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“We win elections by the nature of our policies. We do not win them by way of fisting; we do not convert people by way of coercing.
“We did agree to the principle of having a meeting of leading bodies, that is the Central Committee, with equivalent bodies of the two MDCs to discuss the issue of peace as we move towards elections so that people can canvass for support peacefully,” the President said.
“Let us work for a culture of peace and non violence and let us take this message to our province and districts and people will welcome that,” he added.
President Mugabe was definite that elections will be held next year, adding that discord in the inclusive Government on policy issues had made it imperative to go for polls to rid the country of the current transitional arrangement.
He said MDC-T that holds the Finance Ministry was reluctant to fund the agriculture sector.
“The world over Government must play a pivotal role in supporting farmers. Sadly, this is not so in our present circumstances of (the) inclusive Government where the MDC-T has been showing a very negative view of the African farmer, a negative view of agriculture as if to say food and agriculture products do not matter in our economy.
“The MDC are supporters of sanctions, supporters of failure and not success. The failure of agriculture the better (for them). This is the negative attitude we are given, which has ruined the thrust of our inclusive Government.
“Instead of being positive, the results are just a series of negatives. This is culpability. It is a sin. A crime against the nation,” President Mugabe said.
He singled out resistance by Finance Minister Tendai Biti to pay farmers for maize delivered to the Grain Market Board as one of the reasons why the inclusive Government was always on a collision course.
“They have been deliberately resistant to pay farmers millions of dollars. We owe them. That is criminal. It is downright immoral. It is downright contrary to good economics and downright anti-social,” President Mugabe said.
He added: “That is why we would want to have this creature away from the horizon, the inclusive Government.”
The President said there was no understanding on the part of MDC-T that Zimbabwe was an agro-based economy.
“This lack of comprehension is the heavy price we are paying for an incompatible marriage born out of 2008.
“We voted for it as we voted against ourselves,” President Mugabe said.
He said there were others in the Inclusive Government who did not want its lifespan to end.
“But still it is with us and those who are riding on the chariot of this creature and enjoy it do not want the pleasure to go. The chariot must go on and on.
“It is an illegitimate one because it is a political creature not born out of an election, but wishes of the parties to create a transition to an election.
“The transition is being taken as a Government instituted after an election,” President Mugabe said.
He bemoaned the delay in the drafting of a new Constitution, saying those in charge of the process were moving slowly.
Cde Mugabe said MDC-T was in panic mood as it was now clear that elections will be held next year.
“They are making accusations against us. They are saying there is violence when there is no violence. They are saying there is a dictator even when we are ruling together.”
The President said claims of violence by MDC-T were meant to send wrong signals to their handlers that the situation in the country was not ripe for elections.
He branded MDC-T “anti-people and puppets of imperialists” saying this explained why Zimbabwe should go for elections and “put an end to this ugly political sin that is in our country”.
President Mugabe described the Inclusive Government’s term in office as three good years lost.
“The MDC stands for the opposite. We want our resources. They are ours and are supposed to be in the hands of our people . . . to be worked on by our people for their own benefit. No, says the MDC. These should not belong to our people alone. The Europeans are also entitled to them. So are the Americans because they can give us money and we can sell those resources to them. We (Zanu-PF) do not believe in that theory. Resources of a country should belong to citizens,” he said.
Added President Mugabe: “They (MDC) are for the white men. They lick their boot. No, we (Zanu-PF) give them the boot instead.”
The Zanu-PF First Secretary urged the party to prepare for its national people’s conference set for Bulawayo in December.
He challenged other provinces to help Bulawayo prepare for the big event.
President Mugabe said the conference should afford Zanu-PF an opportunity to take stock of its strategies.
On behalf of Zanu-PF, the President also took the opportunity to congratulate Zambia’s President Michael Sata for winning last month’s presidential elections.
“In our region, Zanu-PF has been a partner and ally of each and every political party especially those parties that belong to the Frontline States. But where there has been change even in Zambia we have not been foolish in our stance by refusing to recognise change. We have recognised the people of Zambia want change and we should have a relationship with the ruling party without losing our ties with the liberation party,” he said.
Online Reporter