October 13, 2002
Government will scrutinise Non-Governmental Organisations and review the policy and laws that govern their operations, President Mugabe said yesterday. The President said some NGOs have been meddling in the country's internal affairs and singled out the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) which funded MDC candidates in the rural district council elections in Binga.
The President said out of the winning opposition candidates, six were employees of the CCJP. "Another four are CCJP co-ordinators for a number of NGOs, all funded by European Union countries, primarily the British. "This is a gross interference in our national affairs, disguised as Non-Governmental work," the President said, when he addressed the 51st ordinary session of the Zanu-PF Central Committee.
He said NGOs were registered on the presumption of their non-partisanship and as conduits for external aid but not as "hatcheries of political opposition". "The moment they seek Governmental power and office as has happened in Binga, we begin to view them differently as political opponents. And political opponents are dealt with politically.
"They should not cry, for they have redefined the rules of engagement," he said. The Government will invoke the law that disallows foreign funding in order to expose NGOs, which now view themselves as "little governments".
"Monies continue to pour in variously: through individuals; through Trojan horses, among them NGOs, trade unions, select private media, embassies, private companies and selected banks, through trusts, through the so-called international development agencies, through foundations and even through drought relief structures - all to be used against us. "But we can never surrender and cede to them our heritage. It is our land, our Zimbabwe, our homeland.
"This is our Cradle! We are its sons-of-the soil. Here we were born, here we shall forever, as Zimbabweans, live." The President said through a Bill that is before Parliament, the Government would be able to plug the holes in the policy governing the operations of NGOs. "We hear some noises about NGOs threatening to defy Government. I suppose they now see themselves as 'little governments' with the natural rights of citizens. "They no longer regard themselves as our guests who are here because we have opened our doors to them.
"Well, we will soon remind them who they are, where they belong and what their accredited mission is. Much as we need support for development programmes, we cannot brook interference from outside," he said.
The political pressure the Government and Zanu-PF had been piling against its enemies and the repeated defeats they had been suffering were now pushing them to desperate limits. President Mugabe said the resounding victory by Zanu-PF in the recent local government elections and the Hurungwe West by-election was a clear indication of the rejection of the MDC by Zimbabweans, including its own supporters who refused to stand in a record 695 wards.
Cde Phone Madiro's victory in Hurungwe West where he beat the MDC's Justin Dandawa by 15 882 votes to 2 665 was an electoral massacre that confirmed Zanu-PF's supremacy as a party, the President said. The victory in the parliamentary by-election and the council polls was a telling index to the transformation of national politics, in that despite the current economic hardships emanating mostly from sanctions imposed against the country as punishment for land reforms, there was a deep appreciation and support for the land cause which is regarded as sacred, he said.
"And of course our people see prosperity beyond current difficulties, largely deriving from benefits of the land reforms. This result, therefore was a deserved reward for the land we have recovered and delivered to our people. Today, the countrywide extent of our land reform programme translates into a countrywide vote for the party." The victory also showed that Zanu-PF's restructuring and re-organisation was beginning to bear fruit, although much still needed to be done.
Instances of organs or office bearers tripping each other were declining and it was now clear that the party was enjoying sound hierarchical linkages and optimising synergies in respect of all horizontal organs and structures.
Cde Mugabe commended the party's youth wing led by Cde Sikhosana Moyo saying it was getting stronger by each day through its linkages with war veterans who had blended well with other organs, structures and commands of the party. He, however, warned that the party should never sit on its laurels and should continue to revisit structures and members that it stays ready to respond to any challenge likely to arise in the future.
"The result is a rejection of divisive politics of tribe and factionalism. I want to make special mention of the Matabeleland Provinces which now have remarkably come out in full support of our party in the local government elections, except for Binga and a few urban council wards of Bulawayo which went to the opposition," the President said. "We now rule the roost and have been able to transform the protest vote of 2000 into remarkable support for the party.
"To this day, more support continues to express itself by way of high profile defections to the party. We need to do more work in the region, especially in those areas where pockets of protest still persist. And, of course, we should brace ourselves for a resounding victory in the forthcoming Insiza parliamentary by-election." The Insiza by-election to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Mr George Ndlovu of the MDC will be held on October 26 and 27.
Zanu-PF is fielding Cde Andrew Langa, while the MDC's candidate is Mr Siyabonga Ncube.
"All campaign roads must lead to Insiza where support for us is enormous. We need that seat back with a wide margin so we can bury the opposition and put behind us the politics meant to divide us," said Cde Mugabe.
The President said the time had come for the Government to support the resettled farmers in a comprehensive way to give the world a new lesson of a peasant-driven, rural-based, agriculture-led economic recovery model.
The peasant farmer was the principal resource of the country and needed support by way of seed, fertiliser, chemicals, tillage and other assistance vital for an all-out agricultural effort. Party structures should lead in the campaign to provide the peasant farmers with inputs and the same channels and structures of political delivery should become channels and structures that assist in the agricultural effort of the peasant, he said.
On drought relief, the President said he was aware that food was reaching every corner of the country, but that this was not coming in sufficient quantities. "I am also aware that our bridging imports for wheat have not come in adequate quantities. Much of it has had a lot to do with logistical problems. We need to sustain our people so they can go through this difficult period and every effort should be made to ensure that relief food reaches every needy family for sustenance."
He said the Government would continue to import food in large quantities and also intensify irrigation projects in order to cushion the country from the vagaries of the weather and ensure food security. "While drought may not be avoidable, food insecurity can in fact be avoided through irrigation projects.
"We now have the land; over the years we have built water reservoirs; we have an industrious farmer and now is the time to combine these three factors of production for greater output."
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