The Sunday Mail
President Mugabe’s keynote address to the Zanu-PF Youth League National Assembly at the ruling party’s headquarters in Harare yesterday
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The Honourable Vice-President and Second Secretary Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa, the Honourable Vice-President and Second Secretary Cde Phelekezela Mpoko, Secretary for Administration Cde Ignatious Chombo, our Commissar Cde Saviour Kasukuwere, Cde Zhuwawo, members of the Politburo and the Central Committee here present, Deputy Secretary for Youth Affairs Cde Kudzai Chipanga, members of the national youth executive here present, provincial Youth League representatives, ladies and gentlemen, comrades and friends.
Let me begin by expressing my sincere gratitude to you all for this invitation to me to be with you, the Youth League, at this, your National Assembly meeting.
You are here today to deliberate on issues pertaining to our party and country in general, and to the Youth League in particular.
At this meeting I hope to receive your concerns and challenges, which eventually we shall consider and see how we can use them to transform them into party and subsequently governmental programmes.
Tanzwa zvichemo zvenyu, tikanzwa zvamurikuda kuti zviitwe, tanzwa zvese zvamashorawo.
I take pride and wish to congratulate the leadership of the Youth League for successfully hosting the one million man march on the 25th of May in the year 2016. Zvanga zvisati zvamboitika, akava manenji.
Hatinakumbofunga kuti mungasimudza hondo yakadaro, vanhu vachichishaya pekugara vachiramba vakamira, chakava chishamiso.
It puzzled us, but it more than puzzled our enemies; it confused some, shocked them actually. Even the people outside, our detractors, were commenting.
That was an achievement by well-focused youth, well-organised youth.
The successful organisation of that event clearly demonstrated the tenacity and the ability of the Youth League to mobilise the masses so they rally behind Zanu-PF.
If anyone was in any doubt about the machinery, you can even call it the mechanism, that Zanu-PF has for purposes of mobilising the masses, here it was – the Youth League. The spirit to defend our party should steadily gather momentum as we approach the 2018 harmonised elections.
It is disheartening that within our party, some members, senior in age but perhaps immature in their ability to understand Zanu-PF and its ethos, started to sow discord and disharmony with the hope of destabilising our party.
We had to act fast and firmly in order to bring back dignity and discipline to Zanu-PF. Thus, such orchestrators of unruly and undisciplined behaviour were expelled from Zau-PF party.
In all this, I am humbled by that unwavering stance of the Youth League who stood resolute in defending Zanu-PF and its leadership.
As youth, you were more disciplined and objective than expelled members who, I regret, should have taught you about our revolution; but alas the opposite was and is now in place: it is you to teach them the revolution.
The enemy manipulated their ambitions and zeal for power which misdirected them into thinking that they could direct and guide the party in their preferred ways.
They will indeed learn the lesson others have learned before that if expelled from Zanu-PF you will be cold there. They say, or they used to say, those we had expelled from the party, that it is cold out there, kunotonhora kunze uko, kunotonhora.
Meanwhile, you realise the opposition parties are in a destabilisation mode aiming to make our country ungovernable – ndozvavari kutaura.
They are pursuing their selfish agenda which targets the undemocratic removal of an elected Government from office. Hanzi ngatiitei ma elections now, ko 2018 yadii? Even akaitwa now, mungahwine imi? Haasi manyemwe aya?
Actually vakuti vanoda Government of National Unity kwatakabva, kuti tikudzokere futi, hazvichaita. Well, what we also know is that the regime change agenda which is the broader goal that is being prescribed for all Southern African nations that are governed by former liberation movements, that, that broader agenda is what they are pursuing in obedience to their masters.
Our enemies use money and opposition parties to provoke internal instability and conflicts. This has been happening throughout Africa.
They are aware that our people-centered policies are not convenient for the protection of their economic interests, so they would want to replace liberation movements’ regimes with pliant puppet regimes that would pander to Western interests.
In Zimbabwe they have dismally failed for the past 36 years and facing a vibrant Youth League like we have now, they are bound to fail again and again a thousand times.
Zanu-PF and its Government will not be derailed by irrelevant sideshows that are being orchestrated by the spineless opposition parties. We are going ahead to meet the needs of our people in general and in particular those of our youths who constitute the majority of our population.
Government is currently seized with wanting to ensure that land is availed to our youth for residential purposes. So far residential stands have been allocated to youths in Harare, Bulawayo in Manicaland, in Mashonaland East and Mashonaland West.
I encourage those who are still waiting to be patient as the necessary processes are underway.
Musacheme kuti “ah tirikusiiwa”. Vakandiudza kuti havasati vapedza, maministers. We want to ensure that services and all requirements are met first before people are allocated residential stands. Anoda kusevhiswa mastands acho musati maapiwa.
Remember, we also need to provide schools, hospitals, clinics and shops pama area ipapo and it takes time, naturally.
And we also would also want to guard against corruption with regard stand distribution. Kwete kutengwa, munhu apihwe stand, aiwa. Kana kuti “ndipe mari yakati ndigokupa stand”, (kana) kukurumidza kukupa, aiwa.
We don’t want that.
We are also aware that the youths need farming land, you need also to go into farming. Responsible ministries are working tirelessly to ensure that land for agriculture is made available to you.
But I would like to implore you as the youths’ leaders to ensure that once land is allocated it is properly and fully utilised in order to ensure massive production and efficient production. It must be used and not traded and not given, as happened and still happening, to the whites so they can farm it whilst you are here in Harare or Bulawayo or Gweru or Mutare.
The agreement being you farm the land at harvest time after he has sold the product then you can share. Takudaro kumubhunu futi kuti adzoke
Remember all in your land is the source of employment and empowerment. Remember all in your land is the source of employment and empowerment
It enriches you. It gives you that which you and your family can call your own.
Establish your home on it, have your animals on it, grow your children on it, and of course when all is said and done, utilise it so you can have the necessary income to look out for yourselves and your families, and also to contribute towards the gross domestic product by producing those crops which can be exported.
But as for the youth, you still have that energy and ability to be innovative in using all resources given to you by Government.
We unreservedly condemn any form of laziness among the youths. So it’s the lazy youths who will employ another person, a European for that matter.
In the mining sector, I aware that the youths are trying to make ends meet through small-scale mining; makorokoza ataurwa aye. We support their initiative in this sector.
And as much as possible, we will try to equip you with the instruments they need in order to do your mining properly but not on river banks or river bed.
We do not encourage such illegal activity.
The youths should work well with the Ministry of Mines, avoiding being caught on the wrong side of the law. Kune maTemptations ikoko. Goridhe ukariwana wakuda kurinzvengesa, kuriendesa ku South Africa.
So we say all gold mined should be sold to Fidelity. Our Fidelity is our establishment in the Reserve Bank which buys gold that we mine in the country.
So avoid the black market.
The land from which we extract resources needs to be worked on and then protected for future generations. Kwete kungosiya makomba pese pese asina kuvharwa.
Let’s look after our land properly. Let’s not leave holes, dungeons, pits, which can be dangerous for animals too, everywhere.
In promoting the party, our youths should use social media to defend the party and promote the party and develop Zimbabwe through ICTs.
You all have a role to play in promoting our production and Zim-Asset Brand Zimbabwe. Brand Zimbabwe, the image of Zimbabwe, a Zimbabwe that is s democratic, hardworking and peaceful. That’s the image, the brand of Zimbabwe you should project outside.
And also to defend it from its detractors.
Our youths should learn from the youths in China, Cuba and Russia that economic success stories have resulted from proper and constructive use of ICT.
Social media should never be used negatively.
You have quarrels with someone and you want to take it up on the Internet. Tsvina idzodzo dzatinonzwa. Get off it. You should not be part of it, we should remain clean, clean, clean!
Anyway I am happy that the Ministry of ICTs and Courier Services is drafting a law to guide the proper use of social media.
Our disciplined Youth League does not allow anybody, including senior leaders of the party, to divide it. We refuse to be divided. Stand firm!
The principles of the party are what they are. We have the Constitution as you were saying. You go by the Constitution, the principles therein.
And we say we should work to unite the party and as well as steering away from factional tendencies. So twuma factions zviya zvamanga ndichitaura, keep away from it.
I’m pleased that the Hebert Chitepo School of Ideology has begun its lecturers that will equip our youth with ideas, that will make them understand the history of the party and its ideology.
When ideology is instilled into our minds tinenge tavakufamba tirimunzira yomusangano, and that is what we want to see.
And also, huori, corruption, tinenge takusiya, tokandapasi.
Then of course there will be that understanding in regard to the respect that is accorded to seniors, even amongst yourselves, seniors to you who are within the party and even seniors outside the party. Vakuru vedu – give them the necessary respect.
As the Youth League, Zanu PF’s vanguard, which you are, you have the mandate to further the interests of our party. It is your responsibility to defend the revolution by engaging in mobilisation activities, but not only that but by defending the party against the activities of those who would want to attack the party.
We are happy that you have managed to control yourselves in the face of real provocation by the so-called protesters who have gone about burning and looting property.
But of course we can’t allow them to continue on these violent demonstrations unimpeded. No!
Enough is enough, and here I would want to say we all have – all of us people of Zimbabwe – the duty and obligation to ensure that there is peace.
Hasn’t our late Vice-President Joshua Nkomo told us that peace begins with me, with you and peace begins with all of us?
That means we must take care not to attack, not to be violent against others.
Because the moment you attack persons who are just going about their normal occupations, you are breaking it, you violate it – because peace must begin with you.
And this is what we expected everybody to understand because we have been saying it again and again and again.
It is not just we the ordinary people that should have the understanding (of the need for peace). Our courts, our justice system, our judges should be the ones who understand even better than the ordinary citizens.
They dare not be negligent in their decisions when requests are made by people who want to demonstrate, to hold these demonstrations.
In the light of the violence that we had earlier own, surely they should have taken note to the fact that when permission was given four days ago there was violence, when it was given two days ago there was violence.
To give permission again they (judges) were to the full knowledge that it is going to be violent or probability that there is going to be violence is to pay reckless disregard to the peace of this country.
We hope now they have learnt a lesson, ivo ma judges.
But I urge you to stay focused, and please as the youth you should know from experience of others what is destructive to you personally, you cannot take to drugs and last.
I have known people who have taken to drugs. The end, you get demented, they lose half their senses, if not all their senses, but worse still their lives are halved.
They die much sooner.
Izvo zvavanenge vachitizvo eewe see heaven after taking drugs. Its destruction which they are seeing. Beers, well I don’t know which beer kana chiri chiye chinonzi uyu chake, chichiripo here, ndiudzei ka.
Chinodhaka zvacho, hachinyanyo kuvadza vanhu, but chinomboita kuti udzungaire. So there we are. We want you to be what you are.
Just now, as we look at you, I hope I am not deceived by the white shirts you are wearing. You look quiet healthy. Maintain that health, eeeh, beware of Mr HIV.
Mr HIV ndokunge uchitapura kumurume. Its also Mrs HIV, either way handiti? Iyo HIV, ndoyatipedzera vanhu.
Roora wako waunosarudza. Wosarudzawo uchiziva kuti uyu mwana akachengetwa zvakanaka kwete jakuchichi. Jakuchichi riri muno mu town, wada watora.
Iwewe mwanasikana woona kuti mukomana arikunditora hasi mukomana anoti apa abata apa abata wosiya. Chenjerai, take care.
Life is short even without those ailments. God has given life, but you even make it shorter dying at 40, 45 and 50.
Takarasikirwa ne ma comrades who should be here with us today. Taive navo kuhondo. Vakauya vachimhanyirira hupenyu and mazuva acho vanhu vangavasati vaziva kuti chirwerwe chi chaicho icho. Vayivanza.
So there it is.
Saka I want to say congratulations for this meeting. Well done.
You are united this way and when you go back home and if you have a programme that requires that people be assembled they will listen to you because they listened to you yesterday.
The leadership is focused. Chipanga and your executive, keep it up.
I want to say to Chipanga come and let me shake your hand for being able to organise this gathering and leading the youth.
Come let me shake you. Now I am not just shaking his hand, but informing him that as from now on, you are not acting, but Cde Kudzayi Chipanga is now secretary for Youth Affairs.
Pamberi ne Zanu-PF, pasi neMDC.
I thank you.
