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President Mugabe and First Lady Amai Grace Mugabe join delegates in singing “Iyi Ndiyo Sungano” during the Zanu-PF 6th National People’s Congress at Robert Mugabe Square formerly known as Harare Civic Centre yesterday.- (Picture by Tawanda Mudimu)

Takunda Maodza Assistant News Editor
VICE President Joice Mujuru will be prosecuted if allegations of corruption and abuse of office levelled against her are proved, President Mugabe has said.
Officially opening the 6th Zanu-PF National People’s Congress in Harare yesterday, President Mugabe also warned that ministers, their deputies and senior civil servants implicated in corrupt activities face the same fate.

VP Mujuru and her cabal – Cdes Didymus Mutasa and Nicholas Goche – were not among the 12 000 delegates who thronged the giant marquee at the Robert Mugabe Square for the congress.

Watch the video below

“Vakaita mhosva chaidzo chaidzo dzecorruption hwabuda humbowo hwakanaka, vachatongwa. Ruzivo rwatinenge tapihwa kana wanga uri minister, civil servant, basa rinobva rapera. Tipei humbowo hwakakwana,” President Mugabe said, to loud cheers and applause from jubilant delegates.

President Mugabe narrated how the First Lady, Amai Grace Mugabe, and the Women’s League begged him in 2004 to elevate VP Mujuru to the vice presidency only for her to betray their trust through corruption and an insatiable desire for power.

Listen to the speech below

“Munoona tinemagwanza nhasi pamusoro pedu apo. Vamwe vedu varipi? Hatina kuvatanda. Hatina kuti regai kuuya. Tanga tatoti vauye muvaone munzwe zvavanotaura. Kungosvotoka vasina kutiudza kuti chii chaita kuti varovhe? Ndiwo maitiro embavhaka iwayo. Mbavha, mbavha, haibudirire nguva yese…Makatipa muchiti munotipa mwana akanaka asi chionai zvitadzo zvacho zvemumacompanies, gold, diamonds, zvakawanda (As you can see there are empty seats up here, where are some of our top leaders? We did not chase them away. We wanted them to come so you hear what they have to say. They just stayed away without telling us the reason why they would not come. That is how thieves behave, thieves, thieves . . . you recommended (VP Mujuru)  saying she was of impeccable character but look at the sins from extorting companies, gold, diamonds, they are just numerous),” he said.

LIVE HERE: ZANU-PF 6TH NATIONAL PEOPLE’S CONGRESS

He added: “Dai dzainyorwa dzese mhosva dzinopomerwa ava, kuti tingazadza mabooks mangani (If all allegations against her were to be documented, I do not know how many books they would fill)?”

“Zvino vatungamiriri kana tasarudzwa  nevanhu hamuna kunzi takusarudzai kuti muve mbavha. Murikusarudzirwa kunzi mupedze humbavha hwese. We should never send a thief to catch a thief. Zvino kana isu tinenge tatumwa kuti tinatse musha tobva tava mbavha achabata mbavha ndiani? Tochenjera isu ndisu tinosarudza vanhu tinofanira kuongorora maitire emunhu (If people entrust you with leadership, it is not a licence to steal, you are chosen to help stop all forms of thieving. Now if we who have been entrusted to put things in order start stealing, who will stop the thieves? Let’s be vigilant when we chose our leaders).”

• VP Mujuru’s allies face the boot

VP Mujuru’s illegal dealings, among them extorting shareholding from companies, demanding 10 percent bribes, illiict gold and diamond dealings, were exposed by Amai Grace Mugabe and extensively covered by The Herald and its sister papers, The Sunday Mail and The Chronicle.

President Mugabe also condemned VP Mujuru’s lust for power.

“Kuda chigaro kwabva kwaita kuti munhu ade kuuraya? Nguva nenguva zvinoitika tozozvibata totadzisa pfungwa dziripo kuti dzisabudirire. Ndinotenda zvikuru nekubatana kwamakaita panyaya iyi, kuongorora kwamakazviita pachenyu nekutsvaira marara (expelling those implicated) zvose izvozvo makaita hamuna kutumwa nesu asi kuti makaona kuti izvi hazvina gwara remusangano, mukati uyu ngaabve, uyu ngaabve (To have such unbridled ambition as to want to kill for power. We have discovered and foiled many such plots. I thank you for your unity of purpose on this issue, you investigated the issue and cleaned out the culprits. You did it all of your own volition, we did not task you to do it. You realised that it was contrary to the Zanu-PF way)”,  he said.
“Tinotenda, hamusi zvituta kwete, hamusi mapofu kwete, hamutengeke kwete. Tinotenda kubatana kwamakaita (We are thankful that you are not dimwits, you are not blind and you do not have a price. We thank you for the unity of purpose.”)

Turning to his prepared speech, President Mugabe strongly criticised VP Mujuru’s unpatriotic behaviour.

“What boggles the mind is why anyone claiming to be a cadre, cooked in the crucible of struggle, would hobnob with such politics. Why? Why? Why? We raise you in the struggle, grant you leadership, build your stature, impart consequence to your person, often against your intrinsic worth. Instead of recognising all these efforts, you turn against the party and the President! Today the people reject you, spit you out, push you into the arms of the very opposition you sided with,” he said.

VP Mujuru stands accused of covertly working with the MDC-T towards the July 31 elections to cause the demise of Zanu-PF.

“I never thought a true cadre of the revolution would decay to that level. When you desert your own comrades, desert the ideals of your own revolution, abandon principles that mobilised you for the struggle, commit the infamy of joining quislings, you suffer the fate of quislings. The people will reject you,” President Mugabe said.

He said the inclusive Government saw some Zanu-PF officials secretly working with MDC formations against the goals of the liberation struggle.

“For within our midst, were some who had long deserted positions and posts to which the party had deployed them, who had found new friends in enemies of the party. These culprits had covertly teamed up with elements within MDC formations, often with support of hostile foreign countries who relished the opportunity of breaking Zanu-PF from within. This treacherous cabal went against the party, went against resolutions of successive annual people’s conferences which called for harmonised elections as soon as these fell due,” said President Mugabe.

“It became clear to us that the inclusive Government had given some of us some (an) opportunity for dirty politics, dirtier business alliances founded on Government projects, and dirtiest business conspiracies which sought to destabilise the party and even country. In this cauldron of unholy alliances and activities, the ideals of Zanu-PF were wantonly cast aside and sacrificed, as these characters pursued personal agendas and ambitions. Sevatungamiriri, hatisi tose taive tichitamba takachenjera the Zanu-PF way. Tainge tave kutamba musangano tichifunga takachenjera, tava kuita bhora musango zvekare, more so after the polls.”

President Mugabe said leaders are custodians of the values of the party.

“When they fail these same values they are entrusted to keep, they disqualify themselves, thereby going one way: down, down and down to the dust. Spat out like dark gobble, spat out by the party.”

On the economic front, President Mugabe highlighted the importance of the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (Zim-Asset) in ensuring a successful turnaround.

“Our detractors wait for a major din in the cosmos to mark a beginning to the implementation of Zim-Asset. Today we invite them to listen to their full stomachs for them to know that greater food security and nutrition is already being realised through sustained agricultural effort which gave us an all-round bumper harvest in the last season. Already this is key cluster under Zim-Asset has taken off, and is set to be consolidated in the current agricultural season which is already upon us.

“I am aware that the input distribution programme is already underway, and weather permitting, we should be able to celebrate another bumper harvest, while speeding up the development of national irrigation capacity, extension and mechanisation,” he said.

He noted the rehabilitation of the Plumtree-Harare-Mutare Highway saying focus was now on the remaining trunk roads including the Beitbridge-Chirundu Highway.

“We are also tackling various infrastructure projects including key utilities and amenities. The energy sector is witnessing a hive of activities by way of new projects which should enhance power generation. Many more infrastructural projects are in the offing, and should see more jobs being created in the economy.”