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Lovemore Mataire Senior Reporter
THE African Union must mobilise local resources to fund its operations instead of depending on Western donor funds, the bloc’s chairman, President Mugabe, has said.

Donors fund over 70 percent of the AU budget, a development that opens the bloc to manipulation.

Addressing thousands of people at the Kutama College Centenary Celebrations in Zvimba on Sunday, President Mugabe said the AU should return to its original principles as enunciated by the founding fathers of the Organisation of African Unity in May 1963.

“We are leaders of the AU . . . (but) we are receding from our principles. We have lost the path and direction laid down by the founding fathers like (Kwame) Nkrumah, (Julius) Nyerere, Sekou Toure and others. People are all considering just themselves and their own people and the ideas we had of a free Africa, independent, hardworking, that provide most of its needs for itself — no that, we have become beggars again. Beggars even to sustain our AU and that must go,” President Mugabe said.

The 24th Ordinary Session of the AU General Assembly held in January adopted a resolution for alternative sources of funding to enable the AU to fund 100 percent of its operational costs, at least 75 percent of its programme expenses, and at least 25 percent of its peacekeeping operations within five years, and to cumulatively build on this till it is able to fund its entire budget.

Sadc, the President said, would hold two meetings this year where issues affecting the region and continent would be deliberated on. He said he would recommend to AU any good decisions.

“Sadc is going well, better than others – because it has been more peaceful except for the DRC, the eastern part that still worries us but we will work together and we are well united,” Cde Mugabe said.

He hailed Kutama College for producing exemplary cadres who have excelled in various walks of life.

“To all former students, I say let us continue to demonstrate that we are of Kutama. Let’s be true and not pretend to be what we are not. I know there is a lot of honesty, a lot of good virtue in us,” President Mugabe said.

Recounting the Kutama Mission history, President Mugabe said the Mugabe family did not start with his birth in 1924 but with his elder brother Michael, born in 1919.

“Mhuri haivambi 1924, kwete, mhuri yakavamba 1919 pakazvarwa mukoma wangu Michael. Haana kurarama nguva huru, nguva yaFather O’Hea, gore ra1934 ndopaakashaya akanwa poison. Asi anonzi akashandisa mukombe waishandiswa nguva yehwiza, yemhashu kuimwaya mwaya poison kuti hwiza dzife,” President Mugabe said.

He said his brother was said to have used container contaminated with a poisonous pesticide to drink water but his father had insisted that his son had been deliberately killed.

“Zvino pakauya church kuno uku, vekwaZvimba kwakabva mhuri yekwaKarigamobe iri kuraini rekwaChidziva.”

He said after the establishment of the church a lot of people in Zvimba used to frequent the mission including Chief Zvimba.

“Zvino ndiri kuti circumstances sometimes turn chaotic in their own way to gather the necessary momentum and regularity as in this particular case – vakangobva kuChishawasha vachiti tiri kuenda kune hama dzedu dzakapihwa nzvimbo naZvimba. Hapana aiziva kuti kuchazobuda muchato,” President Mugabe said.

Besides the church being helpful on the spiritual side, President Mugabe said the mission also took care of the health of local people especially children who used to contract bilharzia after swimming in still pools in the nearby river.