The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Robert Mugabe

  • Mugabe urges Zimbabwean banks to lower interest rates

    Mugabe urges Zimbabwean banks to lower interest rates

    Zimbabwe President, Robert Mugabe, on Friday implored banks to slash their lending rates to farmers in order to boost agricultural productivity in the country.

    “We pray for banks to lower their interest rates because in a sense, they are an inhibition to progress and development,” Mugabe said while opening the annual Harare Agriculture Show.

    Zimbabwe’s economy is agriculture based with the sector contributing roughly 60 per cent to the country’s foreign currency earnings.

    Mugabe said the development was inhibiting agriculture production in the country, hence the need for the interest rates to be lowered.

    The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), which is the Central Bank of Zimbabwe, has also implored local banks to cut interest rates and make funding for productive sectors of the economy affordable.

    The RBZ in February directed all banks to slash their interest rates to 12 per cent from 15 per cent per annum with effect from April this year.

    “Financial institutions should come in to provide sufficient fund needed for agriculture,” Mugabe said.

    The President also urged input suppliers from seed, fertiliser and agro-chemical providers to work closely with farmers to make agriculture a success in the country.

    Mugabe had earlier toured various stands at the country’s premier agricultural showcase, with his wife Grace, making her first public appearance since she left South Africa last Sunday.

    The first lady was embroiled in a legal dispute after allegedly assaulting a young South African woman.

    NAN

  • Mugabe says not going anywhere, not dying

    Mugabe says not going anywhere, not dying

    President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe on Saturday said he was not stepping down nor dying and that there was no one with his political stature who could immediately take over from him.

    The 93-year-old leader has been in charge in the former British colony since independence in 1980.

    His health is closely watched by Zimbabweans, who fear the country could face chaos if he dies without anointing a successor.

    Mugabe told tens of thousands of supporters at a rally in the town of Chinhoyi, in his home province, that doctors were recently surprised by his “strong bone system.”

    He has traveled to Singapore three times this year for what officials say is routine medical treatment.

    “There is the issue that the president is going. I am not going,” Mugabe told supporters on the grounds of a local university, 100 km west of the capital Harare.

    “The president is dying. I am not dying. I will have an ailment here and there but bodywise, all my internal organs … very firm, very strong,” Mugabe said as he leant on the lectern.

    Mugabe had walked onto the stage slowly but without assistance.

    The issue of who will succeed Mugabe has deeply divided the ruling party, with two factions supporting Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Mugabe’s wife Grace.

    On Thursday, Grace challenged Mugabe to name his preferred successor, to end divisions over the future leadership of ZANU-PF.

    She repeated the call on Saturday, adding that Mugabe would lead the process to choose his eventual successor.

    Mugabe said although some party officials wanted to succeed him, he saw no one among his subordinates with his political clout to keep the party united and fend off a challenge from the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change.

    “A new man will not have the same stature and the same acceptance as I have managed to secure for the party over the years,” said Mugabe.

  • Mugabe’s wife asks him to name successor

    Mugabe’s wife asks him to name successor

    The Zimbabwean First Lady, Grace Mugabe, on Thursday challenged her husband, Robert to name his preferred successor to end deepening divisions over the future leadership of the ruling ZANU-PF party.

    Africa’s oldest leader, Mugabe, 93, has ruled the former British colony since independence in 1980 but has insisted that ZANU-PF, and not him, would choose his eventual successor when the time comes, Reuters reported.

    However, at a meeting of ZANU-PF’s women’s wing in Harare, The first lady contradicted the veteran leader, who also attended the meeting, saying he should name a successor.

    “The First Lady and Zanu-PF Secretary for Women’s Affairs have challenged the President to name his successor, saying this has been the trend in other countries.

    “The First Lady said there is nothing wrong with Mugabe naming his successor, saying the move will enable all members to rally behind one candidate,’’ ZBC said.

    However, Mugabe did not speak at the meeting.

    Fighting over leadership of a post-Mugabe ZANU-PF has intensified in the last three years, with two distinct camps emerging, one supporting Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa and the other rooting for Grace Mugabe.

    Mugabe is ZANU-PF’s presidential candidate for the 2018 election, his last under the constitution.

    He will be 99 years if he wins and completes the five-year term.

    According to the constitution, elections are due after July 21, 2018.

     

  • President Mugabe donates $1m to AU Foundation

    President Mugabe donates $1m to AU Foundation

    President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe on Monday delivered a one million U.S. dollars check to the African Union (AU) Foundation, a “humble gesture” to help push the regional block toward financial independence.

    Mugabe made the donation during the opening of the 29th AU summit in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

    He was fulfilling a pledge made during his tenure as rotating AU chairman, at the 25th AU summit in Johannesburg, South Africa.

    Handing over the check, Mugabe said the “modest” donation “demonstrates what is possible when we apply our mind to the most urgent task before us, … of funding our union and in particular Agenda 2063.”

    Launched in January 2015, the AU Foundation is tasked with finding new ways of generating domestic resources to fund African development programs and support Agenda 2063, an ambitious blueprint for future development of the continent.

    Mugabe said funding independence is vital to Africa’s future.

    “Unless and until we can fund our own programs, the African Union will not be our own,” he said, referring to a decision made in 2016 at the 27th AU summit to eventually be able to finance 100 percent of its operational budget, 75 per cent of its programmes budget, and 25 per cent of its peacekeeping budget.

    The decision requires that member countries contribute 0.2 per cent of their import levy to AU coffers.

    Mugabe said: “It is never going to be easy to wean ourselves from the ‘donor-dependency syndrome,’ but we need to forge ahead for our sake and that of our future generations.

    “This modest contribution… is a symbolic step in that direction.

    “Let us build our continent brick by brick, stone by stone.”

    According to Moussa Mahamat, chairman of the African Union Commission, the 0.2-per cent import levy requirement, originally scheduled to come into effect in January 2017, has yet to be fully complied by all member countries.

    The AU hopes to be able to meet all its operational funding needs by the year 2022.

  • Mugabe denies Zimbabwe is in fragile state

    Mugabe denies Zimbabwe is in fragile state

    Zimbabwe’s 93-year-old president, Robert Mugabe, on Thursday told a panel discussion that his country was not a “fragile state”.

    Mugabe’s government is struggling with a debt crisis, a fall in foreign exchange inflows, and acute shortages of cash that have forced banks to limit withdrawals, as well as growing resistance to his three-decade rule.

    He told a panel discussion on “fragile countries” at the World Economic Forum for Africa in the South African city of Durban that Zimbabwe’s economy was on the mend.

    “Zimbabwe is not a fragile state; it is one of the most highly developed countries, second after South Africa.

    “You cannot even talk about us as a ‘fragile state’ from an economic point of view,” he said.

    Critics have accused Mugabe of wrecking one of Africa’s most promising economies and causing unemployment of currently around 80 per cent through policies such as violent seizures of white-owned commercial farms and money printing.

    He and his party say the economy has been undermined by Western powers.

    “This year we will have a bumper harvest. Not just maize, we have cotton and tobacco … we are not a poor country,” Mugabe said.

    In spite of numerous protests against his leadership, he said many people still supported his government, adding: “Economies cannot grow as quickly as our people expect them to. Investment should have come long ago.”

    He is due to lead his ZANU-PF party as its candidate for the next presidential election expected in mid-2018, when he will be 94.

    Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa said on Friday that Zimbabwe had met all conditions to clear arrears to the World Bank and African Development Bank, paving the way for possible funding from the International Monetary Fund, which last lent Zimbabwe money in 1999.

     

  • Mugabe returns home amid health rumours

    Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe arrived at the capital’s main airport from abroad on Saturday, following intense rumours that he was gravely ill and had sought medical help in Dubai.

    Mugabe, 92 and Africa’s oldest leader, looked jovial as he disembarked in the company of security aides.

    “I had gone on a family matter to Dubai concerning one of my children,” Reuters quoted Mugabe as saying to journalists on Saturday.

    “Yes, I was dead, it’s true I was dead. I resurrected as I always do. Once I get back to my country I am real,” Mugabe added tongue-in-cheek in English, referring to speculation on some online news websites that he had succumbed to illness.

    Reports that Mugabe’s health is declining have become common but he has often referred to himself as “fit as a fiddle.”

    He rejected accusations by his political opponents that he has brought one of Africa’s most promising economies to its knees since coming to power at independence from Britain in 1980.

  • Mugabe wants to live to 100, will not pick successor

    Mugabe wants to live to 100, will not pick successor

    Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe said his successor must be chosen democratically and that his wife will not automatically inherit the role, a warning to feuding members of his ZANU-PF party that he is still in charge after 36 years in power.

    The comments from Africa’s oldest leader, now aged 92, are his clearest indication that he wants to be president for life, Reuters reported.

    In a two-hour interview with state broadcaster ZBC TV late on Thursday he said: “Why successor? I am still there. Why do you want a successor? I did not say I was a candidate to retire.” Leaders were elected not appointed, he said.

    “In a democratic party, you don’t want leaders appointed that way to lead the party. They have to be appointed properly by the people, at a gathering of the people, at a congress.”

    Mugabe said he was not behind his wife Grace’s quick rise within ZANU-PF, which has led to reports that she has plans to succeed her husband.

    “Others said the president wants to leave the throne for his wife. Where have you ever seen that, even in our own culture, where a wife inherits from her husband?” Mugabe said.

    The former liberation fighter was chosen in 2014 to lead his party for another five years, automatically becoming the ZANU-PF presidential candidate for Zimbabwe’s 2018 presidential vote.

    He will be 99 if he wins and completes that term, his last under a new constitution.

    He also told ZBC TV he wanted to live to 100, that he was fit and still did daily morning exercises.

     

  • Mugabe’s ex-ally forms opposition party

    A powerful former ally of Zimbabwe’s President, Robert Mugabe, has launched a party to challenge his 35-year rule.

    Joice Mujuru said the Zimbabwe People First (ZPF) party had been formed because “Zimbabwe is a broken country.”

    Ms Mujuru was Mr. Mugabe’s second-in-command until he sacked her in 2014 after accusing her of plotting to oust and kill him, the BBC reports.

    “I’m neither a witch nor an assassin,” Ms Mujuru said, at the party’s launch in the capital, Harare.

    She is the most senior former Zanu-PF leader to form an opposition party, and is tipped to be its presidential candidate in the 2018 election.

    Her supporters ululated as she entered the hall to announce ZPF’s launch, the BBC reports.

    Ms Mujuru, 60, was flanked by other former Zanu-PF heavyweights, including Didymus Mutasa and Rugare Gumbo.

    She hailed the formation of ZPF as historic, and said it would fight the “scourge of corruption” in Zimbabwe.

    “Some revolutionaries are busy pulling Zimbabwe down,” Ms Mujuru said.

     

  • Zimbabwe parliament suspends broadcast of Mugabe’s speech

    Zimbabwe parliament suspends broadcast of Mugabe’s speech

    Zimbabwe’s parliament suspended television and radio broadcasting of a speech by President Robert Mugabe on Tuesday after opposition parties threatened to disrupt the event.

    Reuters reported that opposition groups booed and heckled Mugabe about the deteriorating economy in August during his state of the nation address in parliament.

  • Buhari’s full speech at 25th AU Summit in Johannesburg

    Buhari’s full speech at 25th AU Summit in Johannesburg

    • Statement by President Muhammadu Buhari, Federal Republic of Nigeria

     

    Excellency President Robert Mugabe, Chairman of the Union,

    Excellency President Jacob Zuma, our Host,

    Excellencies fellow Presidents and Heads of Government

    Excellency Mr. Jan Eliasson, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations,

    Excellency Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Chairperson of the AU Commission,

    Excellencies, Heads of Delegation,

    Invited Guests, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen.

    1.           Please permit me to join previous speakers in conveying my delegation’s appreciation to our host, H.E. President Jacob Zuma, to his Government, and the brotherly people of South Africa for their warm hospitality, and for the excellent arrangements made for our comfort and for the success of our meetings. As this is my first address at this august assembly, may I also congratulate H.E. Dr. Robert Gabriel Mugabe, President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, for his unanimous election as the Chairman of our Union.

    2.        I feel highly honoured and extremely pleased to be able to address you today, barely two weeks after my inauguration as the President of Nigeria, following the 2015 Presidential election in my country. That process, which was adjudged as the fairest and most credible in the history of elections in Nigeria, was midwifed by the dogged and sustained determination of the Nigerian people, and their desire to deepen our democracy. Their quest was amply supported, and even encouraged by the goodwill of our friends and partners in the international community. I therefore wish to seize this opportunity to convey my very deep appreciation to all those who contributed to the success of that election.

    3.        My election has been described as historic. I agree that it is indeed historic because for the first time in the practice of democracy in my country, an opposition Party has defeated the ruling Party in a keenly contested election. The election was also held against the backdrop of the fears and concerns expressed both in Nigeria and among our international friends abroad and partners that the outcome of the election could spell doom for Nigeria. I am glad that even though those fears and concerns were not without basis, the outcome was totally different, to the relief of all of us.

    4.        I cannot fail to acknowledge the very positive role played by my predecessor, H.E. President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, in averting the feared crisis, and in facilitating the peaceful transition of power between the two parties.  I also wish to express my deep appreciation to all who honoured us with their presence at my inauguration, and even those, who for unavoidable reasons were unable to attend. I thank you all.

    Mr. Chairman,

    5.        It is gratifying to note that our Union has made laudable progress over the past one and a half decades since its transformation from the Organization of African Unity (OAU) to the African Union (AU). Notably, we have been able to redirect our priorities at the continental level from mainly political goals to more diverse aspirations that are equally fundamental to our survival and development in a global community.

    6.        It is however clear, Mr. Chairman, that some of the greater challenges to our peoples within this Union still lie in the political, economic, as well as peace and security spheres. Our continent is currently bedevilled by the twin evils of terrorism and insecurity; poverty, youth unemployment, and underdevelopment. The destructive effects of the inhuman and criminal campaigns of the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria and neighbouring countries; the Al-Shabab attacks in East Africa, and the activities of the Al-Qaida in the Maghreb, all bear testimony to a continent under siege.

    7.        The images in the international mass media of African youths getting drowned in the Mediterranean sea on their illegal attempts, and often times illusory hope of attaining better life in Europe is not only an embarrassment to us as leaders, but dehumanises our persons.  Indeed, they combine to paint a very unfavourable picture of our peoples and countries.

    8.        Those of us gathered here today owe it as a duty to reverse this ugly trend. We must put an end to the so-called push factors that compel our young men and women to throw caution to the winds and risk life, limbs and all, on this dangerous adventure. We must redouble our efforts to sustain the economic development of our countries, ensure empowerment of our youths, create more jobs, improve and upgrade our infrastructure, and above all continue the enthronement of a regime of democracy, good governance and respect for human rights and rule of law. These and other measures that engender peace and stability must be pursued relentlessly.

    9.        In this connection, we must persist in our collective endeavour to work together through the African Union and our respective Regional Economic Communities (RECs), to uplift our continent and provide the African peoples the enabling environment for the realization of their legitimate dreams and aspirations. At this juncture, let me assure you of the unflinching commitment of Nigeria to the ideals and aspirations of the African Union as explained in the Agenda 2063, which is geared towards ensuring a peaceful, prosperous and integrated Africa in the next 50 years. It is for this reason that Nigeria is fully and irrevocably committed to the ECOWAS vision.

    10.      We do so because we believe that African integration is best attained through the instrumentality of our Regional Economic Communities (RECs) as the building blocs of viable continental institutions. Nigeria will therefore continue to play her part in supporting the African Union Commission and other continental and regional institutions in their efforts to prioritize African development in all sectors of human endeavour.

    11.      The journey might look arduous, but certainly not impossible. There are opportunities in every challenge. If and when we adopt this call for a change of attitude, approach, and disposition towards agreed protocols and commitments, we shall be bequeathing a politically stable, economically developed, and socially harmonious Africa, thereby justifying the confidence reposed in us by our electorates. We will also demonstrate our qualities as statesmen and true daughters and sons of Africa.

     

    12.      I thank you for your kind attention.