper licence as part of "pluralising" the print media in this country.
This is no laughing matter.
It is a key issue which is at the core of the Global Political Agreement and the roadmap to elections as agreed by negotiators of all parties. We simply expect true diversity and not a charade to mislead the nation and the region that there are media reforms taking place in Zimbabwe.
The Government Work Programme
On Monday I launched the Health Transition Fund in Marondera.
The Fund, launched with the support of Partners, will result in about $435 million being invested in this crucial social sector particularly to support women and children.
On Monday, I said this was a revolution and with minimum discord in government, we can be able to achieve more in the social sectors of health and education.
Tomorrow, I will be launching the Education Transition Fund where, with the help of Partners, we will be providing textbooks to all the secondary schools in the country. Last year, I commissioned 13 million textbooks for the country's 5 500 primary schools in what was the single largest investment into education since independence.
When I saw students proudly holding these books at Simbali primary school in Binga on the banks of the Zambezi, I knew this investment had changed the face of the country.
We are set to continue with this revolution tomorrow when we do the same exercise for the secondary school as a way of bringing back the glory into our education which had collapsed due to three decades of misgovernance.
Other ministries continue to pursue their critical path targets and following the consultations the Minister of Finance had with ministries and other stakeholders, it is my hope that in the forthcoming national budget, funds can be channelled into the priorities of government as identified by the ministries and endorsed by Cabinet.
A number of achievements have been recorded through the implementation of the Government Work Program.
We have managed to stabilize the economy, service delivery in the Health and Education sector has improved. The recently launched MTP has also given our planning a sense of direction and focus. The linkages between the MTP, Government Work Program and the budget should see the Zimbabwean economy being more focused and progressive.
It is only through effective coordination of government programmes that can help our economy to grow and prosper. Through the evaluation of the implementation of the Government Work Program we have noted areas that needs more focus especially in the infrastructural development and the legislative agenda.
There has been notable progress in the provision of water, social services, and other sectors. But despite the indicated successes in the education and health sectors, the overall performance of Ministries, for 2011 ranges between 30% and 40%. This is quite poor when compared to the 60% which was recorded in 2010.We are behind the curve in implementing a number of legislative and non-legislative reforms, to which we are committed not only in the GWP but also in the GPA.
Besides the limited budgetary resources, there is lack of determination in the implementation of Government programs in some Ministries. The level of compliance remains low with some ministries failing to send even a single report to the Office of the Prime Minister since January. This has made it difficult to monitor implementation of government programmes.
Non submission of reports means that accountability of resources received has been non-existent. Improving our own capacity to deliver is therefore a priority.
I have personallytoured various provinces to assess projects of the government work programme. This allows me the opportunity, as the executive authority responsible for policy formulation and implementation, to inspect specific projects on the ground.
It is while on government work during these tours, especially in Matabeleland North, that the police have exposed themselves to be partisan and to be disrespectful to me and the executive office that I hold in the country.
I shall come to the specific actions by the police later in my remarks.
Violence and the absence of the rule of law
Statistics of violence in the past one month have shown an increase. For example, one human rights group has noted 800 cases of human rights violations in the month of September alone, which translates to an average of 28 violations a day.
Despite the fact that I am the Prime Minister of this country, with executive powers bestowed on me, I have witnessed the participation of the police in gross human rights violations.
The violence we are witnessing is State-sponsored and State-driven. It is being championed by a few fascist leaders who want to reverse the little progress we have made. They have become a threat to peace, stability and social order in the country.
I want to promise these misguided elements that their days are numbered because I and the President agreed yesterday that we must put a stop to this violence in Harare and elsewhere.
Only yesterday after the President and I had met, the police besieged the MDC headquarters, Harvest House, beat up people and tried to force their way into the offices for no apparent reason. They threatened by-standers, threw teargas into crowds going about their business and brought the entire city into a standstill as citizens scurried for cover.
The police say they are for the law, for the people and for the country, but what we have witnessed is that they are anti-law, anti-people and anti-country.
On Saturday, I was scheduled to tour St Paul's clinic in Lupane but police in three truckloads chased away staff an hour before my arrival and locked the gate.
I was scheduled to address a rally at a nearby business centre and another rally the following day at Chinotimba stadium in Victoria Falls. Police chased away people from the two venues before I arrived despite court orders to the effect that the rallies must proceed.
When a police officer refuses to respect a court order, this is total disregard for the rule of law and it represents a break-down of justice in the country.
In Lupane, they threw away pots of food while in Victoria Falls; they occupied the stadium, locked themselves in and prevented anyone from entering the venue.
On Sunday, another MDC rally was violently disrupted by Zanu PF youths in Hatcliffe.
The major issue is that you have the police disrupting a lawful gathering to be addressed by their own minister and further disrupting a tour of a hospital by the Prime Minister of the land, then you now have party functionaries masquerading as a police force.
The public hearings by Parliament have not been spared, with Zanu PF thugs disrupting proceedings and preventing people from freely airing their views. To date, the police have not made a single arrest on any of the perpetrators of these dastardly acts.
On Sunday, Bulwayo South MP, Hon. Eddie Cross, was threatened with death in Mvuma by people who claimed to be State agents. To date, no one has been arrested.
Conclusion
The State security agents have instituted a coup over the civilian authority and they are now above the law, to the extent of disrupting government programmes and assaulting civilians with impunity.
The country is at a high risk of imploding if some in the leadership continue to be privately abetting lawlessness while publicly preaching non-violence.
I urge President Mugabe and Zanu PF to commit themselves to the letter and spirit of the GPA, to appreciate that this is shared responsibility and that this shared executive authority that no one should undermine.
I urge the police to do their job in a non-partisan manner and I will be urging the President to use his powers in the Police Act to deal with senior police officers promoting lawlessness in the country.
Personally, I do not condone violence. My party and I have been victims of violence and not perpetrators. My whole political career is premised on non-violent politics and that is why we won the 2008 election without violence and without firing a single bullet.
I also told the President yesterday that we must show leadership and ensure that true media reforms, particularly in the broadcasting sector, are part of the cocktail of measures that we should immediately implement to give confidence and provide a platform for alternative voices.
We also await the deployment of the three-member SADC technical committee that was supposed to work with JOMIC in monitoring the situation in the country.
The deployment of that team is long overdue.
I am committed to executing my mandate and to serving this country as I swore to do at the formation of the inclusive government in February 2009.
I urge my colleagues in leadership to step up to the plate, to stem violence and to implement that reforms that we all agreed should be put in place ahead of the next election.
Zimbabweans deserve nothing less.
Finally, I want to put finality and closure to an issue that has been misinterpreted; the issue of the so-called gay rights. My beliefs on this issue are a matter of public record. My beliefs manifest themselves in my practice.
I am a Christian associated with the Methodist church. I am a father. I am a grandfather. I am a family man.
I am a Zimbabwean and I know the strong feelings of Zimbabweans about this issue. I have those strong feelings too but in the end, Zimbabweans are making their own Constitution and it is that Constitution which will bind every Zimbabwean.
What I refuse to do as a loyal son of God and as a social democrat is to persecute, to judge, to condemn and to vilify people for their own opinions because judgment is a preserve of God the Almighty.
The Book of Luke Chapter 6 verse 37: "Do not judge and you will not be judged, do not condemn and you will not be condemned."
The Book of John Chapter 8 verse 7: "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to thrown a stone…"
So while I may differ with them, as a Christian and as a social democrat, I refuse to throw a stone at them.
God bless you.
And God bless Zimbabwe.
I thank You
Good afternoon members of the Press and I welcome you to the second edition of the monthly Prime Minister's Press Day.
We meet at a time of rising political tension in the country, increasing cases of violence, sabotage and total disrespect by the Police and other government agencies of the Prime Minister, even as he executes government programmes.
It appears the demons of violence are back, a siege mood seems to be slowly gripping the country. This is a reincarnation of the violence of 2008 and this country risks sliding back if immediate action is not taken to bring back order and peace in the country.
The inclusive government
The inclusive government trudges on, albeit with differences on how best we can empower the people of Zimbabwe.
We differ with our Zanu PF colleagues in government because they seek to empower a few, well-connected elite while some of us are advocating for a comprehensive plan which creates jobs, uplifts the ordinary people, increases the cake and attracts investment so that every Zimbabwean benefits.
I have travelled the whole country and addressed meetings and what is evident is that despite the rhetoric of indigenisation, over 90 percent of our population has no jobs and no income. That is their priority and we must there come up with a plan that addresses the plight of every Zimbabwean and not a few well-connected politicians.
This government has serious challenges on its hands, including lack of food in various parts of the country. As I toured various provinces to assess projects under the Government Work Programme, villagers in most parts of the country were eager to know what plans government has put in place to ensure that no one starves.
About six out of the 10 provinces are likely to experience food shortages. I have tasked the Ministers of Agriculture and Labour and Social Services to put in place a full-proof mechanism to ensure food is moved from the surplus areas to the deficit areas.
Once again, it is pertinent to stress that it is the responsibility of Government to ensure that every Zimbabwean does not starve and as Prime Minister, I hope that there will be non-partisan food distribution in the deficit areas.
One other key challenge the inclusive government faces is the lack of movement on key reforms to ensure that there is a proper environment for the conduct of a free and fair election.
One of the most important of these is media reforms. I am saddened to note that there is no movement on this arena, especially the liberalisation of the airwaves.
The Minister of Media, Information and Publicity and his staff have simply refused to act to ensure movement in this key area.
The four media houses short-listed by the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe for the granting of radio licences, which Authority we agreed with the President should be reconstituted, include among them Zimpapers, a public print media house.
This is the biggest assault on our quest to media freedom in this country.
Zimbabweans want a plural media. They do not want more of the same.
They want a multiplicity of voices not another ZBC in a different form. It would not be surprising at this rate to learn one of these days that the ZBC itself is now seeking a newspaper licence as part of "pluralising" the print media in this country.
This is no laughing matter.
It is a key issue which is at the core of the Global Political Agreement and the roadmap to elections as agreed by negotiators of all parties. We simply expect true diversity and not a charade to mislead the nation and the region that there are media reforms taking place in Zimbabwe.
The Government Work Programme
On Monday I launched the Health Transition Fund in Marondera.
The Fund, launched with the support of Partners, will result in about $435 million being invested in this crucial social sector particularly to support women and children.
On Monday, I said this was a revolution and with minimum discord in government, we can be able to achieve more in the social sectors of health and education.
Tomorrow, I will be launching the Education Transition Fund where, with the help of Partners, we will be providing textbooks to all the secondary schools in the country. Last year, I commissioned 13 million textbooks for the country's 5 500 primary schools in what was the single largest investment into education since independence.
When I saw students proudly holding these books at Simbali primary school in Binga on the banks of the Zambezi, I knew this investment had changed the face of the country.
We are set to continue with this revolution tomorrow when we do the same exercise for the secondary school as a way of bringing back the glory into our education which had collapsed due to three decades of misgovernance.
Other ministries continue to pursue their critical path targets and following the consultations the Minister of Finance had with ministries and other stakeholders, it is my hope that in the forthcoming national budget, funds can be channelled into the priorities of government as identified by the ministries and endorsed by Cabinet.
A number of achievements have been recorded through the implementation of the Government Work Program.
We have managed to stabilize the economy, service delivery in the Health and Education sector has improved. The recently launched MTP has also given our planning a sense of direction and focus. The linkages between the MTP, Government Work Program and the budget should see the Zimbabwean economy being more focused and progressive.
It is only through effective coordination of government programmes that can help our economy to grow and prosper. Through the evaluation of the implementation of the Government Work Program we have noted areas that needs more focus especially in the infrastructural development and the legislative agenda.
There has been notable progress in the provision of water, social services, and other sectors. But despite the indicated successes in the education and health sectors, the overall performance of Ministries, for 2011 ranges between 30% and 40%. This is quite poor when compared to the 60% which was recorded in 2010.We are behind the curve in implementing a number of legislative and non-legislative reforms, to which we are committed not only in the GWP but also in the GPA.
Besides the limited budgetary resources, there is lack of determination in the implementation of Government programs in some Ministries. The level of compliance remains low with some ministries failing to send even a single report to the Office of the Prime Minister since January. This has made it difficult to monitor implementation of government programmes.
Non submission of reports means that accountability of resources received has been non-existent. Improving our own capacity to deliver is therefore a priority.
I have personallytoured various provinces to assess projects of the government work programme. This allows me the opportunity, as the executive authority responsible for policy formulation and implementation, to inspect specific projects on the ground.
I shall come to the specific actions by the police later in my remarks.
Violence and the absence of the rule of law
Statistics of violence in the past one month have shown an increase. For example, one human rights group has noted 800 cases of human rights violations in the month of September alone, which translates to an average of 28 violations a day.
Despite the fact that I am the Prime Minister of this country, with executive powers bestowed on me, I have witnessed the participation of the police in gross human rights violations.
The violence we are witnessing is State-sponsored and State-driven. It is being championed by a few fascist leaders who want to reverse the little progress we have made. They have become a threat to peace, stability and social order in the country.
I want to promise these misguided elements that their days are numbered because I and the President agreed yesterday that we must put a stop to this violence in Harare and elsewhere.
Only yesterday after the President and I had met, the police besieged the MDC headquarters, Harvest House, beat up people and tried to force their way into the offices for no apparent reason. They threatened by-standers, threw teargas into crowds going about their business and brought the entire city into a standstill as citizens scurried for cover.
The police say they are for the law, for the people and for the country, but what we have witnessed is that they are anti-law, anti-people and anti-country.
On Saturday, I was scheduled to tour St Paul's clinic in Lupane but police in three truckloads chased away staff an hour before my arrival and locked the gate.
I was scheduled to address a rally at a nearby business centre and another rally the following day at Chinotimba stadium in Victoria Falls. Police chased away people from the two venues before I arrived despite court orders to the effect that the rallies must proceed.
When a police officer refuses to respect a court order, this is total disregard for the rule of law and it represents a break-down of justice in the country.
In Lupane, they threw away pots of food while in Victoria Falls; they occupied the stadium, locked themselves in and prevented anyone from entering the venue.
On Sunday, another MDC rally was violently disrupted by Zanu PF youths in Hatcliffe.
The major issue is that you have the police disrupting a lawful gathering to be addressed by their own minister and further disrupting a tour of a hospital by the Prime Minister of the land, then you now have party functionaries masquerading as a police force.
The public hearings by Parliament have not been spared, with Zanu PF thugs disrupting proceedings and preventing people from freely airing their views. To date, the police have not made a single arrest on any of the perpetrators of these dastardly acts.
On Sunday, Bulwayo South MP, Hon. Eddie Cross, was threatened with death in Mvuma by people who claimed to be State agents. To date, no one has been arrested.
Conclusion
The State security agents have instituted a coup over the civilian authority and they are now above the law, to the extent of disrupting government programmes and assaulting civilians with impunity.
The country is at a high risk of imploding if some in the leadership continue to be privately abetting lawlessness while publicly preaching non-violence.
I urge President Mugabe and Zanu PF to commit themselves to the letter and spirit of the GPA, to appreciate that this is shared responsibility and that this shared executive authority that no one should undermine.
I urge the police to do their job in a non-partisan manner and I will be urging the President to use his powers in the Police Act to deal with senior police officers promoting lawlessness in the country.
Personally, I do not condone violence. My party and I have been victims of violence and not perpetrators. My whole political career is premised on non-violent politics and that is why we won the 2008 election without violence and without firing a single bullet.
I also told the President yesterday that we must show leadership and ensure that true media reforms, particularly in the broadcasting sector, are part of the cocktail of measures that we should immediately implement to give confidence and provide a platform for alternative voices.
We also await the deployment of the three-member SADC technical committee that was supposed to work with JOMIC in monitoring the situation in the country.
The deployment of that team is long overdue.
I am committed to executing my mandate and to serving this country as I swore to do at the formation of the inclusive government in February 2009.
I urge my colleagues in leadership to step up to the plate, to stem violence and to implement that reforms that we all agreed should be put in place ahead of the next election.
Zimbabweans deserve nothing less.
Finally, I want to put finality and closure to an issue that has been misinterpreted; the issue of the so-called gay rights. My beliefs on this issue are a matter of public record. My beliefs manifest themselves in my practice.
I am a Christian associated with the Methodist church. I am a father. I am a grandfather. I am a family man.
I am a Zimbabwean and I know the strong feelings of Zimbabweans about this issue. I have those strong feelings too but in the end, Zimbabweans are making their own Constitution and it is that Constitution which will bind every Zimbabwean.
What I refuse to do as a loyal son of God and as a social democrat is to persecute, to judge, to condemn and to vilify people for their own opinions because judgment is a preserve of God the Almighty.
The Book of Luke Chapter 6 verse 37: "Do not judge and you will not be judged, do not condemn and you will not be condemned."
The Book of John Chapter 8 verse 7: "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to thrown a stone…"
So while I may differ with them, as a Christian and as a social democrat, I refuse to throw a stone at them.
God bless you.
And God bless Zimbabwe.
I thank You
Source - MDC-T
