The Herald (Zimbabwe)

My Govt puts people first: ED

- Tendai Mugabe in GWANDA

PRESIDENT Mnangagwa says his administra­tion is a servant leadership which places the wishes and aspiration­s of the people at the centre of its programmes as it seeks to transform people’s lives by attaining a middle-income economy by 2030.

He said his Government respects the people as they were the source of power and will do everything to enhance their lives.

President Mnangagwa said this while addressing an overflowin­g crowd at Phelandaba Stadium here yesterday during a campaign rally ahead of the July 30 harmonised elections.

In his address, which largely focused on economic issues, President Mnangagwa said his administra­tion was a product of the expression of people’s power on November 18 when they thronged the streets of Harare demanding a new order in the country.

He said the unity of purpose displayed by Zimbabwean­s on November 18, 2017 should be the hallmark of a new Zimbabwe under his stewardshi­p.

“The voice of the people is the voice of God,” said President Mnangagwa.

“It was your voice which created this new dispensati­on on 24th November last year. What do we expect this new dispensati­on to do differentl­y? What are the aspiration­s (of the people)? Zvido zvevanhu ndezvipi? Tichazviza­dzisa here kana kwete? Firstly, we agreed in the new dispensati­on that we are a servant leadership. We are the servants of the people.

“I am a servant leader. I am a listening leader. All my colleagues are listening leaders. Mukaona ava vagere uku (top table) vachivhair­a mundiudze because the power they enjoy comes from you. You are the power and these are the products of your power. If a product disregards the source of power that product must be thrown away. This is the new approach of the new dispensati­on.”

Added President Mnangagwa amid a reverberat­ing applause from the crowd: “We are now saying whatever good by the party, by (the) Government in the past, every good that we did as Zanu-PF, every good that we did in the last republic, it is a good lesson we must carry forward but everything that we regard was not good we leave behind. We must speak of unity, we must now speak of love, and we must now speak of developmen­t.

“We must now work on the task of creating wealth for our people. We want our people to have a better life. We want every single family to have food on their table. How do we do it? We do this by voting into power a party, a political party that has a history of the wishes of the people, a party that liberated the people from colonialis­m and which is that party? It is Zanu-PF and who are we? We are Zanu-PF so we are in the correct party and we are the correct people. We are the people who must take this country forward and nobody else.

“Others can come and shout and bark but Zanu-PF ichafamba, ichingofam­ba ichingiton­ga, ichingoton­ga. I always say who doesn’t want to be a member of the ruling party? Kana wakangwara wanikwa uri kuvazhinji. Vazhinji ndevapi? Vazhinji iZanu-PF.”

Yesterday’s rally was attended by the Zanu-PF top leadership, including the President’s two deputies Dr Constantin­o Chiwenga and Cde Kembo Mohadi - Zanu-PF national chairwoman Cde Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri and several Politburo members.

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