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Prime Minister Robert Mugabe’s address to the Zimbabwean nation in April 1980
(read the whole thing or, if life’s too short, the parts I’ve highlighted in bold.)
Long live our Freedom!
The final countdown before the launching of the new State of Zimbabwe has now begun. Only a few hours from now, Zimbabwe will have become a free, independent and sovereign state, free to choose its own flight path and chart its own course to its chosen destiny. Its people have made a democratic choice of those who as their legitimate Government, they wish to govern them and take policy decisions as to their future.
This, indeed, is the meaning of the mandate my party secured through a free and fair election, conducted in the full glare of the world’s spotlight.While my Government welcomes the mandate it has been freely given and is determined to honour it to the letter, it also accepts that the fulfillment of the tasks imposed by the mandate are only possible with the confidence, goodwill and co-operation of all of you, reinforced by the forthcoming support and encouragement of all our friends, allies, and well wishers in the international community. Read More…
ANC CONDEMNS UNTOWARD BEHAVIOUR TOWARDS JOURNALISTS
The ANC strongly condemns the behaviour of ANC Youth League President, cde Julius Malema, towards a BBC TV journalist, John Fisher, at yesterday (April, 07, 2010) ANC Youth League press briefing. The aggressive and insultive behaviour to the said journalist that culminated with Mr Fisher walking out of the Youth League press briefing cannot be condoned at all.
The unfortunate outburst by cde Julius Malema did not only reflect negatively on him, but also reflected negatively on the ANC YL, the entire ANC family, our Alliance partners as well as South Africa in the eyes of the international community. Read More…
PRESIDENT Jacob Zuma’s appeal to Britain to lift the sanctions against President Robert Mugabe’s elite may fall on deaf ears.
Zuma’s argument is that the dropping of sanctions is supported by the entire Zimbabwe unity government.
He believes the gesture would send a signal to the world that Zimbabwe was on the road to political recovery and once again an acceptable investment destination.
He is right and South Africans ought to move beyond the knee-jerk rejection of any recognition of Mugabe’s legitimacy.
Observers of Zimbabwe, rightly outraged by Mugabe’s shocking anti-democratic record, want the unity government to be a step on the road to removing Mugabe from the state altogether.
But the truth is that Mugabe and Tsvangirai are sharing the spoils and there has been no decisive victory of one over the other.
A conditional lifting of sanctions which insists on proper open democratic processes including free-and-fair elections could be just the thing that Zimbabwe needs to move forward right now.
It would be a mistake to allow Mugabe and his cronies free access to global banking facilities as this would free the way for more looting of the state coffers.
But such considerations should not stand in the way of efforts to shift Zimbabwe closer to democracy.
Instead the lifting of sanctions should not include the freedom of the Zimbabwean elite to move money around the world.
Zimbabwe has shown slow but steady progress and this ought to be recognised by the world.
To insist that sanctions remain as long as Mugabe is part of the unity government is to prevent Zimbabwe from moving forward.
SOUTH Africa has a very strong vested interest in a stable Zimbabwe. The pressure on our state resources is massive as a result of instability to the north.
How will that pressure be relieved? Jacob Zuma seems to think that the “political solution” offered by a unity government led by Robert Mugabe with Morgan Tsvangirai will bring stability to Zimbabwe.
But this is a short-term answer that does not deal with the twin mainsprings of the Zimbabwean problem – the absence of a serious strategy to return the economy to health and the people’s continuing lack of confidence in their government.
As I write this, there are farmers being driven off their farms by mobs. If you don’t believe me, read this account published in The Times this morning. It was written by this paper’s former deputy editor, Moses Mudzwiti, a man who is not easily driven to exaggeration.
It is clear that there is no progress being made towards sorting out Zimbabwe’s agricultural sector, without which there can be no progress on rebuilding the economy.
And without political participation – a free and fair election and a government which represesents the majority, there can be no political progress.
At the moment there is but farcical progress on these two fronts.
Yet, like his predecessor Thabo Mbeki, Zuma appears mesmerised by Robert Mugabe, now in his third decade of power. He wants Zimbabwe readmitted to the Commonwealth.
The effect of this would be to bestow legitimacy on what Mugabe is continuing to do to Zimbabwe.
An open letter to Public Enterprises committee chairman, Vytjie Mentor,
Dear Vytjie
First, let me express my appreciation for your concern about my emotional well-being. It’s always good to know that public representatives like yourself take time out of your busy schedule to protect people like me from exogenous psychological shocks.
I know that you meant well when you decided not to release Eskom’s schedule of ludicrously high increases for the forthcoming years because they would create “public consternation”.
In Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe faced this very same problem. He solved it by making the causing of “public consternation” illegal. Whenever someone tried to do so they were arrested. It was a very good effort, but it seems that public consternation has spiralled out of control regardless.
Actually, now that I think about it, there should be public consternation at Eskom’s proposed three years of painful increases in the price of electricity. A little consternation sometimes goes a long way when it comes to halting the appetite of parastatals for our money.
In fact, maybe you could represent that public consternation. I don’t know of anyone who voted in the recent election who is not consternated over their electricity bill, so to speak.
There’s an idea. Have you thought of representing the public? It’s off the wall, but it’s worth a shot, to mix metaphors.
Yours
Ray
In two days, the Facebook group “Boycott Nestle for dealing with Grace Mugabe” has attracted 881 members. By the end of this week, there could be thousands across the globe signing up. Nestle’s decision to ignore the outrage at the fact that Zimababwe’s first lady us making a mint out of them on milk from a repossessed farm may be very short-sighted.
It is a global brand and it it had better wake up to the fact that it is under attack from on a very powerful global networking tool.