In their thousands, the delegates started arriving at the Harare International Conference Centre (HICC) on Wednesday, 1st Dec, with high expectations that the Congress will address their uppermost concerns, ranging from progress on the land acquisition and resettlement programme to economic turnaround and job creation, extra resources for new farmers to ensure the productive use of land, the fight against HIV/Aids, transport problems, the provision of more clinics and schools.
After a day devoted to accreditation, the Congress roared into life on the 2nd Dec. The theme of the Congress: ‘Consolidating our Independence and National Sovereignty over our Natural Resources’, was prominently displayed in the HICC, as were several other slogans expressing the confidence of the Zimbabwean masses in ZANU-PF in defiance of imperialist bullying, threats, sanctions and a virulent campaign of lies against Zimbabwe and its leadership.
As this Congress was held just three months before the March 2005 parliamentary elections, in addition to surveying the achievement, as well as the shortcomings, of ZANU-PF, the Congress naturally became a rallying point for the mobilisation of forces for the coming elections, which are to serve as a referendum on ZANU-PF’s stewardship of the Zimbabwean masses, as well as rejection and condemnation of imperialist interference in the internal affairs of Zimbabwe. Banners with messages such as ‘No to Blair, vote ZANU-PF’, ‘More Schools and Hospitals, Vote ZANU-PF’, and ‘MDC, Blair’s poodles’, were prominently displayed in strategic places, visible to people entering the Conference Centre.
Comrade Mugabe’s opening address
After the convocation by the Secretary for Administration, Comrade E.D. Mnangagwa, welcome addresses by the host Provincial Chairman of Harare Province (Comrade Amos Midzi), Acting Executive Mayor of Harare City (Ms Sekesai Makwavarara), Resident Minister of Harare Metropolitan Province (Comrade W.P.M. Mangwende), and the National Chairman, Comrade J.L. Nkomo, and the presentation of the delegates (Roll Call), the National Chairman invited the President and First Secretary of ZANU-PF, Comrade Robert G. Mugabe, to deliver his keynote opening address and table the report of the Central Committee. To loud applause from the assembled 10,200 delegates, as well as dozens of fraternal guests, Comrade Mugabe walked to the rostrum, from where, during his hour-long inspiring speech, punctuated with frequent applause, he recounted some of the achievements of the party, as well as shortcomings in its work, during the five years since the previous congress.
He said: “We meet as a united Zimbabwean people, proud of our freedom and sovereignty, exultant in our identity and nationhood, but overjoyed by the fact that the land, Zimbabwean land, is now ours forever! This is an achievement that our detractors have failed to destroy even as they resort to various machinations including the formation of stooge opposition parties.
“The enemy will not stop his imperialist manoeuvres, and so we must remain solidly united and vigilant to resist him as we defend and protect our national sovereignty and the ownership of our natural resources”.
He put down the successes of the party to “unity” in its ranks, their “faith in Zimbabwe” and their “unyielding patriotism”. The very same message of unity which “… carried us through the trenches of the liberation struggle” and “… re-assured us in the trying early years” of Zimbabwe’s independence, still continues to “energise us even as our external and internal enemies have been vigorously seeking their dream of ‘regime-change’ in our country”, he said.
Noticing that the full implementation of the land resettlement programme had been retarded by “resource constraints, legal strictures and bureaucratic tendencies at places”, he went on to stress that through the reconstituted Ministry of Lands, Land Reform and Resettlement, the party and the government were now better placed to resolve the remaining problems in this area, adding that now “… our duty is not only to protect our sacred heritage [land] but to use it in a most productive way”.
He then went on to underline the measures taken by the party to deal with delinquency, indiscipline, chicanery fraud and greed which threatened to erode “… business ethics in the country”. The measures taken by the government, he said, resulted in a dramatic fall in inflation (from 600% in the last half of 2003 to 500% in April this year, and to 209% at present) and interest rates, while mining, agriculture and manufacturing were on the rebound and on the way to recovery.
He thanked the Information and Publicity section, as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its diplomats, the Security Services and other governmental agencies, who had withstood the ceaseless negative propaganda of imperialism and its local stooges and frustrated “… the clandestine activities of Britain, its allies and … cohorts”. Exposing the British government’s blatant attempts at changing the government in Zimbabwe, as well as the treacherous role played by the stooges of the opposition MDC (Movement for Democratic Change), Comrade Mugabe added: “The Blair government had grown so desperate and witless that, in his naïve attempt to please his stooges, Blair publicly acknowledged his government was working with the MDC to bring about ‘regime change’ in Zimbabwe. For this reason, ZANU-PF has consistently asked how it could ever consider the MDC as a patriotic party worth respecting when its actions are guided by colonialists who seek to re-colonise us”.
It is worthy of note that at the same time as the 4th NPC of ZANU-PF was being held in Harare, MDC leaders, Morgan Tsvangirai and Welshman Ncube, were on a visit to Britain and several other European countries, coordinating with their imperialist masters their treacherous plans for “regime change”. While shamefully begging the governments of the imperialist countries to impose further sanctions on Zimbabwe and dreaming about a change of government, Tsvangirai and company forget that elections are to be held in Zimbabwe, not in Europe, in which it is the Zimbabwean, and not the European, electorate which will have the decisive say. No wonder, then, that the MDC are rightly perceived by the Zimbabwean masses as the agents of imperialism and the enemies of Zimbabwe.
During the 2000 parliamentary elections, ZANU-PF lost many seats to the MDC, but has since recovered ground. Of the 16 parliamentary elections held since then, ZANU-PF has won 13. In the light of this, the President declared: “The constituencies have sounded the alarm bells for the death of the ailing MDC, whose leaders are now globe-trotters unashamedly seeking help from former European colonisers. What a shame!!”
While stating that the imperialist campaign had failed dismally in its aim of isolating the ZANU-PF government abroad and effecting its removal at home, the President nevertheless gave the following warning against complacency and exhorted the delegates to rise to the occasion to meet the challenges facing them: “However sweet our victories may be, they must never lull us into a false sense of security. This Congress must be the launch pad of more creative mobilisation strategies, more effective Party structures, and a melting pot of more home-grown economic policies that can immediately address our people’s worrying concerns. Our new departments of indigenisation and empowerment; gender and culture; welfare of the disabled and disadvantaged; together with our reform programme, all combine into constituting the formidable challenge the Party and Government must address with effective solutions”.
With these words, President Mugabe tabled the Report if the Central Committee and sat down to thunderous applause.
The afternoon of 2nd December was completely devoted to solidarity messages from fraternal delegates, which included, among others, representatives of the former liberation movements in southern Africa, the Communist Party of China, the Workers Party of Korea, the Communist Party of Cuba, the Communist Party of Great Britain (Marxist-Leninist) and the Portuguese Communist Party. There were also delegates from Libya and Tunisia. All the fraternal delegates wholeheartedly endorsed the leadership of ZANU-PF and President Mugabe, especially in the area of land acquisition and resettlement. They also resolutely condemned imperialist attempts at “regime change” in Zimbabwe.
Message of Solidarity delivered by Harpal Brar
The following message of solidarity was delivered by Harpal Brar:
“Your Excellency, President R G Mugabe, Comrade J Nkomo (National Chairman), Comrade Msika (Vice Chairman), Comrade Munagagwa (Secretary of Administration), fraternal delegates from abroad, and comrade delegates to this Congress, on behalf of my Party, the Communist Party of Great Britain (Marxist-Leninist) and the Zimbabwe Solidarity Front, I would like to express my sincere thanks for the invitation that you have extended me to attend your 4th National Congress. It is a matter of great honour and pride for me to be here to express solidarity with ZANU-PF and, through it, the people of Zimbabwe.
“In view of what my country has done to the people of Zimbabwe, I was hoping that the Chairman would not mention the country I came from, just in case the delegates assembled here felt inclined to rough me up!
“Your Excellency, in your speech you have mentioned how Zimbabwe is demonised in Britain and America. That is perfectly true. However, I am here to say that there are two Britains. One is the Britain of liars, war criminals and mercenary flunkeys of imperialism – the Britain of the Blairs, Straws, Hoons and Shorts. The other represents all that is best and most noble in the working class of our country and has some very glorious revolutionary traditions. It is the second Britain which is present at this Congress and bringing to you this message of solidarity.
“Comrades, Zimbabwe is constantly being demonised in the centres of imperialism, especially in the US and Britain, on the alleged grounds that it does not respect human rights, practise democracy and that it violates the rule of law. The truth of the matter is that imperialism does not give a damn about either democracy or human rights or the rule of law. The only ‘human right’ and the only ‘democratic’ principle that imperialism recognises is the right of one human being to exploit many, and of a few powerful imperialist nations to exploit the vast majority of the oppressed nations of the world. Your government, Comrade President, could be as corrupt and as dictatorial as dozens of others in the world – the ideologues and political spokesmen of imperialism would turn a blind eye to all this as long as it abided the imperialist diktat. Your crime is that you pursue an independent policy in the interests of your own people. The real reasons for Zimbabwe’s demonisation are the following:
“First – because you sent troops to help the Democratic Republic of Congo to defend its sovereignty against the onslaught of the various imperialist powers, in particular US imperialism. Far from being a crime, comrades, it is to your great credit that at great financial, material and human cost, you went to the aid of a sister country in trouble.
“Second – because you rejected the Structural Adjustment Programme that the World Bank/IMF sought to impose on you. It is to your credit that you took this decision, for the lives and wellbeing of millions of Zimbabwean people are far higher than the need of a handful of greedy monopolists from the centres of imperialism to receive debt payments from the long-suffering people of Zimbabwe.
“Third – because you, having tried all other methods, resorted to the confiscation of land from a small number of white colonists, and distributed it to the people of Zimbabwe. It is to your great credit, comrades, that you took this action to right a longstanding historical injustice.
“The political and journalistic representatives of imperialism have accused you of unlawful expropriation. Expropriation is not something that ZANU-PF can be accused of inventing. It has been practised elsewhere in the world over a long period of time. In Zimbabwe itself, you had great teachers in this context. Cecil Rhodes comes to my mind at the moment. When he and his marauders of the British South Africa Company invaded Zimbabwe, smashed King Lobengula’s kingdom and grabbed the land of the people of Zimbabwe, they were not acting exactly in accordance with the laws and decrees of King Lobengula.
“All over Europe, the victorious bourgeoisie indulged in wholesale expropriation of the defeated feudal classes, going even to the extent of separating the heads of their kings from their bodies. It happened in Britain – yes, in peaceful Britain, which allegedly never acts outside of the rule of law. But the bourgeoisie in its day was right. Their right to expropriate was founded in the successful revolutionary struggle – the most supreme of all laws. Likewise, the right of the people of Zimbabwe to rule over themselves, and the right of the ZANU-PF government to expropriate the colonialist farmers and to distribute the land thus acquired to the people of Zimbabwe is founded, not in the Lancaster House Constitution, but in the revolutionary war of liberation waged by them, a war in which 40,000 Zimbabweans lost their lives.
“Thus it can be seen that you are being demonised because you have done something to hurt the interests of imperialism and its agents. You have earned the right to be demonised by imperialism. In the words of a great 19th century Russian poet, Nekrasov, ‘I hear the voice of approbation not in the dulcet sounds of praise, but in the roar of irritation’. If you are being attacked by imperialism it can only mean that you have done something really good for your people.
“In 1980 you achieved a great political victory by securing the independence of your country. This is now supplemented by a great economic victory with the tumultuous arrival of the Zimbabwean masses on their land.
“For our part, we support the revolutionary measures of your government, for we believe that the defence of the revolutionary gains of the Zimbabwean people are no private concern of the masses of Zimbabwe alone. They are the concern of the whole of progressive humanity. We have always believed firmly that the struggle of the proletariat of the imperialist countries for its own emancipation would be nothing but a fraud if in its struggle against capital it was not united with the hundreds upon hundreds of millions of colonial and neo-colonial slaves oppressed by its ‘own’ bourgeoisie.
“The imperialist countries, in particular Britain and the USA, accuse dozens of other countries, including Zimbabwe, of not practising democracy. Britain ruled Zimbabwe directly or indirectly for nearly 90 years. We know only too well the kind of democracy it practised on you! Britain conquered India and parts of China. Again we know the democratic practices associated with Britain’s rule in those areas. Britain occupied Hong Kong for the sole purpose of using it as a staging post for smuggling opium on a large scale into the Chinese empire and imposing opium consumption on tens of millions of Chinese people. The colonialists turned, in the words of Karl Marx, Africa into a warren for the hunting of black skins. In view of all this, we shall take no lectures on human rights, democracy and the rule of law from international drug traffickers, slave drivers, and violators of human rights and democracy on an international scale.
“In the name of fighting against terrorism, Anglo-American imperialism is engaged in the enterprise of outlawing all revolutionary resistance against imperialist banditry. The kind of violence which was practised by the founders of the American Republic is now sought to be stigmatised as terrorism. After 11 September, Anglo-American imperialism has asserted that this was the greatest atrocity ever committed in the world. This absurdity is being uttered by those whose republic is founded on the successful experiment in genocide of a whole people. It is being asserted by those who killed 4 million Koreans in their war of aggression against the Korean people, who massacred 4 million Indochinese during the Vietnam war, who killed over a million Indonesians in the late 1960’s and who only yesterday killed 5 millions Congolese in the DRC. The very people who make these assertions have done to death, through war and sanctions, one and a half million innocent Iraqis.
“This year marks the 20th anniversary of the disaster which struck the citizens of Bhopal in Central India, through criminal negligence of the American multinational, Union Carbide, which has up to now claimed 20,000 lives. If the attacks on the twin towers, resulting in the deaths of 3,000 Americans, provided the US with the excuse to unleash a war of aggression against the people of Afghanistan and Iraq, then surely the massacre of 20,000 people by this US monopoly should be sufficient to keep the Indian air force busy for several years attacking American centres of population.
“No matter how much imperialism tries to de-legitimise the resistance of the oppressed people, the latter will not be deterred from countering imperialist terror with revolutionary terror. The heroic people of Iraq, Palestine and Afghanistan are waging a life and death struggle against imperialist terror, and doing so successfully. At this Congress, we pay our tribute to the heroic struggle of these three peoples.
“Whenever imperialism does not like any particular regime, it intervenes at election times by dispatching election monitors. A handful of imperialist nations have arrogated to themselves the title of ‘the international community’. This ‘international community’ excludes the populations of Asia, Africa and Latin America, and even the poor sections inhabiting the imperialist countries. The language used by imperialist spokesmen has broken all connection with thought, content and reality. In the new terminology, reactionaries are referred to as ‘radicals’, revolutionaries as ‘conservatives’ and representatives of imperialism as ‘liberal’ and ‘democratic’. Imperialism does not recognise any election results except those won by its flunkeys. In Zimbabwe no election would be regarded by the US and Britain as free and fair unless ZANU-PF and President Mugabe lost it.
“The imperialist bourgeoisie often speak about not introducing politics into sport. I hear the English cricket team is here. Every attempt was made by the British government and media to prevent this team coming to Zimbabwe. Once it had come here, a campaign was launched that should President Mugabe decide to watch a match, the English players should refuse to shake his hand. In my personal view, the best of sportsmen in the world ought to feel it a matter of great honour to shake Comrade Mugabe’s hand. As for those politicians and journalists – the Peter Hainses of this world – egging on the British players not to shake the hand of President Mugabe, frankly speaking this gentry are not even worthy of tying President Mugabe’s shoelaces.
“In Britain, we shall continue to put pressure on our government for establishing good state relations with Zimbabwe. We do not promise great results in this context, and we have no faith in this government of liars and war criminals which, like all previous Labour governments, does not represent the interests of the working masses in Britain, let alone those of the oppressed masses abroad. Contrary to what the opportunists in the British working-class movement, the Troto-revisionist fraternity, assert, the Labour Party has never been, is not now, and never will be a party representing the interests of the British proletariat. It is a party which represents the interests of the privileged sections of the working class – the labour aristocracy – which it cannot do without defending the interests of British imperialism.
“Opportunism in the working-class movement of the imperialist countries is no accidental phenomenon. On the contrary, it has deep economic roots. On top of the profits made by the imperialist bourgeoisie through the exploitation of its own working class, it makes enormous profits through the super-exploitation of the peoples in the oppressed countries. Out of this enormous loot, a portion can be and is used to bribe the upper layers of the working class and corrupt them. It is these sections of the working class which Labour represents. We shall continue to fight against these elements, for the struggle for socialism is a sham unless it is inextricably linked with the fight against opportunism.
“What we can and will continue to do is to wage a vigorous campaign to bring the truth about the situation in Zimbabwe to the knowledge of the British masses. The spokesmen of imperialism ignore the truth about Zimbabwe, as indeed the truth about many other countries, in the fashion of a bourgeois journalist who stated that he never read a book that he reviewed in case his judgment was prejudiced by its contents. Imperialism ignores facts, for facts are not in its interests. For the spokesmen of imperialism to speak the truth would be to expose this system as moribund, decadent and parasitic – hardly something calculated to endear them to the robber barons of capitalism. Honesty in politics is the sign of strength, hypocrisy the sign of weakness. It is indeed a sign of weakness that imperialism dare not speak the truth. Our strength lies precisely in the fact that, being on the side of the forward movement of history, we can and must speak the truth. We have no fear of it.
“Not everything is completely bleak and dark for us, comrades, for imperialism, through its constant hankering after domination, is exacerbating all the contradictions in the world – those between imperialism and the working class, between imperialism and the oppressed nations and those between the various imperialist blocs. It is failing four-fifths of humanity completely. Notwithstanding all the marvels of technology, a billion people in the world live on less than a dollar a day, and two billion on less than two dollars a day. A billion people in the world have no access to safe drinking water. 13 million children die before reaching the age of 5 every year. Even in the richest of countries, the US, 40 million people have no health insurance cover, and 35 million are food hungry. People are hungry all over the world because there is too much food. People die of cold because there is too much coal produced. This is the madhouse of capitalist economics.
“In view of the foregoing, imperialism is facing the people of the world with a stark choice: either submit to the dictates of monopoly capitalism, eke out a miserable existence and sink lower and lower, or pick up the banner of resistance and overthrow imperialism. I have not the slightest doubt, comrades, that the people of the world will choose to rise in revolt against imperialism and overthrow it.
“Finally, comrades, I wish to state that we have had close connections with ZANU over a long period of time. We collaborated with ZANU during the war of liberation. As a little contribution of ours towards your efforts at defending your revolutionary gains, I have put together a collection of our writings concerning your struggle in this book, ‘Chimurenga – the Liberation Struggle in Zimbabwe’, and I take the liberty to present it to your Excellency, Comrade R G Mugabe. With these words I come to the close of my message of solidarity and thank you for listening to me”.
After the presentation of the book, Comrade Mugabe warmly embraced Harpal Brar, went to the microphone and kindly said that “during the liberation struggle we [ZANU and Harpal] worked closely together and consulted with each other. Then we somehow lost him. We have now found him and will not lose him again”, adding, while showing the book to the delegates, “we thank Comrade Brar for this wonderful gift”.
The sessions on 3rd December were closed, during which questions such as the state of the Party, the state of the economy, the state of the social services, were thrashed out by the delegates. After the lunch break, the Congress broke into committees to discuss in detail the above-mentioned questions, which were the subject of discussion during the plenary session.
Speech of Comrade Joaquim Chissano, President of Mozambique
One of the highlights of 3rd December was the solidarity message delivered by the Mozambican President, Comrade Joaquim Chissano, who is retiring early in 2005 after being at the helm of Mozambique for 18 years since the tragic death of Comrade Samora Machel. He had come especially to express his solidarity with ZANU-PF and President Mugabe.
In his rousing message, he said that Mozambique will continue supporting Zimbabwe in the face of imperialist hostility towards Harare, for the two countries share a common history – a history of struggle sealed in blood. Making reference to the role played by Comrade Mugabe in brokering the peace between the Mozambican government and the former rebel movement Renamo, Comrade Chissano declared that President Mugabe was a man of peace and reconciliation.
Saying that the strong bond of friendship between the two countries, and between the two liberation movement, Frelimo and ZANU-PF, should be preserved, with great emotion Comrade Chissano declared: “I come before you today to convey the message of appreciation and admiration of the Mozambican people and Frelimo Party to the Government of Zimbabwe and to ZANU-PF for the exemplary friendship that the two governments and the two sister parties have entertained in the course of many years.
“It is a relationship borne out of our common experience of colonial exploitation and domination and, above all, our common struggle to free our countries and our peoples from this scourge.
“Zimbabwe is home to many Mozambicans and Mozambique is home to many Zimbabwean. Therefore what hurts Mozambique hurts Zimbabwe and what harms Zimbabwe harms Mozambique.
“The future of Mozambique matters to Zimbabwe and the destiny of Zimbabwe matters to Mozambique”, Comrade Chissano said.
Having stated that the important decision to form the Patriotic Front between ZANU and ZAPU had been taken in Mozambique, Comrade Chissano declared that “we cannot but be compelled to pay homage to the memorable Cde Josiah Magamba Tongogara and Cde Jason Ziyaphapha Moyo who will count forever as part of our brilliant heroes”.
He went on to pay his tribute to Zimbabwe’s other fallen heroes, including comrades Herbert Chitepo, George Silundika and Joshua Nkomo. He also felt it important to pay tribute to the living heroes of the struggle, including, among others, President Mugabe, vice-president Joseph Msika, ZANU National Chairman John Nkomo and ZANU-PF’s Secretary for Administration Emmerson Mnangapwa.
Making references to the tragic circumstances in which he assumed the presidency of Mozambique and to his impending retirement, President Chissano thanked President Mugabe for the latter’s support and advice in a very difficult situation in these terms: “My time to retire from office has come. We have been privileged to be at the helm of the government of our nation for 18 years. It has not been an easy task.
“At times the sea was rough and the sailing was tough. However, as we looked around we were assured of the solidarity and support from our brothers and sisters and neighbours.
“Comrade Mugabe, you are one of those brothers”, he said to thunderous applause.
Likening President Mugabe to a “brother and coach” during his long years as the Mozambican president, especially in the immediate aftermath of the death of Samora Machel, Comrade Chissano, turning towards President Mugabe, declared “Your advice, your moral and political support were inspiring as we tried to bring ourselves together and took the torch left by Cde Samora Machel and moved on”.
Acknowledging the military assistance given by Zimbabwe to Mozambique during the apartheid South African sponsored Renamo insurgency, President Chissano said: “Mozambique and Zimbabwe stood together to defend their hard-won freedom and their right to be masters of their destinies. The blood shed by Mozambicans in Zimbabwe and by Zimbabweans in Mozambique has forever sealed our togetherness and our commitment to stand by each other, both in times of tribulation and in times of jubilation”.
In a clear condemnation of imperialist interference in the internal affairs of Zimbabwe, President Chissano said; “Democracy forced from outside will fail, democracy developed within will prevail”.
Last, and most important, President Chissano backed Zimbabwe’s land resettlement and reforms and commended the courage of the Zimbabwean leadership in carrying through this programme in the face of tremendous pressure exerted by imperialism to frustrate this endeavour. “You have the right”, he said, “to own and till your land, the land of your ancestors. Like you, we believe that land and culture can be shared but never traded lest we trade our souls and our roots. We admire the strength and the resilience of the Zimbabwean people to withstand the tremendous pressure exerted upon you in the face of your determination not to compromise your basic principles. You can be assured of our unwavering solidarity and support”.
For his part, Comrade Mugabe welcomed President Chissano as a “great friend, ally and a brother” and hosted a banquet in his honour at the State House on the evening of 2 Dec, to which all fraternal delegates and members of the diplomatic corps were invited.
Last day of Congress
The last working day of the Congress was taken up with the committee reports to the Congress, amendments to the Party Constitution, elections and the closing speech by President Mugabe. Although, compared with previous congresses, there was tremendous unity on display among the leadership and the ranks of the Party, there undoubtedly exist problems of factionalism and corruption, to deal with which ZANU-PF had to resort to its code of conduct and, in the words of Comrade J Nkomo, “reprimand wayward members that were using money to buy people’s support and causing divisions in the Party”.
As a result, six provincial chairmen were suspended, and the Minister of Information and Publicity in the Office of the President and the Cabinet, Prof Jonathan Moyo, was reprimanded. Also suspended for four years was the Chairman of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans’ Association, Jabulani Sibanda for reasons of indiscipline.
The other problem highlighted at the Congress was that some top members of the Party were guilty of possessing more than one farm. In his report to the Congress, Comrade Enos Chikwore, ZANU-PF Secretary for Land and Resettlement between 2000 and 2004, had these harsh words to say about those guilty of multiple farm ownership: “The issue of multiple farm ownership does not only reveal indiscipline and dishonesty in the perpetrator’s mind, it also reveals dangerous disloyalty and lack of faith in the principles that have guided our mighty revolutionary party this far, there are termites within our ranks, they are not people”.
However, these outrageous abuses, which ZANU-PF is in the process of correcting, should not be allowed to distract from the fact that Zimbabwe’s land has been restored to its people. [Full details of the implementation of the Land Resettlement Programme are in Harpal Brar’s book – Chimurenga – the Liberation Struggle in Zimbabwe]
Elections at Congress
The delegates unanimously endorsed the leadership of Comrade R G Mugabe and re-elected him to the position of President and First Secretary. For the first time in the history of ZANU-PF, the Congress elected a woman, Comrade Joyce Mujuru, as one of the two Vice-Presidents – the other being Comrade Msika.
Conclusion
The Fourth National People’s Congress of ZANU-PF was an uplifting and lively affair. In his closing speech, Comrade Mugabe captured the confidence and optimism of the Congress when he declared that he felt young, rejuvenated and re-energised by its proceedings. He exhorted the delegates to go back to their respective constituencies, put the decisions of the Party into effect, work to make the land productive, and work for a landslide victory in the March Parliamentary elections and give a fitting rebuff to imperialism by crushing its stooges of the MDC.
While wishing ZANU-PF well, we would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank the Zimbabwean comrades for the warmth and generous hospitality shown by them to me, Harpal Brar, as to all other foreign guests.
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