New leader calls for unity
HARARE Zimbabwe’s new president Emmerson Mnangagwa has vowed to work to reduce crushing unemployment and return the country to prosperity after years of decline, as the nation cheered a new beginning after the extraordinary exit of Robert Mugabe.
‘‘Our economic policy will be directed for job, job, job creation,’’ Mnangagwa told the crowd of 60,000 witnessing his inauguration at a stadium in the capital, Harare, yesterday. Zimbabwe’s unemployment rate is estimated to be 80 per cent.
‘‘We must work together. You, me, all of us who make up this nation,’’ Mnangagwa said, urging the millions of Zimbabweans who have left the country to return.
‘‘I must hit the ground running,’’ the new president said.
Mnangagwa, who was fired earlier this month as vicepresident, has taken power after a whirlwind series of events that ousted Mugabe, 93, who had been the world’s oldest head of state. The new president’s speech struck notes of inclusion and reconciliation after years of growing frustration with Mugabe’s 37-year rule.
Mnangagwa said farmers would be compensated for the often forceful land seizures that drew international condemnation and sanctions and contributed to the country’s economic slide. But the programme that saw land seized from white farmers and given to black Zimbabweans would not be reversed, he said, although a land commission would be formed to make sure that properties were farmed productively.
The new president also sought to reassure the international community and attract badly sought investment.
‘‘All foreign investment will be safe in Zimbabwe,’’ Mnangagwa said, addressing fears following moves by Mugabe to nationalise the country’s lucrative resources such as diamonds, platinum, gold and chrome.
Mnangagwa also said he would tackle corruption, and pledged that ‘‘democratic’’ elections would be held next year as planned.
He promised to change Zimbabwe’s political climate, which he characterised as ‘‘poisonous, rancorous and polarised’’.
However, he opened his speech by praising Mugabe, who remains a hero to many in Africa for his role in ending white minority rule in the former Rhodesia. Mugabe should be ‘‘lauded and celebrated’’ for his work, Mnangagwa said, to tepid applause.
The military, fresh from putting Mugabe under house arrest just days ago, quickly swore its loyalty to the new leader.
The swearing-in ceremony was attended by regional leaders, including the presidents of Botswana, Mozambique and Zambia.
Mnangagwa, a former justice and defence minister, was a key Mugabe confidante for decades until they fell out over the presidential ambitions of Mugabe’s wife, Grace.
Mugabe did not attend yester- REUTERS day’s swearing-in. The state-run Herald newspaper reported that he ‘‘needed time to rest’’. Ruling party officials have said he will remain in Zimbabwe with their promise that he is ‘‘safe’’ and his legacy as a ‘‘hero’’ will stand after his fight for an independent Zimbabwe.
Ahead of the inauguration, people danced in the stadium stands. Banners erected read ‘‘Dawn of a new era’’ and ‘‘No to retribution’’, even as human rights activists began to report worrying details of attacks on close allies of the former first lady and their families. Mnangagwa has warned against ‘‘vengeful ret- ribution’’.
The lawyer for a Zimbabwean cabinet minister said he had been assaulted, as concerns grow about retaliation against Mugabe’s allies. Finance Minister Ignatious Chombo has not been seen in public since the military swept in more than a week ago to put Mugabe and his wife under house arrest.
Chombo was accused of corrupt land deals dating back to his time as minister in charge of local government, lawyer Lovemore Madhuku said. He was detained by the military but now was in police custody.
Madhuku called Chombo’s situation ‘‘really bad’’ and said charges against him were read out on Friday while he lay in bed at a government-run hospital.
Elsewhere in the capital, long lines formed outside banks, a common sight in a nation struggling with cash shortages and other severe economic problems that the new president will have to confront.
‘‘Attending the inauguration will not bring food for my family,’’ said Kelvin Fungai, a 19-year-old selling bananas from a cart.
Many young Zimbabweans are well educated but jobless, reduced to street vending to survive. Others have left the country.
Elsewhere, there were signs of hope amid the uncertainty. Black market rates for cash have tumbled since Mugabe left office.
As the inauguration crowds streamed by, Sharon Samuriwo sat on a ledge, watching. She said she hoped Mnangagwa would learn from the errors of his predecessor, and she acknowledged that the path ahead for Zimbabwe is unknown.
Still, she said, ‘‘after 37 years, we’ve got someone different’’. AP