Makoni attacks Mugabe's 'cultist' birthday bash

Makoni attacks Mugabe's 'cultist' birthday bash

EATING CAKE: Mugabe and his family eat cake in Beitbridge. On the left is daughter Bona, his wife Grace is in the middle and next to her is Robert Jnr (in glasses) and young Chatunga

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By Walter Marwizi & Ndamu Sandu

INDEPENDENT Presidential candidate Simba Makoni on Saturday criticised President Robert Mugabe’s $3 trillion birthday bash held in Beitbridge, describing it as "an alien concept".

Makoni said he was against the creation of personality cults, shortly after chairing a top-level meeting of his management committee in Harare.

"I am not a cultist," he said. "If I am going to celebrate my birthday, I have to go to my family, my home. We don’t have to coerce the whole nation to celebrate an individual’s birthday."

The committee charged with fund-raising for President Mugabe’s birthday has sought $3 trillion for the occasion, held every year under the auspices of the North Korean-style 21st February Movement.

Mugabe turned 84 on Thursday.

Makoni, who is running for president in the 29 March harmonised elections, said under his government the community and the nation would be more important than individuals.

"We are talking about service. Therefore all those concepts that are alien to service are not part of our mission," Makoni said.

Responding to criticism by Mugabe that he was a "political prostitute" Makoni said: "That is his view. I will not discuss the gravity of the Zimbabwe crisis at a personal level. I am not motivated by negatives. Let people judge for themselves."

Makoni revealed for the first time what had motivated him to seek the highest political office in the land: it was after he had personally experienced how Zimbabweans were suffering.

He said his experiences were the same as those of 14 million people, "minus a few" who did not experience the suffering of the people.

He said he was among Zimbabweans who, having queued for long hours, failed to get fuel at service stations and goods at supermarkets.

Makoni said that he preferred to appeal directly to Zimbabweans for support in the elections, rather than relying on alliances with political formations.

"I am an independent candidate. How can you be an independent and have an alliance at the same time? I don’t have to be in an alliance (with political parties). I am with the people and for the people.

"These people are trade unions, churches, industries, ex-combatants, women, men, the youth. I am in alliance with all these people. I don’t need to be fenced, paddocked," he said.

Makoni was reported to have forged an alliance with the Arthur Mutambara-led faction of the MDC and was also said to be seeking to work with Morgan Tsvangirai’s faction to launch a united front against Mugabe.

If elected to power, Makoni said he would form a government of national unity which he preferred to call the "National Authority", which would spearhead national re-engagement.

"We will look in the legislature for the best from the MDC, Zanu PF, Independents and people from other smaller parties to be in government."

Top on the priority list of the National Authority would be solving the food, energy and water crises facing the country. Zimbabweans would be encouraged to do things for themselves, he said, as he attacked the Reserve Bank-funded farm mechanisation programme.

"Why do we mock our people by making them indigent and hopeless, by giving them zvikochikari nemagejo (scotchcarts and ploughs)?"

On the land issue, Makoni said he would embark on an agrarian reform which would result in equitable and transparent distribution of land. The focus would be to ensure full utilisation of the land and the improvement of people working on the land.

Makoni emphasised that "due process of the law" would be a guiding principle in the process.

"While the government has affirmed the one- person-one-farm policy, we know of individuals who have not two, but eight farms. The government knows them. The National Authority will correct all these distortions." - Standard
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