President committed to unity
THE country marks Unity Day today under a new administration led by President Emmerson Mnangagwa with the new Head of State emphasising on the importance of unity in the country.
The Unity Accord was signed on December 22, 1987 bringing together Zanu and PF Zapu parties under the banner of Zanu-PF and also bringing an end to political turmoil that had been experienced prior to the signing.
In his address during the Zanu-PF Special Congress in Harare last Friday, President Mnangagwa said he was the president of a united party and on a broader level, of all Zimbabweans.
The President’s sentiments should be appreciated especially against the background of the destabilising politics of the G40 cabal made up of criminal elements that surrounded former President Cde Robert Mugabe.
The cabal had introduced a destructive culture of politics that promoted factionalism, tribalism and regionalism while protecting criminal elements within their inner circle.
This however, was put to an immediate stop by the Zimbabwe Defence Forces who launched Operation Restore Legacy aimed at targeting criminal elements around Cde Mugabe and also to arrest a potentially volatile, social, economic and political situation in the country.
The subsequent internal processes within the ruling Zanu-PF, a march by Zimbabweans and impeachment proceedings by Parliament led to the resignation of Cde Mugabe.
On its part, the party through the special session of the Central Committee on November 19, recalled Cde Mugabe and expelled 26 members of the G40 cabal among them former First Lady Mrs Grace Mugabe, former Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko, Professor Jonathan Moyo and Saviour Kasukuwere.
By ushering in a new era and administration led by President Mnangagwa, Zanu-PF managed to restore the liberation legacy that was under threat from the G40 cabal and also the principles of unity expressed in the Unity Accord.
President Mnangagwa in his address, called on the party members never to allow themselves to be divided by destructive elements.
“I urge the party to introspect and self-adjust in conformity with the principles, mores and genes of Zanu-PF.
“In this regard, Article 2 (Section 14) of our party’s constitution outlines the aims and objectives of our party as inter alia being ‘to oppose resolutely tribalism, regionalism, nepotism, corruption, racism, religious fanaticism, xenophobia and related intolerance, discrimination on the grounds of sex and all forms of exploitation of man by man in Zimbabwe.
“In line with this instruction, therefore, my ascendance to the helm of the party must never be interpreted as a defeat of one faction and installation of another.
“My Presidency should not be perceived as a rise in the fortunes of a region, or a tribe or a totem, no. My Presidency is about a united Zanu-PF, a national party with a national outlook.”
The President said he would unite all Zimbabweans under the national flag and around the national anthem.
“I stand before you, therefore, as the President of a united, non-racial Zimbabwe, itself home to many tongues, dialects, cultures, colours, age groups.
“I am a President of women and men; the young and the old; the able-bodied and the physically-challenged; the rich and the poor; the well and the sick. I am an emissary of all the veterans and heroes, dead or alive, who through their blood sketched the cause and mission which my Presidency must promote, must actualise and advance.
“I am a President for Ndebeles, Shonas, Zezurus, Ndaus, Karangas, Manyikas, Vendas, the Chewas, Sothos. I am also the President for the Tongas, Tswanas, Xhosas, Khoisans, Shangaans, Kalangas, Nambyans and other races, all who are celebrated in our national Constitution.
“The role you have given me, and the Office you have inserted me into can never be partitioned to anyone.”
The ruling Zanu-PF has also emphasised the importance of unity and shunning divisions.
“In fact this agreement formed the basis of unity of our people across the country and must be defended at all costs. Efforts to derail it must be discouraged. The letter and spirit of the Accord must be respected.
The Unity Accord has no provision for factionalism. I have at all party conferences and other fora spoken hard against factionalism, corruption, tribalism, regionalism and racism. The party constitution remains supreme,” said party secretary for information and publicity Cde Simon Khaya Moyo.
“We have often heard of the existence of the existence of factions within our revolutionary party. No one should lead or belong to a faction. A principled cadre can only belong to the party with one leader. In Zanu-PF, our leader is President E.D Mnangagwa and no one else. The recently held Extraordinary Congress of our glorious and revolutionary party Zanu-PF ratified this fact.
“It is therefore incumbent upon all of us to celebrate Unity Day by reflecting and stock taking our actions as we endeavor to fully subscribe to our party’s Motto: Unity, Peace and Development. The Unity Accord must be the heartbeat of our body politic.
“We must also focus on the implementation of Zim Asset and move away from the politics of division through factionalism. Pretenders have no room in Zanu PF. Corruption has no room in Zanu-PF. Those who give lip service to the revolution will regret their actions.”
This year’s anniversary of the Unity Accord should therefore be celebrated against the restoration of order in the ruling Zanu-PF and the reclamation of the party’s legacy of liberation and unity.
It should also be celebrated with the bright prospects the country faces with many initiatives by the new administration of President Mnangagwa to boost the economy, create jobs and return the country to its former glory.