President Mugabe yesterday urged Zanu-PF members to desist from discussing disciplinary issues in the media and engaging in demonstrations against one another, saying the party had internal mechanisms to deal with any errant cadres.
The President said this at State House while receiving presents sourced by Cabinet Ministers to mark his 93rd birthday.
“I read in the papers, aah hanzi (Saviour) Kasukuwere is what and what, I don’t even know, there being articles on Kasukuwere, Kasukuwere aah nhai vaMushohwe chii ichocho (aah Mushohwe what’s that)?” he said.
“This being a member of Cabinet.
“If there are wrongs he has done we have a dignified way of looking at ills and wrong doings of all of us. That’s why we have the organs of the party and I was saying to the Vice President the other day that let’s remind people that we have organs starting from right down the cell, branch, district and province.
“There is no vacuum, pasina (without) some organ, a remedial organ yekuti vanhu vagare pasi (so that people can resolve the issue). Kana ari we cell anogarirwa pasi, kana anga ari we branch akanganisa anogarirwa pasi, kana ari we province anogarirwa pasi. (If he belongs to a cell, branch or province, and they have done wrong the issue must be resolved there).
“Iyi yowe, yowe mupaper, yowe yowe mademonstrations (taking issues to the media and demonstrations) it’s not the Zanu way, it was never, ever, ever the way of our party which has created us. This is a primitive way of doing things actually.
“We are a dignified party and if we are going to punish someone we will punish him even to the extent of dismissing him. Zvekungo zhambatata-zhambatata (let’s not shout all over the place) and if The Herald is to act like the opposition, richiri paper here (is it still worthy)?
“Nanga nanga nemunhu hmm, ndi minister nanga nanga. Aiwa (Going after someone. No.) I don’t like that. Not that I support what he, maybe, is alleged to have been doing no! There is a method of correcting him.”
President Mugabe urged party cadres to work for the improvement of people’s livelihoods instead of exerting their energies on bringing each other down.
Let us just work for the people as they want us to work for them and as we have interpreted their needs, accepted them and evolved certain projects along principles which we believe together and we mix these with popular demands, the popular needs,” he said.
“I will not beat my chest and say this is my achievement, no! I can only do that if you will also beat your chest and say this is my achievement at which I shall say drop it, this is our achievement then the language is proper.
“Let us look at ourselves and help each other rather than want, desire to trample on each other to get each other down, doldrums and then you can say wanga achinyanya. Wanga achinyanya, zvauri kudaro, iwe hausi kunyanya here? Ngatimhanyei tichiti tazvigona, tazvigona, ndazvigona ehe kana wapihwa mission ndaigona mission iyoyo (He had become big-headed. What of you?) It speaks of other people by virtue of it being a mission.”
President Mugabe added that ambitious people within the party were affecting the implementation of programmes that benefited ordinary people.
“It is the people we are working for, ambitions should not affect that commitment we have,” he said.
“It’s the ambitions of the people as I say, their needs and demands and if we have ambitions it must be to do our best meeting those needs. Humility should be a characteristic that our leadership should have.”
President Mugabe called for unity in the party, saying it was that spirit of togetherness that made Zanu-PF win the 2013 harmonised elections resoundingly.
“Let us continue always to put ourselves together and realise that comradeship is not quarrels or back biting each other,” he said.
“Comradeship should always beat us to disregard these, set them aside, put them away. If there are challenges you should sit down and discuss them.
“We should work towards the satisfaction of the needs of our people. I did not work alone when the election took place. It was the election of all of us in the first place and the people had chosen because they knew who we were.
“They knew our dependability and they said aah, we give you the responsibility to work for us and carry through the programmes you showed us and we agreed in our various capacities, mine being the coordinator and leading.