Full speech:
December 15, 2016 Local News
The Vice President and Second Secretary, Comrade Emmerson Mnangagwa,
The Vice President and Second Secretary, Comrade Phelekezela Mphoko,
The Secretary for Administration, Comrade Ignatius Chombo,
Members of the Politburo and Central Committee,
Comrades and Friends.
I extend a very warm welcome to you all to the 104th Central Committee meeting which we hold as a precursor of the 16th National People’s Conference. Since our Central Committee meeting last September, several of our Comrades have passed on, these include Comrade Cephas George Msipa, who died on 17th October 2016.
May I request the Secretary for Administration to read to us the full list of our beloved departed comrades, as we all rise to observe a minute’s silent in their honour.
Comrades and Friends,
We meet today on the eve of the 16th Annual National People’s Conference that we are holding in Masvingo. From the Organising Committee we have been assured all logistics are in place and the people of Masvingo are ready to receive all our delegates. I am confident our hosts will ensure that our conference will be a resounding success.
Our 2016 National People’s Conference’s theme is “Moving with Zim-Asset in Peace and Unity”. Members will recall that, from 2013 through to 2018, all Government activities have been and will continue to be guided by and anchored on our premier economic blue print, Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation, (Zim-Asset). It is through Zim-Asset that we aim to rejuvenate, turn around and accelerate the economy of our country. The conference theme is thus both timely and relevant; as we make matters economical occupy the centre stage of our conference deliberations. The conference will actively debate and offer solutions for economic recovery in agriculture, mining, tourism and manufacturing, among others.
We also realise that the country’s economic recovery and growth, that we so need, can only take place in an environment of peace and unity. Such peace and unity should not only exist in the party, but should in fact embrace everyone in Zimbabwe. In the absence of peace and unity, economic recovery, will remain an unattainable dream, a pie in the sky.
Yet, in the course of last year, we witnessed a number of desperate actions by our detractors as they, in vain, tried to foment unrest in the country. The opposition forces tried to create mayhem through wildcat demonstrations which started at the introduction of Statutory Instrument (SI) 64. They later moved to strange demands for electoral reforms, and then to the introduction of bond notes.
Fortunately, our people can no longer be fooled that easily and, firmly they ignored their calls to them to participate in ruinous destabilisation activities to the national economy.
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