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• . . . wants them relieved of their duties
• . . . calls for leaders with new ideas

The First Lady Dr Grace Mugabe arrives at the zanu-pf Conference Centre in Gweru where she addressed a highly subscribed rally yesterday. — (Picture by Justin Mutenda)

Tendai Mugabe in GWERU
ZANU-PF provincial chairpersons in major cities and provinces with major towns who have failed to reassert the ruling party’s dominance in urban areas should be dismissed to pave way for leaders with new ideas, the First Lady Dr Grace Mugabe has said.

Since election 2000, Zanu-PF’s support in the country’s two Metropolitan provinces of Harare and Bulawayo dwindled dramatically, while the party continued to play second fiddle to MDC-T in other major cities such as Mutare, Masvingo and Gweru, except in last year’s harmonised elections were only Harare and Bulawayo remained largely elusive.
Zanu-PF bagged six seats in Harare and failed to win a single constituency in Bulawayo.

Addressing a bumper crowd at the Zanu-PF Conference Centre here yesterday on the second leg of her Thank You Tour following her nomination to be appointed Women’s League Chairperson, Dr Mugabe took a swipe at some senior Zanu-PF members whom she said were working with MDC-T and other outside forces in a bid to destroy the revolutionary party.
Dr Mugabe said it was pointless to retain provincial chairpersons who appeared to have run out of all options to rejuvenate the party in urban areas.

She said even in the private sector, companies fired non-performing managers.
“Ndinonetsekana kumatowns because nyaya yemumatowns musangano wedu uri kuramba kusimba (I am concerned about the urban constituencies where our party remains weak),” she said.

“But chinongondinetsa ndechekuti musangano uchiramba kusimba, zvakadii kuti vanhu varipo ivavo vasiri kugona kuti vasimudzire mapoints vambobviswa nekuti munhu iyeye mumwe chete akambowisira musangano pasi gore rakapera, makore 10, 20 apfuura anongoramba aripo? Aiwaka! (What surprises me is that while the party performs dismally, we don’t we relieve the office holders of their positions and replace them with new teams)

“Mucompany chaimo zvazvinoitwa ukange uripo uchinzi ndiwe chief executive vakatarisa performance yako vakaona kuti you are not performing zvinonzi chimbosuduruka (Even companies fire non-performing chief executives).

“Ini ndiri kufunga kuti ndizvo zvinofanira kuitwa mumatowns. Baba (President Mugabe) vari kunetsekana kuti muHarare maseats hatisi kumbotora, hapana chiri kuitika… ukaona uine company isiri kuenderera mberi iwe wakaisa manager kuti akushandire unoramba uchingomusiya aripo here manager iyeye? (President Mugabe is worried that we are not reclaiming seats in towns. Nothing is happening. If you are an employer and you see that your manager is not performing, do you leave him/her in that position?), she asked to applause.

“Varipo mamwe mamanager anogona kutoita basa iroro. Haisi Harare chete, matowns mazhinji kusiri kuitwa basa rakanaka (There are other managers who can do that job. Its not just in Harare but other cities and towns as well)!”

Dr Mugabe said failure by Zanu-PF to have majority control in towns and cities was affecting development.
She said the MDC-T and its councillors in towns were only after regime change and not national development.

Dr Mugabe said it was unfortunate that some Zanu-PF members were now working with MDC-T to derail the revolutionary party’s economic blueprint, the Zim-Asset, as long as President Mugabe was alive.

“Chiri kutondinetsa ndechekuti tinenge tichitonzwa kuti kune vamwe vedu vave kutoshanda neMDC kuti aiwa programme yese kana Zim-Asset iyoyo ngairege kuenda mberi kana VaMugabe vachiripo (What concerns me is that we hear that some Zanu-PF leaders are working with the MDC-T to sabotage party programmes, and even national ones like Zim-Asset saying they should never succeed as long as President Mugabe is in office),” she said.

“Tinoda kuti isusu kana tazopinda then we will implement it. Ko zvikaramba? Hanzi do unto others as you would want them to do unto you.”
Dr Mugabe said the collusion with MDC-T was manifesting in Zanu-PF where some senior officials were shying away from denouncing the western-sponsored party in public.
“Ndakazviona izvozvo even pari kuitwa slogan hanzi Pamberi neZanu-PF, Pamberi neZanu-PF, Pamberi nechii (I have seen it even where they say Forward with Zanu-PF, Forward with Zanu-PF, forward with what….?,” she said.

“Slogan ini handiizivi because inini slogan ndakadzidziswa ndongoonawo ichiitwa nevamwe, but hapana akandiudza kuti unosimudza ruoko mudenga… hanzi kugara nhaka kuona dzevamwe, but manje ndichidzidza kudaro handichazivi kuti slogan chaiyo chaiyo inoitwa sei nekuti vamwe havachada kuti pasi neMDC nekuti vanenge vaine chiwirirano uko neMDC.
“Unotozviona. Dzimwe nguva vanhu vanenge vachiti munenge makanyarara hamusi kutarisa, munenge muchitoona kuti kune vamwe vanhu vakuru chaivo vasingamboti pasi neMDC.
“Tinoti pasi navo (MDC-T) nekuti ibato riri retrogressive risingadi kuti Zimbabwe ienderere mberi.”

Dr Mugabe said she witnessed a situation in Mazowe where one senior party member chanted the party slogan with an open palm.
“Makamboona slogan yakadaro kupi? Ndoslogan yedu iyoyo yekutaura uchivhura ruoko? Pasi nevanhu vakadaro,” she said.

In some cases, Dr Mugabe said, some members were saying: “Pamberi naPresident, Pamberi nePresidium” as if that was the party’s procedure.
She warned some members who were allegedly engaging in vote buying ahead of the Zanu-PF National People’s Congress in December that such nefarious activities should stop henceforth.

“Hamheno kana chiri chokwadi kana dziri nhema. Tiri kunzwa kuti kuri kuuya mari,” she said.
“Madzimai ari kusarudzwa vamwe vachipiwa vamwe vachinyimwa asi ndoda kuti ndiyambire vanhu kuti dai mazviregera tisati taenda kuCongress nekuti vanhu vari kuona. Ndakaudza umwe munhu kwataive tiri kuMashonaland West ndikamuti iwe watch your step zvauri kuita izvozvo vanhu vari kuzviona. (People are watching while some are being bribed).

“Waona pawanzi simuka utaure vanhu vange vachikuita ‘boo’. Munoziva kuti fuza risina pfungwa rinoramba zvinhu zviri pachena hanzi vanhu vange vatengwa kuti vandiite ‘boo’ ndikati gara uchifunga izvozvo. Vanhu havatengwe nemari zvaunofunga iwewe.”

Dr Mugabe said such people should learn from MDC-T which dismally failed to dislodge President Mugabe despite the massive funding by the Westminster Foundation and other Western governments.

“Asi vanhu vari kuita zvefactionalism hamudzidzi here? “she asked. (Those practicing facitionalism never learn). “Dai mari yaishanda ndinofunga kuti dai nhasi kusisina Mugabe neZanu-PF yake. Vakashandisa mari zvikavarwadza zvinhu zvikarega kuita sezvavaitarisira nekuti urongwa hwaMwari hauputswe nemunhu wenyama.
“Iye zvino vaona kuti zvaramba kuti vavake mapato ‘ana Simba Makoni, vana MDC vakati toda kushanda from within Zanu-PF.

“Ndiri kutaura izvi kuti tive very careful nekuti iye zvino kunoshandiswa mari. Ndakataura ini kuti kune vanhu vanoswera vachiti kana vaona Baba vopfugama vachiti Baba tinozokudai. Murume mukuru anotaurirwa izvozvo. Murume ari intelligent saMugabe, murume ari principled saMugabe?”

Dr Mugabe said such hypocrisy would not serve anything because President Mugabe was an intelligent and tested politician who can not be deceived by cheap trickery.
The First Lady said she was aware that some people were dishing out money to women in an attempt to dethrone President Mugabe saying he was old.

She said it was unfortunate that some of the people who were being used did not have a say when the party makes its resolutions.
Dr Mugabe urged women to be united and work together.

She said it was retrogressive to backbite each other in the party, adding that it was now time to tell each other the truth.
Dr Mugabe requested Zanu-PF at its next Politburo meeting to confront issues affecting it with an open mind.

The highly subscribed rally was also attended by several Politburo members including Cdes Emmerson Mnangagwa, Oppah Muchinguri, Eunice Sandi Moyo, Edna Madzongwe, Rugare Gumbo and several Cabinet Ministers and Members of Parliament.