admin
Lawson Mabhena News Editor
THE Zanu-PF 6th National Congress yesterday confirmed President Mugabe as the First Secretary and President of the party for the next five years, while First Lady Amai Grace Mugabe is now the substantive Secretary for Women’s Affairs.Music, ululation, cheers and chants engulfed the main tent at Robert Mugabe Square where the Congress was being held following President Mugabe’s confirmation.
This was after the facilitator of the day, Cde Simon Khaya Moyo, asked Congress to “endorse the election of President Mugabe by way of acclamation”.
“I want to thank you and thank you whole-heartedly, thank you profoundly for voting for me once again. Leading you is not a simple thing. The gospel of the party is a very simple thing — we all come out of the people. Yes God made us. But it’s the people of Zimbabwe that we come from. It’s the people of Zimbabwe that we work for,” President Mugabe said in his acceptance speech.
“Some may call themselves Ndebeles, others may call themselves Manyikas, Karanga, Zezuru, Venda, Tonga, Khalanga but they are all one people. They are one because Zimbabwe is just one. It’s their country together. They are one, bound together by their being Zimbabwean.”
He also denounced Africans who are used by America to destroy their countries so that local resources could be exploited by the West.
Addressing delegates after her confirmation, Amai Mugabe said she could not ignore the support she got from every organ of the party.
“Thank you Comrade President for the opportunity you have given me to lead the Zanu-PF Women’s League. The appointment is a demonstration of the measure of confidence and trust you have in my ability to shoulder and discharge the responsibilities that come with the post. I wish to assure you, Comrade President, before this Congress that I shall truly, faithfully, honestly and unequivocally lead the Women’s League from the front without fear or hesitation.
“In committing myself to serving our party in the position of Secretary for Women’s Affairs, I am motivated and assured by the show of overwhelming support and confidence from virtually every organ of our party: from the cell to the Congress. It touched my heart and excited my motherly instincts. I could not in all fairness ignore my conscience by turning a deaf ear to the invitation by so many of our party members who saw merit in my leadership of this critical and important organ of our party,” Amai Mugabe said.
The First Lady, whose “Meet the People Tour” saw her visiting the country’s 10 provinces revealed that she took advantage of the rallies to measure her support before Congress.
“Having accepted that I was prepared to take up the challenge to lead the Women’s League, I embarked on a whirlwind country tour reaching out to the Zanu-PF Women’s League provincial structures and the general supporting public who came to what was popularised as ‘Meet the People Tours’. That tour allowed me to assess the level of national support for my candidature for the post. I was again touched by the overwhelming support I got from the people,” she said.
The First Lady said she received a number of petitions from the provinces which touched on issues to do with health services for expecting mothers, protecting women vendors, assisting women in mining and curbing escalating cases of physical abuse of women and children.
Online Reporter