Poll dates next week: President

all the 156 legislators present endorsing it, exceeding the 144 statutory requirement which is two-thirds of the 210 members required to pass a Constitutional Bill.

Addressing the third Zimbabwe Local Government Conference at Queens Hall here yesterday, President Mugabe said Justice and Legal Affairs Minister Patrick Chinamasa was now in charge of the election roadmap.
“So, we will see from next week what the date can be,” he said.

“We now await the decision of the Senate. Only when it is passed shall we be able to have a roadmap for elections.
“I was hoping to meet Chinamasa here in Mutare, but he did not come. He is now the person in charge. It’s no longer the Ministry of Constitutional (and Parliamentary) Affairs.”

The President reiterated that there would be no extension of the tenure of the Seventh Parliament when it expires on June 29.
He said the automatic dissolution of the House would pave way for the election of a new one.
“Parliament dies on 29 June,” he said. “MPs, all of them, would have lost their legislative power.”

MDC-T has been lobbying for a postponement of elections amid reports that the party had failed to draft a manifesto and had been unnerved by several recent surveys pointing to a Zanu-PF victory.

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This — coupled with loss of confidence among MDC-T’s traditional western backers who have all been intensifying re-engagement with President Mugabe — has set party leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai on edge.

The President thanked House of Assembly members for “unanimously voting affirmatively” for the Constitutional Bill on Thursday.
He said once Senate approves the Bill on Tuesday, it would be taken to lawyers for scrutiny after which it would be his turn to sign it into law.
“When it is legal law of the country whatever should be done should be a matter of the new Government,” President Mugabe said as he called for peace during the election campaign.

“As all of you should be aware, the new Constitution coincides with the time in which the country is preparing for harmonised elections,” he said.
“As in any contest, there are some whose tempers may flare and others with raging emotions, to all of them, the country’s appeal is for peace, peace, peace! Violence should not have any place nor footprint in our elections.”

President Mugabe said leaders should not impose themselves and should accept a contest.
“Let us be tolerant,” he said.

“Recognise your right to stand as candidates is also others’ right to stand as candidates. We should compete and the defeated should have humility and honesty to accept defeat,” he said.

The President had the delegates in stitches when he said in the last harmonised elections Zanu-PF only won six out of 26 seats in Manicaland and he suspected the people could have voted against Zanu-PF because he was 84-years-old and was showing wrinkles consistent with that age.
But he said when he looked at his rival MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai, he was convinced it was not about facial looks.

He said if the two were to go for a beauty contest, he would come out tops.
“Zvino ndikati chitadzo chingava kupi? Tikamira papapa ndiri 84 (then) ndinotariswa nemvana dzakati kuti,” he said to laughter.
President Mugabe urged elected leaders to consult with the people and not to rush to implement projects and programmes without their input.

He cited the “mistake” that was done soon after independence when Government enacted the Legal Age of Majority Act based on world trends without the consent of community elders.

When central government proclaims policies, he said, it was the duty of local authorities as the lower tiers of the State to cascade the policies to households.

He urged the delegates from different councils to espouse the virtues of honest leadership, affordability, efficiency, reliability and sustainability.
“Local government should strive to uphold these values as it tackles such bottlenecks and key services as roads, health facilities, lighting and dependable water and sanitation systems,” President Mugabe said.

He said election into office should be a commitment to serve the people and not to live lavish lifestyles at the expense of citizens.
He said local authorities should link the central government to the people.

“Once this symbiotic relationship strikes the right notes, it answers the question of decentralisation, in respect of which all citizens are empowered to actively participate in decision making in matters of local development,” he said.

The President took a swipe at MDC-T-led councils that have departed from their service delivery mandate to pursue self-serving interests.
“I am not alone in expressing alarm at the report of appalling levels of corruption and mismanagement of public funds and properties by certain councillors and council officials,” President Mugabe said.

“As public servants, your duty is to protect such public assets as are reposed in your local authorities for the improvement of the welfare of these communities.

“Kwanga kune kuchema kuti vaChombo varikubvisa vanhu vedu. Kana kune mbavha dzaonekwa vongoregerwa vachingobira vanhu. Kana vakatipa mbavha dzoga dzoga vaChombo vongoti because President vakati be even vosiya zvakadaro?” (There was an outcry that Minister Chombo (Local Government, Rural and Urban Development) had been removing corrupt councillors. He should not turn a blind eye to thieves).

President Mugabe said in the absence of corruption, councillors from Zanu-PF and MDC should be treated equally.
“But if you give vaChombo people who think that rates and rentals should be in their pockets…they are thieves,” he said.

The conference ends today with Vice President Joice Mujuru expected to address the delegates.
Traditional leaders from Manicaland, provincial governors, Government ministers, mayors, town clerks and chief executive officers are attending the conference.