The Sunday News
Kuda Bwititi in CHIPINGE
ZANU PF, which has already bagged 74 local council seats, is unstoppable, and it is the only political party that can be trusted to safeguard the country’s sovereignty and heritage driven by its rich legacy and people-centred policies, President Mnangagwa has said.
Addressing multitudes of people at the launch of Zanu-PF’s election campaign at Mutema Secondary School in Chipinge yesterday, President Mnangagwa said the ruling party’s inclusive stance, which was leaving no one and no place behind, was winning hearts and minds of the electorate.
“We leave no one behind in the administration and governance of the country. This is the face of ZANU PF. We salute our unwavering cadres who stand by the party through thick and thin. ZANU PF is unstoppable! It will continue governing Zimbabwe as other parties continue to split asunder.”
President Mnangagwa
The ruling party, President Mnangagwa said, was not like other parties that seek and entertain interference by outsiders into the country’s affairs. What made the ruling party attractive, he said, was its pursuit of homegrown solutions to the country’s challenges.
“We do not get instructions from anybody. No other country or leader outside Zimbabwe can tell us what to do. We decide for ourselves for the good of our country and for the good of our people. We are committed to Zimbabweans. As you stand here, make it a point that I am a Zimbabwean man; I am a Zimbabwean woman. My responsibility … is to be remembered for having contributed to my country’s development. You must be remembered for your good works.”
He said ZANU PF was the only party that could be trusted to safeguard the country’s legacy and rich history.
“There is no other party that can relate with the liberation than ZANU PF, but there are parties that are known for being sell-outs. There is no other party that speaks the language that we speak. There is no other party that brought independence, democracy and the dignity of the African person. It was ZANU PF through the armed liberation struggle.”
The President urged the electorate to vote out incompetent opposition councillors in urban areas, who have failed to deliver services expected by ratepayers.
“As we go for elections, many urban areas are not under ZANU PF councillors. This time we are saying, out! Let’s vote for our own, who have the people at heart, not those who get into councils to loot. In Harare, where I live, there is no collection of waste. People struggle to get water. CCC or other parties should go. We must vote for our own councillors so that ZANU PF, which has the focus and people’s interests at heart, will deliver. We are a people-centered party.”
He also urged the country to observe peace and be united. Zimbabwe, said President Mnangagwa, would never give back the land it reclaimed through the fast-track land reform programme, and was now using the resource to ensure food security and improve people’s standards of living.
He chronicled the ZANU PF Government’s success in infrastructure development and growing the economy.
Electricity supply has significantly improved as two new units at Hwange Power Station (Unit 7 and 8) are now feeding into the grid, while the country’s road network is being spruced up by local companies, he said. President Mnangagwa said the Second Republic has resolved the fuel crisis, as well as electricity shortages. In addition, the government has grown agriculture from a $3,8 billion industry to $8 billion industry, and transformed mining from $3,7 billion to over $12 billion using local resources. In the mining sector, revenues have since grown from about US$2,7 billion in 2017 to over US$5 billion last year.
The President also indicated that significant strides had been made in reintegrating Zimbabwe in the global family of nations through the engagement and re-engagement drive. In his remarks, ZANU PF Second Secretary and Vice President Dr Constantino Chiwenga urged party members to deliver five million votes for the President to resoundingly win the elections. The country goes to the polls on August 23.
