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The President urged professionals in the mining industry such as geologists and mining engineers to team up and form consortiums to exploit the mineral resources.
He was addressing a Zanu-PF Women’s League seminar in Darwendale where they were meeting to formulate a plan of action for 2012 as well as evaluate their activities.
The Women’s League, through their leadership, had raised several grievances to the party’s First Secretary, who is also Head of State and Government and Commander-In-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces.
The President said the indigenisation programme was more than just the party or Government building its image or asserting its rights.
“That’s the lesser part of it. What we should do in a much more massive way is to organise our people, put them together, our geologists, mining engineers … let them form companies so that we don’t give foreigners. This 49 percent is a whole lot of money. Zvatakaita izvozvo zvakakwana ngatichiita isu zvedu tega muserefu,” he said.
“Can’t we dig our own gold, we can borrow on the strength of the minerals.”
The President said there were reports of discovery of diamonds in Chimanimani, which were still subject to verification.
He said if it turned out to be true, no foreigners would be given licences to mine there.
The challenge with these mining technocrats, he said, was that they did not believe in themselves since they have been used to working for white employers for a long time.
He slammed Finance Minister Tendai Biti for being reluctant to support Bulawayo’s industry despite there being a Government position to give companies in the country’s second biggest city loans to revive their businesses.
White settlers, he said, had used Bulawayo as their industrial area and constructed several areas, which the Government had now taken a deliberate position to revive.
He said Minister Biti had not only been reluctant to take up the $500 million Special Drawing Rights from the International Monetary Fund but to disburse it to revive Bulawayo industries.
“If Bulawayo goes down, the whole country goes down, we said put the money there and (Industry and Commerce Professor Welshman) Ncube was keen about that but Biti said he had just put $20 million,” he said.
Cde Mugabe also castigated Minister Biti for his reluctance to adequately fund the Grain Marketing Board to enable it to pay farmers for grain deliveries.
“This business of delaying payment is done sometimes because MDC does not want to promote agriculture,” he said.
The President slammed banks charging exorbitant interest rates, adding that some financial institutions such as Interfin had stolen people’s money.
Turning to elections, President Mugabe said some people who were afraid of elections were pushing that they be held next year in the hope that he, as the Zanu-PF candidate, would have grown older and incapacitated.
“Vamwe vanoti VaMugabe vanofa muna 2013, Ko chandinofira chii, ini ndakangoti gwindiri zvangu … (Some say I will be dead in 2013, but how can I when I am still strong and fit) they say perhaps vanenge vavakubata mudonzvo but I am still very far from that,” he said.
The President said while his political detractors in the MDC-T were claiming he was ill, he was aware of most of their leaders who are not feeling well.
“We know the ailments with some of them. Kune maARV, ndiwo arikuvasimbaradza,” he said.
Cde Mugabe said there was a need to end the Global Political Agreement through an election this year.
“Why continue riding on a donkey when a horse is there,” he said.
The President said he had received reports that one Zanu-PF senior official was printing party cards illegally and clandestinely for his selfish gain.
He said police were investigating the matter and the official would be named and corrective action taken in due course.
There were also party officials who were leasing farms to white farmers, he said.
The President said such people should rather surrender the farms back to Government. Cde Mugabe said he was aware that some people in Copac wanted to change the national flag but vowed that would never happen.
“That’s the essence of our revolution,” he said.
The President urged party members to remain united.
Earlier Zanu-PF Women’s League Secretary, Cde Oppah Muchinguri, had said District Coordinating Committee elections had divided people in the party as some bigwigs were imposing their people using the President’s name.
“When one wins, there is an order for a re-run because their faction would have lost. Vamwe vanonyeba kuti vanokudai ivo varikudhisitiroya party. Vamwe vanouya vachikunyeberai,” she said.
Cde Muchinguri said the Women’s League’s operations in provinces and other lower tiers were paralysed because leaders took away vehicles that were allocated to the league.
She said money realised from 500 000 party cards sold was not properly accounted for and she called for the Women’s League to take ownership of the selling of party cards to its members.
Cde Sarah Mahoka said women were sidelined during DCC elections.
She said vehicles belonging to Women’s League were being converted to pool cars leaving them with nothing to use.
“President tinokumbira kuti zvigebenga zvakaba fertilizer zvisungwe nezvakabhiyuza mari yeConstituency Development Fund,” said Cde Mahoka, who is Mashonaland West Women’s League chairperson.
Senate President, Cde Edna Madzongwe, Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa, Secretary for Information and Publicity, George Charamba and other senior Government and party officials attended the event.
Ends. Ckd PN
Online Reporter