malvernmugadzikwa
President Mnangagwa
Closing address by the President and First Secretary of ZANU PF, His Excellency, Cde ED Mnangagwa, at the 21st National People’s Conference at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair grounds, Bulawayo.
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Salutations . . .
It is my honour to once again be addressing this 21st National People’s Conference as we come to the end of our successful deliberations.
Allow me to express my gratitude to you all, my dear comrades, for the insights, views and robust deliberations which characterised this historic conference.
The patience and zeal we have demonstrated in managing the agenda and programme is applauded.
Undoubtedly, this has enabled us to come up with realistic, concise resolutions and people-centred development programmes, which are all critical for advancing the interests of our party and country.
The summary of discussions by the various committees and overall conference resolutions are indeed our political proclamation and call to action for more transformative projects, which must be timely implemented.
We emerge from this conference more united, renewed, recharged and full of vigour for the work that lies ahead.
Therefore, every cadre of the party, from the cell to national level, has a revolutionary duty to recommit to the strategic vision of our party.
As leaders of the various party structures, we must provide the requisite leadership and demonstrate loyalty to the party.
Maintaining the highest degree of unity in thought, practice and action, as well as political stance is the responsibility of all of us.
We must lead by example and act in line with the overall interest of the party and country, when performing our duties.
Comrade delegates,
ZANU PF is the party of liberation and the party of the future. We are a colossal mass revolutionary party, and our resolutions, policies and directives affect our society and impact all sectors of the economy.
Guided by our sector-specific directives issued by this conference, the concerns of our communities must be comprehensively addressed.
No one and no place must be left behind.
Our purposes must continue to be intricately linked to the progress and economic rejuvenation of our great motherland, Zimbabwe.
We, the current crop of cadres, have an obligation to ensure that ZANU PF remains the driving force for peaceful development and to build our economy at an accelerated pace.
Our 21st National People’s Conference theme, “Industrialise and Modernise Towards the Attainment of Vision 2030”, will see us explore new horizons in the ongoing modernisation and industrialisation agenda.
As we go back and put shoulder to the wheel, we should, therefore, diligently pursue industrial transformation and robust value chains as a catalyst for sustainable development and a competitive industrial base.
The interests of ZANU PF are the interests of the people of our great motherland, Zimbabwe.
Our party promises and our party delivers.
High-impact social development progress must be recorded during the upcoming reporting period that is ahead of us.
Constructive and programme-based grassroots engagements and mobilisation, across all party structures, will be key in delivering the desired results.
No village, ward or district can be developed by a bickering and divided people.
Unity, unity, unity, peace and harmony are essential cogs to amplify the growth and prosperity our country seeks and deserves.
Every department of the party, across all wings, must study and distil the various aspects into programmes and activities which respond to our unique local situations, challenges and opportunities.
The party structures at the grassroots level should accordingly receive the outcomes of this conference and translate these at community level.
Our development philosophy, Nyika inovakwa, inotongwa, inonamatigwa nevene vayo/ Ilizwe lakhiwa, libuswe, likhulekelwe ngabanikazi balo, must continue to be embedded in everything that we do and become our way of life.
In this regard, young people in particular, within the party and across our communities, should be rooted in this cardinal development principle.
After all, they are like seeds that thrive on fertile land and the storehouse of national hope for the growth of our revolutionary mass party, ZANU PF, and the realisation of Vision 2030.
Ngiyalibonga, ndinokutendayi vechidiki nemadzimai for devoting your energy and ideas for the benefit of our party and the people’s revolution.
In all seasons and at all times, you have demonstrated, along with the veterans of the liberation struggle, that you are the vanguard, always ready to defend the party.
Makorokoto, Amhlophe.
Fellow comrades, distinguished delegates,
Reinforcing our party’s political foundation is a mission without an end and should never be neglected or abandoned.
Let us be emboldened by this watershed conference and continue to build our party in tandem with the new socio-economic and technological realities, while maintaining the unique ideological DNA that make ZANU PF the party that has endured for six decades.
This is the guarantor that will make our party grow from strength to strength.
The importance of unified leadership and respect of the party constitution cannot be overemphasised.
These are fundamental pillars to the culture of ZANU PF. Stop-gap measures are never adequate in bringing about defining and requisite political solutions.
Our membership is urged, therefore, to boldly move forward in the interest of the party.
At this stage of the political development and maturity of our party, all cadres are challenged to adhere to our deeply entrenched party discipline, rules and correct line.
Straying from the right path can cause fatal mistakes and dire consequences to our
liberation movement and the people’s revolution.
The clarity of purpose, unity and cordial environment which characterised our conference, shamed detractors and dispelled the misinformation that had spread to alarming levels.
ZANU PF is a party of rules and order.
Matare eMusangano akajeka.
Hakuna mazvake mazvake.
The whole party should entrench this fundamental character trait.
As the curtain comes down at this historic conference, let us introspect and examine ourselves.
Pauri ipapo, zvibvunze kuti uri munhu akavimbika kuMusangano here.
Lapho okhona zibuze ukuthi wethembekile yini.
Each of us should never consider ourselves more important than the party.
Individually, we must ask ourselves if we are loyal, honest, consistent, persistent and whether we will persevere with the party.
These are the traits of a revolutionary cadre of ZANU PF. Always strive to attain these traits.
If you fail any one of them, one day unonanaigwa nemusangano.
Those that perpetrate acts of indiscipline, some of which now extend to acts of criminality, are warned. The party demands that we respect each other.
Respect your peers, palevel yenyu ipapo, kudzanayi.
Equally, respect those below you and the leaders above you.
A good leader must be a good follower.
Individually, we are a cog in a much bigger system.
Let us be remembered for uniting the party as well as helping others, and not dividing the party and our people.
We must continue to persevere under the party, even at times when it is tough.
Mind-sets, counter revolutionary tendencies, favouritism, regionalism and tribalism must be opposed.
Similarly, cadres across all levels should reject corruption or the pursuit of ill-gotten gains and privileges.
These are the values that we were taught by the Founding Fathers.
Gwara reMusangano wedu we ZANU PF harishanduke.
Comrade delegates,
ZANU PF musangano wevanhu.
Ngatigarei muvanhu, maintaining strong bonds with the people.
Let us go back, therefore, to our respective districts and provinces, and tell the people that ZANU PF is alive, united and stronger.
Inform them that together, as one unitary and peace-loving nation, our ZANU PF party stands ready to register new victories and socio-economic milestones.
In our march towards Vision 2030, the people of our great motherland, Zimbabwe, shall enjoy the fruits of prosperity and development.
Hand in hand, we are moving forward, overcoming obstacles in our way, such as the illegal economic sanctions.
Under the ZANU PF-led Government, the rise of Zimbabwe is unstoppable.
Finally, I congratulate you all for the successful and fruitful discussions during this 21st National People’s Conference.
We are truly a party that has come of age.
I say Amhlophe.
Makorokoto.
With these remarks, it is now my honour and privilege to declare our conference officially closed.
I wish you all journey mercies as you go back home.
God bless you all.
God bless Zimbabwe.
I thank you.
Below we reproduce excerpts of resolutions from the 21st ZANU PF National People’s Conference held at the ZITF grounds in Bulawayo.
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State of the economy
The party directs Government to:
Take robust measures to strengthen the purchasing power of the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) currency and entrench its usage;
Expedite efforts to de-dollarise the economy and promote the use of the ZiG as the country’s sole currency;
Promote wider circulation of the ZiG currency and its availability in all denominations;
Curb money laundering, speculation and arbitrage on the parallel market, including the criminalisation of the activities of economic saboteurs, errant manufacturers, retailers and other service providers as well as prescribing deterrent penalties;
Synchronise, harmonise and coordinate all fiscal and monetary policies in order to stabilise the economy;
Implement a robust zero-tolerance legal framework against corruption;
Formulate a set of incentives and other support measures to promote indigenous participation in the mining sector;
Amend the legislation on exclusive prospecting orders (EPOs) in order to allow other players to prospect in the area covered by the EPO;
Ensure the policy of “use it or lose it” in order to inhibit mining entities from holding mining claims for speculative purposes;
Develop and implement a robust programme to revive all closed down mines through modern technologies, innovation and funding frameworks;
Ensure that landowners in resettlement areas are given the right of first refusal in mining claims;
Revoke non-operational special grants in mining to give other potential investors with the relevant capacity an opportunity to work on the grants;
Ensure that investors are incentivised to purchase raw materials from local producers;
Ensure that the Mutapa Investment Fund is strategically structured and operationalised to resuscitate and capacitate State-owned enterprises so as to increase their contribution to the national GDP;
Ensure that the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra), working with law-enforcement agencies, develop and implement a robust system that curb leakages of unprocessed natural resources and the smuggling of goods in and out of the country;
Speed up the completion of Gwayi-Shangani and Kunzvi dams;
Ensure that the Presidential Livestock Programmes continue benefiting the vulnerable;
Strengthen restocking programmes to grow the national herd;
Expedite the implementation of new land tenure policy to give beneficiaries security of tenure;
Expedite the allocation of 10-hectare plots per district for the youth
Expedite the localisation of the production of fertilisers and other agricultural inputs so as to reduce the cost of production;
Ensure that, in line with the President’s vision, distribution of presidential inputs and social welfare relief are distributed to all deserving citizens regardless of political or other affiliations;
Distribute Presidential inputs and social welfare relief free of corruption.
Ensure timeous distribution of agricultural inputs to farmers in an effort to promote and sustain food sovereignty;
Sufficiently capitalise the Venture Capital Fund in order to support startup ventures;
Come up with the policy measures with a clear action plan that promotes the ease and cost of doing business so as to promote a conducive investment environment that increases exports;
Intensify efforts towards clearing the country’s external debt in order to unlock global capital;
Social services and poverty eradication
The party directs Government to:
Strengthen monitoring mechanisms to enforce adherence to labour laws, especially in the private sector
Develop a programme that ensures efficiency, transparency, equity, inclusivity and speed in the distribution of drought relief to all vulnerable citizens immediately;
Expedite the operationalisation, including digitalisation, of the National Disaster Management Centre.
Ensure the urgent development and implementation of a comprehensive and transformative programme that is consistent with an upper middle-income society for civil servants working conditions;
Urgently review the public and private pension policies to improve and safeguard the welfare of pensioners and the parameters of strengthening all pension funds as guided amongst others by the Justice Smith Commission report.
Establish secondary school teacher training colleges in every province;
Expedite the upgrading and registration of satellite schools through the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education
Adequately stock all health facilities with essential drugs, medicines and equipment;
Capacitate all provincial and district hospitals with ambulances;
Expedite completion of Lupane Provincial Hospital;
Also expedite the development of Lupane as the provincial capital for Matabeleland North;
Expedite the establishment of the School of Hospitality Industry in Victoria Falls;
Accelerate the provision of low-cost housing;
Ensure that legacy arrears arising from Basic Education Assistance Model (BEAM) commitments are cleared and funds due under the programme are timeously released;
Ensure that BEAM beneficiaries are not sent away from school due to delayed payment or fees;
Provide free healthcare services for the elderly, minors, persons with disabilities, marginalised and the vulnerable;
Review policies and strengthen the legal framework to cap the distribution of drugs and substances;
Improve the operational efficiency of Zupco buses in both rural and urban communities and ensure affordable fares;
Expedite the construction, rehabilitation and capacitation of dip tanks in all the provinces;
Ensure that activities of land and space barons are curtailed through the accelerated development of masterplans and digitisation of the state land bank.
Establish mobile health care facilities in all communities where there are no primary and maternal health care services;
Expedite the establishment of the national health insurance scheme;
Develop and implement a programme that supports the existing Government policy that aims to provide free of charge health services for pregnant and lactating mothers, children under five and those aged 60 years and above;
Strengthen enforcement of laws related to gender-based violence, rape, murder and child marriages;
Develop a policy that prioritises qualified graduates from the Zimbabwe National Youth Service for employment opportunities in the public sector;
Ensure that local authorities adhere to the call by the President that they provide services to the citizens in line with the Call to Action No Compromise to Service Delivery Blueprint.
Infrastructure and utilities
The party directs Government to:
Intensify the upgrading and modernisation of irrigation and power generation infrastructure at existing water bodies, as well as installation of irrigation and power generation infrastructure at any idle water body;
Recapitalise the Rural Infrastructure Development Agency (RIDA) to strengthen the development agenda;
Increase rural electrification with focus on renewable energy;
Embark on an accelerated development programme to reduce the power generation deficit;
Rehabilitate, refurbish and maintain all state buildings;
Speed up the rollout of e-government services, including e-learning services;
Value addition and beneficiation
The party directs Government to:
Intensify efforts on value addition and beneficiation of all resource endowments;
Ensure that investors are given incentives that encourage them to purchase raw materials from local producers:
Expedite the localisation of the fertiliser value chain and other agricultural inputs;
Enhance manufacturing capacity and value addition in the pharmaceutical, iron, steel, timber, agro-value chain and mining sectors:
Expedite the passage in Parliament of the amendment of the Mines and Minerals Bill;
Establish industrial parks in all provinces to drive rural industrialisation and employment creation;
Accelerate the revival of National Railways of Zimbabwe to enable efficient and cost-effective movement of cargo in order to promote trade and prolong the lifespan of the rehabilitated roads;
Strengthen the enforcement of legislation and regulations to combat the proliferation of fake products, counterfeit, underweight, hazardous, improperly labelled and smuggled goods in order to enhance consumer welfare and fair trade in the marketplace;
Engagement and re-engagement
The party directs Government to engage the British government to fulfil its promise to contribute financially to pay off compensation to white former commercial farmers.
Liberation war heritage
We enjoin Government to expedite the vetting of outstanding war veterans of the liberation struggle;
Gazette the names of veterans of the liberation struggle and make timely payments of appropriate gratuities and issue recognition awards;
Direct the Government to implement a robust programme to refurbish and maintain all national provincial and district heroes shrines;
Enhance protocol policy to recognise veterans of the liberation struggle at all State occasions;
Prioritise the disbursement of resources for exhumations and re-burials of veterans of the liberation struggle;
Protect veterans of the liberation struggle from land evictions and undue development planning by local authorities that affect veterans of the liberation struggle and their lawful dependence;
Direct the Government to establish provincial museums to preserve the memories of the liberation struggle coupled with an autobiography centre;
To accelerate the renaming of streets, avenues, schools, institutions and buildings after veterans of the liberation struggle;
Direct Government to accelerate renaming of provinces and do away with colonial names which divide the nation;
To develop a policy for the design and erection of statues of national heroes in the provinces;
To implement a policy that will guarantee State-assisted burials for liberation war heroes and liberation heroes;
Youth Affairs
The party directs the Government to establish new and upgrade existing vocational training centres and recreational facilities to curb idleness that leads to drug and substance abuse;
The party directs the Government to make use of ZIMDEF funds to construct and refurbish vocational training centres;
The party directs the Government to continue accelerating empowerment programmes including mining concessions, land skills training, affordable access to capital and education;
Government capacitate the youth desk in every ministry department and agency;
Government should expand extend quotas in the allocation of youth of residential and commercial stands for the youth;
The party directs the Government to put in place mechanisms to protect the interests of those who seek employment outside the country;
The party must ensure that attendance at Chitepo School of Ideology is made compulsory for every member of the ZANU PF Youth League;
That Government ensures that the recruitment of National Youth Service Zimbabwe be done under the supervision and consultation of the party provincial leadership;
That Government introduces mandatory National Youth Service in the national schools’ curriculum;
That the party directs Government to consider the appointment of youths in boards of parastatals;
That Government expedites the construction of multi-sporting discipline infrastructure in all the districts;
To direct all of authorities to channel 10 percent of their revenue towards promotion of sporting facilities;
Government must speed up the planned establishment of a dedicated sporting channel on national television to promote and encourage youth activity;
Environment and climate
The party directs the Government to enforce the ban on riverbed mining and accelerate river desalination programme;
That the party enjoins Government to expedite the operation of helicopters to assist human-wildlife conflict and air rescue, to prioritise management of human-wildlife conflict, to institutionalise gastronomy tourism in conjunction with township tourism to create employment and boost revenue in course;
To explore alternative ways for the country to unlock value in ivory, to fund wildlife management and community programme, to accelerate climate-proofing programmes and initiatives to mitigate the negative effects of climate change;
The party directs Government to intensify environment management programmes so as to keep the country clean, ensuring people benefit from safe and clean environment.
State of the party
The party and Government should establish a comprehensive framework that ensures that the principle of party supremacy over government is followed;
The Chitepo School of Ideology should decentralise its training programmes to administrative districts for the benefit of party members, Government employees, the private sector and the general populace;
The party’s conflict resolution committee should be proactive and come up with programmes that detect, resolve and mitigate conflict within the party;
That the party should expedite the digitalisation of its cell and village registers to ensure credible party voters’ rolls during party elections so as to minimise election-related disputes;
The Government must prioritise the employment of National Youth Service graduates who have requisite qualifications.
Directs that the party district executive chairmen be allocated motor vehicles to effectively enhance their mobility in executing party programmes;
That the party amends the party constitution to recognise non-combatant cadres and war collaborators as categories forming part of the veterans of the liberation struggle;
The party directs that July 1 of each year be declared a public holiday in honour of the late VP Dr Joshua Nkomo;
That political returnees from the opposition be integrated into the party after following proper procedures, thereby ensuring their progressive ascendancy in the party structures;
That the party internal election processes should strive to achieve the implementation of the 50-50 gender equality policy.
That the party should create a level playing field to allow women access to positions of authority within the party, in Government and in other institutions;
Lastly, that the President and First Secretary of ZANU PF, His Excellency Cde Dr ED Mnangagwa’s term of office as President of the Republic of Zimbabwe and First Secretary of ZANU PF be extended beyond 2028 to 2030.
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