Mugabe: Zanu-PF Will Fulfill Election Promises
Zanu PF promised, among other issues, to create two million jobs within the next five years and continue pursuing the country's controversial black economic program
CHINHOYI — President Robert Mugabe on Friday said his Zanu-PF party will fulfill its election promises to the Zimbabwean electorate that voted his party back into office in the July 31 national elections. Mr. Mugabe said bread and butter issues are what matters to ordinary Zimbabweans presently. In the run-up to the July 2013 national elections, Zanu PF promised, among other things, to create two million jobs within the next five years and continue pursuing the country's controversial black economic program. This, Zanu-PF said, would help ordinary black Zimbabweans become masters of their destiny with millions of unemployed youths either getting into the formal sector or starting their own business. But many have already been complaining that with the credit crunch affecting the country, Zanu-PF was failing to fulfill its promises. But officially opening the 14 Zanu-PF People’s Conference Friday in Chinhoyi, President Mugabe said his party will deliver. He said Zanu-PF will tackle, among other things, food security and nutritious issues, service delivery by local authorities and parastatals, pursue value addition and infrastructure development which he said gave birth to the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (ZIMASSET). President Mugabe said teachers, who have been complaining that he has not delivered his election promise to give them better salaries, must be rewarded for doing their jobs under difficult circumstances. He said all civil servants, teachers included, must receive reasonable salaries. As has become the norm, President Mugabe took a swipe at Americans and the British for allegedly meddling in the affairs of the country. He said the overwhelming Zanu-PF win in the July polls should be celebrated, adding the defeat of the MDC-T is a defeat of the Western powers. Mr. Mugabe’s sentiments were echoed by Zanu-PF spokesperson Rugare Gumbo who said the party is now focusing on rebuilding the economy through ZIMASSET which has four clusters. In his welcome remarks, the newly-elected Mashonaland West chairman Temba Mliswa appealed to President Mugabe that the platinum mining giant, Zimplats, moves to ensure the firm honors its obligations of paying $10 million for the firm’s community share ownership scheme. He said the company has only disbursed $400,000 only. Mliswa said his priority is to unify the party in the province. Mashonaland West, like all the other Zanu-PF provinces, has been riddled by differences, especially as the succession debate intensifies. Addressing the central committee Thursday, President Mugabe urged party provincial chairmen to unite the party at grassroots level.