President apologises to teachers over pay

bemoaning the effect of illegal United States sanctions on the country’s diamond sales.
Addressing a Children’s Party in Harare yesterday ahead of Independence Day Celebrations set for today, the President narrated how US sanctions were strangling the country’s diamond trade.
He said this made it difficult for Zimbabweans to benefit from their God-given natural resource.
The US has imposed sanctions on the country’s two major diamond mining companies — Mbada Holdings and Marange Resources.
“An apology . . . we have not been able to provide our teachers with salaries they deserve. We are fully conscious of that fact. We know that you have waited for too long for adjustments to be made.”

The President said the fact that Zimbabwe was using US dollars made it easy for the administration in Washington to frustrate diamond sales.Diamond transactions are cleared in the US.
“It is frozen and in some cases they (buyers) have been threatened. ‘If you buy those diamonds we will impose sanctions on you’,” President Mugabe said.
He said the situation would have been different had Zimbabwe adopted another currency like the Chinese Yuan.
“As long as we use the US dollars inokiiwa ikoko. So you can see how immoral are the actions they have taken. It is not a democratic world we are in.
“The rules must go according to what they desire. They want regime change,” President Mugabe said.
He said no amount of Western pressure will force Zimbabwe to bow down to the US and its allies.
“Isu vamwe takafa kare. We do not give in.”
On indigenisation and empowerment, the President slammed foreign-owned companies reluctant to comply with the law as selfish.
He said such companies could as well leave the country.
“Our resources must be exploited for the benefit of our own people. When people cry foul because we say we will have at least 51 percent ownership of our resources that are being exploited by foreign companies they are being selfish,” President Mugabe said.
“If we leave 49 percent for an outsider, an outsider who has just brought tools woti ndauya nemapadza ndinosungirwa kuti ndive nehupfumi ihwohwo, izvi ndizvo zvatakaramba.”
President Mugabe said Zimbabweans wanted to be owners of their resources, adding that gone are the days when the country would only benefit from employment creation and taxation.
“Tavakuti pasi nemi. Hatichazvida izvozvo. Tutanayi nemapadza namafoshoro enyu mudzokere. Mavakuti mwari irema here akaisa izvi (natural resources) mumaoko edu,” he said.
The Head of State and Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces described the days when foreigners used to scoop away the country’s minerals with no benefit to the indigenous people as “absolute foolishness”.
President Mugabe reiterated the need to safeguard the country’s resources for the benefit of future generations.
“We are living in the afternoon, if not in the evening of our lives and those who are still in the morning of their lives will have the benefits we are fighting for.
“They do not have to toil as we have done. It would be much easier for them to proceed into the future,” he said.
The President reiterated that the country will hold elections soon.
“We will certainly do that as soon as we are ready with a draft Constitution,” he said.
The children’s party is held on the eve of Independence Day every year to give children an opportunity to interact with President Mugabe and the First Family.
The children, drawn from the country’s 10 provinces, interacted with President Mugabe, the First Lady Amai Grace Mugabe and their sons Robert (Junior) and Chatunga at the City Sports Centre.
President Mugabe urged the youths to cherish being Zimbabwean.
“Being a Zimbabwean is an attribute you should always treasure, which you should hold dearly close to your heart. It gives you your identity and dignity. No-one can dare call you a Stateless person or an inferior person without nationality. Independence has created out of us a sense of belonging . . . that image and identity of someone who belongs to Zimbabwe.
“When we read the Bible, it tells us that we are all created equally and therefore we as the people of Zimbabwe are not inferior as human beings to any others.
“That should motivate us and bring that sense of courage and determination to prepare ourselves for the future and also to prepare to serve our country,” he said.