Polling stations to have generators: President

Herald Reporters (19/03/08)

Polling stations will be provided with generators to cover for possible disruption from power cuts to enable people to cast their votes until 7pm next Saturday, President Mugabe has said.

The President, who was addressing thousands of Zanu-PF supporters gathered at Gokwe Centre yesterday, said Government has since bought both small and heavy-duty generators to ameliorate the power crunch in the short term.

The 5 000 generators were bought through the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe under the third phase of the Farm Mechanisation Programme.

Cde Mugabe said the generators would be used to provide power during the elections before they are distributed.

"Saka tinawo magenerator. Takatenga magenerator kare takati anozogovewa nokuti ane masaizi akasiyana-siyana, mamwe madiki. Madiki achange achitanga kushandiswa pamaelections kuvheneka mapolling stations kuti kana magetsi asingashande panguva iyoyo vanhu havazotadze kuvhota zuva radoka nokuti vanhu vanovhota until about 7pm.

"So tikapedza musi wa29 ndopatinozonge topa nzvimbo nenzvimbo magenerator iwayo. Saka kuno (Gokwe) muchariwana," he said.

Cde Mugabe’s statement flies in the face of claims by some people, particularly in the opposition, that the Government planned to rig the elections by frustrating voters to ensure that as few of them as possible cast their ballots, particularly in urban areas which were perceived opposition strongholds.

Cde Mugabe said Government had bought heavy-duty generators each with a capacity to provide power to a small town like Gokwe and various institutions like hospitals and clinics.

This, he said, was the Government’s way to resolve the power crunch in the short term but in the long term Government was pursuing various options, among them the possibility of setting up new hydroelectric power stations on major rivers, increasing the capacity of thermal power stations and harnessing solar energy using the expertise of partners in the East.

The President said Government had turned to its partners in the East after the West, led by Britain, imposed illegal sanctions on Zimbabwe.

He said the Look East Policy was bearing fruit as it was based on a win-win situation where the partners respected each other’s independence and sovereignty as required at international law.

He said countries in the East, among them Iran, which is under sanctions, and others like India had also been colonised by the British and understood better the situation Zimbabwe was facing.

Cde Mugabe told the gathering that the sanctions were not targeted as claimed by the

British and their allies but were directed at the generality of Zimbabweans and were behind the socio-economic problems the country was facing.

He said as part of the illegal regime change agenda, the British were manipulating their companies in Zimbabwe to arbitrarily increase prices of goods and services in the hope of turning the electorate against Zanu-PF.

"Tinoziva kuti chavarikuitira ndechekurwadzisa dakara musi wa29 kuti musavhotere Hurumende."

Cde Mugabe said some unscrupulous businesspeople were in the habit of increasing prices once they heard that civil servants’ salaries had gone up.

"Zvino takavapa (civil servants) asi hatina kuda kuti zvibude mumapepa kuti vapiwa marii zvino takazongonzwa marimwe zuro kuti vakwidza mitengo. Zvino tiri kuda kuziva kuti ndavanani. Mazuva ano tavakusunga mamaneja acho. Hatichamboita zvokutamba."

He urged people to report all profiteering businesses so that the owners and managers could be arrested and made accountable for their actions.

He told the gathering that one white manager at National Foods, Joseph Jeremy Brooke, was recently arrested for unilaterally increasing the price of flour.

The President said Government was pursuing various options in the small and medium enterprise sector to empower women so that they can produce some of the goods that big business was trying to use to hold the nation to ransom.

He said the erstwhile coloniser had not yet given up on dreams to recolonise Zimbabwe, saying the attempts were manifested in the opposition fronted by MDC faction leader Morgan Tsvangirai and independent presidential candidate Simba Makoni.

Cde Mugabe said the British and Americans were excited by reports of an alleged rift in Zanu-PF citing the cases of Makoni and Dumiso Dabengwa as evidence that all was not well in the ruling party.

"Iko zvino maBritish varikufara hanzi Zanu-PF yatsemuka nepakati vachitaura zvanaMakoni naDumiso. Izvi zvinoitika murevolution yose-yose. Kunoita vamwe vanoneta kozoita vamwe vasinganete sesu," he said to applause from the crowd.

He likened Dabengwa and Makoni to tadpoles among fish, saying serious Zanu-PF supporters should not follow them.

He said real cadres soldier on in the face of challenges, as it was that spirit of resilience that gave Zimbabwe heroes and heroines at various levels during and after the liberation struggle.

Cde Mugabe said that revolutionary spirit that had been exhibited by the First Chimurenga heroes inspired all who agitated for and prosecuted the liberation struggle and should inspire all to safeguard Zimbabwe’s heritage.

To this end, he said, Zimbabweans should vote overwhelmingly for Zanu-PF to send a clear message to the British that that they will not compromise on their independence and sovereignty.

Cde Mugabe told the gathering that Government was aware of the challenges people were facing and was pursuing various empowerment programmes, among them the Farm Mechanisation Programme, which, he said, was not an election gimmick.

He said some parts of Gokwe had not received adequate rains and irrigation was a priority to uplift people’s livelihoods.

He said Government would ensure that food relief reaches all those in need and had since released funds to the District Development Fund to repair roads to facilitate speedy distribution.

Turning to hospitals and clinics, Cde Mugabe decried the shortage of medicine, ambulances and equipment that he attributed to the ruinous Western sanctions.

He said Government had a programme to rectify the situation.

He said Government would ensure that Gokwe, which was granted town status last year, would have all the facilities and amenities found in other cities and towns.

The President later donated 200 computers and printers to 20 schools in Gokwe North and South.

He also commissioned six buses to be used in Gokwe North and South.

Cde Mugabe was accompanied by the First Lady Amai Grace Mugabe, Rural Housing and Social Amenities Minister Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa, Zanu-PF National Commissar Cde Elliot Manyika, Midlands Governor Cde Cephas Msipa, service chiefs, senior Politburo and Central Committee members and candidates at all levels.

Earlier, the President addressed another rally at Mkoba Stadium in Gweru where he said countries in the Sadc region were working together to find solutions to the power problems.

"Recently, Namibia came to us and offered us US$40 million to boost our coal production at Hwange for thermal power. They said we would then export the power to them through South Africa. We are trying to assist them in this regard," he said.

The President said countries with big economies such as South Africa were also failing to cope due to power outages.

"Their traffic is at times controlled by police officers. Power cuts are affecting everyone in the region. We are all trying to assist each other. There are plans for hydro-power on the Congo River in the DRC. Here, we have plans to install more generators at Kariba Dam to boost power. We also want to utilise small rivers to increase hydro-power production," he said.

Cde Mugabe urged the people of Midlands to vote for Zanu-PF, saying the province had produced brave cadres such as Cde Mnangagwa and the late Zanla Commander, Cde Josiah Tongogara.