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Kamangeni Phiri Midlands Bureau Chief
POLICE should stop harassing women who are into vending at a time when the economy is struggling to perform owing to the western imposed illegal sanctions, the First Lady, Cde Grace Mugabe, said yesterday. Addressing thousands of Zanu-PF party supporters at the Midlands Conference Centre, about 12km outside Gweru, Cde Mugabe said police officers should learn to pay for services and goods like anyone else.
“Women told me about their vendor marts, the challenges they are facing. They are being chased away like people who are mentally challenged. The police should engage women and talk this thing out. Women are being troubled by your actions of chasing them away whenever they want to sell their goods. They say police officers don’t want to pay for anything, they just organise a raid if they want tomatoes and onions. That is what I heard. Stop doing that. This is not how it’s done in business. We have never refused to sell to you. Pay for the goods because you are paid salaries. Stop chasing away women. Just tell them to operate from market stalls if they are operating at undesignated points. It is not good to take people’s goods when they are trying to fend for their families. It is not easy to bring food on the table for our families,” she said.
Despite Western claims to the contrary, the First Lady said, sanctions were biting everyone including companies like Ziscosteel and David Whitehead, which used to employ lots of people.
She took a swipe at MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai for trying to incite Zimbabweans to take to the streets and demonstrate.
“Demonstrate against whom? If we are to go to the streets, it will be to tell Tsvangirai to go back to his mentors, the US and Britain, and tell them to remove sanctions. How can an economy thrive when you are being forced to work with a limited number of countries? Successive British ambassadors to Zimbabwe, including the incumbent, have been at pains telling the world that there are no sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe. They say only President, the First Lady and two others were slapped with travel restrictions. They say this at a time when people in Harare and other towns are failing to access clean water for domestic use. People are using polluted water from Mukuvisi in certain instances. Tsvangirai must go back to his handlers and tell them to remove sanctions which have caused untold suffering among our people,” said Cde Mugabe.
She said Zimbabweans should preserve peace which came as a result of a protracted war of liberation.
The First Lady said foreign powers have a habit of creating conflicts and chaos in third world countries endowed with rich minerals then disappear after causing wars. She cited Iraq and Libya as countries that fell prey to the West’s machinations.
Cde Mugabe said it was worrying that Zanu-PF continued to struggle in making inroads in urban constituencies.
She said towns were becoming increasingly difficult to develop owing to MDC-T councillors who oppose development so as to push the agenda of their western backers of causing social unrest.
Midlands reaffirmed its support for the First Lady to take over the post of secretary for women’s affairs in the revolutionary party.
Expressing her gratitude, Cde Mugabe said women deserved more respect and a bigger chunk in the land reform and other empowerment programmes as they were the pillars of the family and the party (Zanu-PF).
“Women are the majority. This is why Zanu-PF saw it fit to establish a women’s league. Women should be given more land since they spend more time working on it. Let me take this opportunity to warn our detractors; there is no going back on the land reform. I have a farm in Mazowe and I am prepared to fight for that piece of land to the bitter end if anyone tries to remove me from there. I have no apologies for that. If you have a farm please stick to it by all means. Never allow anyone to grab it from you,” said Cde Mugabe.
She said the revolutionary party has opened its doors to members who deserted to join MDC-T.
The First Lady said Zanu-PF had a lot to offer to people based on the party’s empowerment and developmental programmes.
She warned leaders who are fuelling factionalism ahead of the party Congress to stop forthwith.
The First Lady reiterated the need for leaders to be honest and stop pretending to love President Mugabe when they are always plotting against the Head of State.
She said: “We have individuals who are vote buying and bribing party members ahead of congress. We also have individuals within our party who are pushing for regime change. These people now think their heads and faces can now fit into the portrait with the President’s head. Is it as easy as that? Leadership is a God given gift.
President Mugabe is a brave man and is principled … he is a leader because people want him. Leadership comes from the people. People are not fools, they cannot be bought.
You should also stop intimidating youths and telling them who to vote for in their executives for you to get positions at the elective congress. These youths were given tasks to carry out by the party and don’t disturb them,” she said urging youths to shun violence and turn their energies to tilling the land and other self-help projects.
Cde Mugabe said youths and women should seek to empower themselves through education.
The First Lady said senior party leaders should stop washing “dirty linen” in public by taking stories to media houses.
She also warned journalists to be responsible in their duties and stop promoting factionalism.
The First Lady donated 30 tonnes of maize seed to farmers in the Midlands and distributed food hampers to all the chiefs in the Midlands. She also gave 10 tonnes of mealie-meal to the Midlands people.
Online Reporter