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Zimbabwe: 'Voting MDC Wasting Votes'
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 Published by the government of Zimbabwe |
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The Herald (Harare)
24 March 2008
Posted to the web 24 March 2008
Bulawayo
PEOPLE should go out in large numbers on Saturday and vote for Zanu-PF as voting for the opposition MDC is tantamount to wasting votes, President Mugabe said yesterday.
Addressing thousands of people at Stanley Square in Makokoba, Bulawayo, President Mugabe said there was no way the MDC could be allowed to rule this country as it is led by puppets of Western countries who would reverse the gains of the country's independence.
"You can vote for them (MDC), but that will be a wasted vote. You will be cheating yourself as there is no way we can allow them to rule this country," said President Mugabe drawing applause from the enthusiastic crowd.
"We have a job to do and that is to protect our heritage. The MDC will not rule this country. It will never, ever happen. Asisoze sivume."
The President had the crowd in stitches when he said the symbol of the MDC -- an open palm -- is an indication that the opposition does not have the zeal to work for the people.
"What kind of a symbol is that? It shows that the MDC does not have the zeal to work for the people. As for our fist, it indicates the willingness to work. Thina inqindi silazo, siyanqinda futhi," he said.
President Mugabe said while residents of Bulawayo and Harare have tended to vote against the ruling party, he wants to see both cities voting for it this time.
Turning to the economy, Cde Mugabe said the Government was working on modalities of reviving it despite Western sanctions imposed on the country as punishment for the Government's land reform programme.
The Western sanctions, he added, have hit the country hard as there are shortages of foreign currency and fuel, among other challenges.
Although Zimbabwe is a member of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, he said both multilateral financial institutions are not providing any assistance to the country because Britain and the United States are influencing them to do so.
But he said the economy would rebound as the country's Look East Policy was beginning to bear fruit.
"Nhamo dzese dzamuri kuona -- lack of foreign currency and so on -- are because of sanctions," said President Mugabe.
"The Look East Policy took long to bear fruit because our economy was aligned to the West. But trade relations with India, Iran, China and Indonesia are growing. The West is also turning East."
He added that while Europe and the US publicly claim that the sanctions are targeted at certain individuals, they are also affecting the majority.
President Mugabe added that the Western powers also sought to widen the sanctions by dissuading some Zimbabwean allies, such as Libya and China, to cut trade ties with Harare.
The President castigated the MDC for inviting the sanctions and promising to return land to whites in the unlikely event that it wins the elections.
"Tichiri kuenderera mberi nekupa vanhu land. Vangati chii vakatipa nyika vana (the late Vice-President Dr Joshua) Nkomo nava (Simon) Muzenda? Kuti vati Mugabe watengesa nyika? Vari shure kwedu asi vapenyu kwandiri. Their spirits will live," he said.
He again attacked both factions of the MDC for approving the candidacy of former white farmers, David Joubert and Alex Goosen, who are contesting for the Bubi House of Assembly seat in Matabeleland North.
He said these two candidates and other white former farmers are still bitter about losing land to its rightful owners.
"Are there no blacks who can stand in those areas?" he asked.
In Marondera, in Mashonaland East, he added, there is also another white MDC candidate, Ian Kay, whom he said was splashing money in his campaign.
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Cde Mugabe said many other whites have returned into the country and are hiding in safari camps in various parts of the country. They returned, anticipating an opposition victory, but they are mistaken, President Mugabe said.
He chronicled the liberation struggle, the suffering, injuries and deaths that blacks endured.
On the challenges the country is facing, he said the Government is aware that Bulawayo was facing power and water shortages, and work is underway to resolve them.
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