HARARE – President Mnangagwa has declared that ZANU PF, which won the August 23-24 elections, will not accept any demands for a rerun, a Government of National Unity, or a Transitional Authority. He said these were unrealistic and futile ideas that would never materialise.
He spoke at the 119th Ordinary Session of the ZANU PF Central Committee at the party headquarters in Harare yesterday. He urged the opposition to respect the people’s choice as expressed through the polls.
He said there was no legal basis for an election rerun.
He said the Government was now focused on implementing policies and programmes that would improve the lives of Zimbabweans.
“The people have given our revolutionary mass party, ZANU PF, another mandate to govern our great motherland, Zimbabwe. This is the reality that the opposition leaders, their supporters and their handlers must face,” he said.
“Any talk of a rerun, a so-called Government of National Unity, or Transitional Authority is a fantasy that will never come true.
“They must stop dreaming. The people of our great motherland have spoken; their collective voice must be respected.
“Democracy and constitutionalism prevail in our country.”
President Mnangagwa said ZANU PF’s victory in the elections was due to unity, consistency and hard work, as well as people-oriented policies, programmes and projects.
“With our message and demonstration of unity, love and harmony, we delivered a free, fair, peaceful, transparent and credible election.
“Together as a united people, we shamed our enemies who had hoped for division, violence and even bloodshed in our country,” he said.
President Mnangagwa said “the crushing defeat of puppet political parties” was a rejection of neo-colonialism and “domination by our enemies”.
“We strongly condemn the opposition who are rejecting constitutionalism and democracy in our country by ignoring our laws, institutions and processes.
“Zimbabwe, under ZANU PF, will never be a banana republic, ‘a free for all’.”
The ruling party is now preparing for the 20th National People’s Conference, which is expected to review the policies, programmes and projects that must be accelerated to improve the quality of life of Zimbabweans.
The Second Republic, the President added, had achieved remarkable progress in various sectors of the economy.
He urged the party to mobilise and actively participate in the rural industrialisation programme.
He said food security at household and national levels had been maintained through interventions such as the Pfumvudza/Intwasa and the Presidential Borehole Drilling Programme.
President Mnangagwa said the mining and transport sectors also continued to register significant growth.
The Government now plans to prioritise and scale up the provision of accessible and affordable social services such as quality healthcare, education, clean water and sanitation, decent housing and waste management.
He said outstanding infrastructure development projects would be “quickly completed” and new projects would be launched in all provinces.
“I am aware that some road networks in the various provinces need attention. These will be attended to,” he said.
He called on members of the Central Committee, as the highest decision-making body of the party outside Congress, to cultivate a culture of open, honest, objective and factual discussions to enhance operational efficiency and effectiveness.
“Party business, policies, programmes and activities must be done with the big-picture and long-term vision in mind, beyond Vision 2030.
“Based on the lessons and experiences of the last five years, it is important that we continue the people-centred development revolution.”
