Junior ruling party members must respect their leadership in Zanu-PF and remain disciplined, President Mugabe has said.
This follows a spate of thinly veiled attacks aimed at some members of the Presidium by Zanu-PF officials, mainly via social media platforms and through briefings to private media houses.
President Mugabe made the rallying call for greater discipline in the governing party as he closed Zanu-PF’s 16th Annual National People’s Conference in Masvingo yesterday.
The President’s remarks came a day after he had also expressed his displeasure with senior officials who were abusing media platforms to denigrate their colleagues.
Most prominent among those resorting to social media is Higher and Tertiary Education Minister and Zanu-PF Politburo member Professor Jonathan Moyo.
Yesterday, President Mugabe once again called junior officials to respect their leaders, saying discipline was at the centre of the Zanu-PF way of doing things.
“Tauya tine zvichemo zvatanzwa zvaiswa pamwechete. Tauya zvakare tichiziva kuti tanga tiine makakatanwa. Todzokera kumusha, kuma provinces edu, zvichemo tazviumba muma resolutions achaiswa pamwechete.
“Makakatanwa tose tabvumirana kuti ngaarege kuvamo. Kurwisana ngakurege kuvapo. Gwara, gwara ngariteverwe, gwara remusangano. Discipline, discipline, discipline, discipline.
“Kuzvibata tichitevera gwara remusangano. Kuzvibata tiine ruzivo rwekuti varipamusoro vanosungirwa kukudzwa, vari pazasi vakukudzeiwo imi muri pamusoro,” Zanu-PF’s President and First Secretary said.
He went on: “Ndokuumba kwatakaita musangano, ndomagariro agara ari emusangano. Ndomarwiro atakaita Chimurenga, ndomarwiro atinawo, ndomarwiro atinosungirwa kuramba tinawo, humwechete ihowo.
“Ndofunga tose takauya kumusha weMasvingo tikaona kwakagadzirirwa. Kutitambira sevaenzi vavo … vanga vasina kutsamwa kwete; vachiti pindai, pindai tiritose, pindai pindai tivake musangano tose.”
The National People’s Conference was themed “Moving Forward with Zim-Asset in Peace and Unity”.
President Mugabe also hailed the seriousness with which delegates had approached issues to do with the state of the country and ruling party.
“Takatumwa nevamwe vasina kukwanisa kuuya. Ndinonzwa kuti tose pamwechete takabva kuma provinces. Takanga tasarudzwa taive zvuru zvinomwe – 7 000.
“Ndisu takanga tasarudzwa kubva kuma provinces akasiyayasiyana kuti tinokurukura nezvemusangano wedu nezveupenyu hweduwo munyika.
“Asi ndoonwa (Zanu-PF Secretary for Administration) va(Ignatius) Chombo vachiti ah, nezuro (Friday) vaiti number yaive 8 000, iye nhasi uno (yesterday) vati 9 000.
“Eh, ndokudiwa kunoitwa Zanu-PF imi veduwe. Zvino ava vanenge vauuya mungavati dzokerai kwamabva? Vane shungu, vana vemusangano, inhengo dze Zanu-PF. Vakauya neshungu vakatambirwa.
“Asi zvinofadza ndezvekuti hapana kumboita nyakanyaka. Tose takangoita basa redu ziii pasina kurwa, pasina kutukana, tiine ndangariro yekuti zvinhu zvifambe zvakanaka.
“Hapo ka ndopatinotenda kuti this is the Zanu way. Pamberi meni, pamberi nekubatana, pambili lokubambana. Ndatenda, ndatenda, ndatenda, ndatenda rusingaperi.”
He enjoined delegates to ensure the Conference outcomes filtered through to all party members.
“Tinosungirwa kudzokera kunotaura, kunopira vamwe nyaya; the story that we had at Masvingo, we told at Masvingo and we formulated at Masvingo.
“The story of success, success, success. Ndozvinoti tizvirove madundundu izvozvi. Ndozvisingadiwe nemuvengi, kuti munobva mauya makawada kudai kana kusaita mhere mhere.
“Kana mumwe chete hake anobuda apapa achishauda. Tiri vanhu vakazvarwa muimba imwechete, vana vemuimba imwechete, the Zanu-PF children, the Zanu-PF revolutionary children.”
President Mugabe said unity and peace in Zanu-PF were critical to development. He said resolutions by various committees indicated delegates had applied themselves to their tasks wholeheartedly.
“To my mind this successful Conference has in fact gone a long way in preparing the party for the 2018 general elections,” he said.
“While the programmes and activities Government plans to embark on should be primarily for our people’s benefit; they should also try to build towards our 2018 election campaign.
“Thus, our hope is that after the Conference, the party should now find itself directing more of its energy more of its resources to once again work as a unit.”