Resolutions of ZANU PF conference
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/
11.12.12
We publish here the full resolutions of the just-ended Zanu-PF 13th Annual
National People’s Conference
Preamble
The Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front held its 13th Annual
National People’s Conference in Gweru, Midlands Province at the Gweru
Convention and Exhibition Centre from 5th-9th December 2012.
The conference was officially opened by the President and First Secretary,
Cde R. G. Mugabe. Each District sent one delegate drawn from the Main Wing
or Women’s League or Youth League. The rest of the delegates were drawn the
provincial leadership upwards as well as the Zanu-PF Johannesburg District
in South Africa.
The conference received solidarity messages from ANC (South Africa),
represented by Cde Jeff Radebe, member of the National Executive Council,
Chama Cha Mapinduzi (Tanzania) was represented by its Secretary for External
Relations, Dr Rose Asha Migiro, Frelimo (Mozambique) was represented by Cde
Sergio Quantinho, member of the Central Committee. Politburo Member, Cde
Theodore Quarter represented MPLA (Angola) while Swapo party (Namibia) was
represented by Central Committee member, Cde Hilma Nican as well as from
local affiliate organisations.
1. Party mobilisation
Whereas the people’s revolutionary party is committed to safeguarding,
defending, promoting, widening and deepening the ideals and values of
Zimbabwe’s heroic liberation struggle for the benefit of all Zimbabweans
today and in posterity;
Impelled by the imperatives of Zimbabwe’s current “Chimurenga Moment” to
indigenise the national economy, empower the indigenous population and its
communities, develop and grow the economy to generate new wealth and income
and to create employment opportunities especially for the youth who make up
the majority of the economically active community;
Noting that the GPA and the Inclusive Governme-nt, legally and
constitutionally, ought to have come to their end after the expiry of the
two years reckoned from the inception of the Inclusive Government ;
Determined to defend Zimbabwe’s national sovereignty to ensure peace and the
holding of free and fair elections in 2013;
Resolutely opposed to the use of any form of political violence for
electoral or any other purpose whether physical or otherwise and whether
instigated or perpetrated by elements internally and externally inspired.
Driven and guided by the imperatives of national unity, national cohesion
and the wellbeing of all Zimbabweans;
Committed to the promotion of regional and international solidarity among
progressive forces;
Aware of the geopolitical intrigues, plots, manoeuvrings and regime-change
agendas of imperialist and neo-colonial forces to resolve their crippling
economic crises by seeking to recolonise developing countries to exploit
their natural resources under the guise of economic market reforms,
democracy, good governance and human rights;
Congratulating the party’s Midlands Province, the Midlands Development
Association, consulting architects and engineers and their cooperating
partners for the construction of the magnificent Gweru Convention and
Exhibition Centre;
Alarmed by the unrelenting covert machinations by Western imperialist forces
and their proxies;
Now therefore, Conference resolves;
(a) To confirm the President and First Secretary, Cde R.G. Mugabe, as
elected at the last congress to be the party’s Presidential candidate in the
harmonised elections to be held in 2013.
(b) To direct all structures of the party to earnestly and immediately
prepare for a resounding victory in the forthcoming elections by adopting a
“Bhora Mugedhi”/ “Ibhola Egedhini” posture.
(c) That the guidelines for the selection of party candidates for the
conduct of primary elections must provide for free and fair primary
elections in the spirit of the founding principles of Zanu-PF and to
prohibit the imposition of candidates .
(d) Exhorts every member of the party to be guided, instructed and bound by
the vision, direction, ideals, values and the imperative for unity paying
due regard to the enduring principle that we are our own liberators under
the banner; “Iwe neni tinebasa”/“Wena lami silom’sebenzi”.
(e) To urge the party to revive and develop a cadreship policy that nurtures
a broad human resource base for deployment by the party and to introduce
structured compulsory ideological programmes.
(f) To call upon the party to develop innovative, robust and relevant
mobilisation strategies to attract and maintain the support of women,
youths, people with disabilities including encouraging organisations and
associations for the young, professional and other special interest groups
to affiliate with it.
(g) To urge the party to continue working towards the realisation of 50-50
gender representation in all decision-making institutions.
(h) To urge the party to make provisions for the adequate funding of all its
programmes, including the impending primary elections and harmonised
elections.
(i) To discourage the use of money for personal political benefit.
(j) To urge the party to utilise local talent and resources to identify
projects for income generation and employment creation for the benefit of
the party and the community.
(k) Instructs the party to ensure that Government enforces the
de-registration of errant NGOs deviating from their mandate.
2. National economy indegenising & empowerment.
Whereas the fountain and foundation of sustainable economic development for
the benefit of all Zimbabweans is the ownership of and control over the
country’s God given natural resources by the indigenous population;
Commending Zimbabweans for their revolutionary resilience, vigilance and
total commitment which are now showing tangible evidence of irreversible
success in all the 14 key sectors of the economy which are the target of the
party’s indigenisation and economic empowerment thrust, most notably in the
areas of agriculture mining and tourism sectors;
Encouraged that at long last justice has prevailed following the clearance
and endorsement of the unfettered sale of Zimbabwe’s diamonds by the
Kimberly Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) notwithstanding the
continuation of the illegal and evil economic sanctions imposed against
Zimbabwe by the UK, US, EU and the White Commonwealth countries to the
detriment of the wellbeing of ordinary Zimbabweans;
Satisfied that through the historic Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment
programmes, at least seven Community Share Ownership Trusts, namely,
Chegutu-Mhondoro-Ngezi-Chivero-Zvimba in Mashonaland West, Marange-Zimunya
in Manicaland, Zvishavane and Tongogara-Shurugwi in the Mildlands, Gwanda in
Matabeleland South, Bindura in Mashonaland Central and Hwange in
Matabeleland North have been launched and 148 Employee Share Ownership
Trusts have been established;
Noting that according to the United Nations Zimbabwe is among the top five
countries with the highest sun intensity in the world, acknowledging the use
and importance of solar energy;
Now therefore, Conference resolves;
(a) That all the sectors of the economy must fully comply with the
Indigenisation Act.
(b) That all investment related laws that are in conflict with the
Indigenisation Act are amended to align with the Indigenisation Act.
(c) That De Beers be investigated for illegal mining operations carried out
by the company in Marange under the guise of exploration. The investigation
to establish the quantity of the diamond bearing soil scooped out of the
Marange area and transported to South Africa as well as determining the
actual value of the diamonds thus illegally smuggled out of the country.
(d) To urge the party to spearhead the decriminalisation of mining
operations undertaken by the gold panners (“makorokoza”) and implores
Government to give them mining licences so that they operate lawfully.
(e) To urge the party to spearhead the adoption of currencies of the BRICS
countries and other emerging economies as legal tender in Zimbabwe alongside
the US Dollar.
(f) That the party should intensify and apply the community based cattle
herd rebuilding intervention programme and the Zanu-PF cattle breeding
project in all provinces.
(g) That Government should prohibit the externalisation of the peoples’ bank
deposits.
(h) That the artisanal and small scale miners be incorporated into
mainstream mining through support such as provision of equipment and
training in modern mining. This will create massive employment.
(i) That the party takes a leading role in the establishment of an
Agricultural Commodity Exchange that should provide a vibrant market to
drive the agriculture sector.
(j) To urge the party to push for legislation for banks to lend to key
sectors of the economy at affordable rates and to offer substantive real
rates of return on deposits so as to mobilise and encourage savings.
(k) To call upon Government to set a Zimbabwe’s Minerals Exchange as a
vehicle to ensure that there is no external listing of Zimbabwe’s mineral
assets.
(l) To instruct Government to work out modalities for the re-introduction of
domestic currency alongside the multi-currency system in order to address
the current liquidity crisis and to enable our people to carry out their
transactions.
(m) That all export receipts should be banked in Zimbabwe with national
local financial institutions.
(n) Encourages Foreign Direct Investment to compliment domestic investment
and calls upon Government to ensure that foreign investors do not fund their
investments through local borrowings.
(o) Applauds the party for intensifying the indigenisation and empowerment
programmes as the basis of creating a new breed of employers who are
conscious of the national interest to create wealth and provide more
employment.
(p) Recognising that the shortage of power is the single biggest inhibiting
factor to economic growth and cognisant of our abundant coal reserves, coal
bed methane deposits and Zimbabwe’s strategic position within the Southern
African Power Pool and the growing demand for energy in the region, calls
upon the party to spearhead the development of a power generation industry
by promoting favourable investment opportunities in solar, ethanol, hydro,
biogas and wind energy sectors.
(q) To call upon the party to urge Government to promote nationwide
utilisation of solar energy and to develop solar energy capacity.
(r) To condemn the MDC formations for promoting neo- liberal, anti- people
financial policies that have stunted agricultural production, starved funds
to key economic enablers like water and sanitation, energy and the social
services sectors and denied liquidity to the national economy.
3. Social services
l Appalled by the rampant corruption in urban councils that are under the
control of the MDC formations across the country and which have resulted in
abominable service delivery, particularly in areas such as education,
health, water, power and urban roads that have led to periodic outbreaks of
cholera, typhoid and all manner of water borne diseases.
Noting the acute food deficit across the country, especially in rural areas;
Now therefore, Conference resolves;
(a) To call for the unconditional lifting of the illegal sanctions to
facilitate the restoration and access to sound social services
infrastructure.
(b) To exhort the party to restore full service delivery after the
elections.
(c) Urges the party to ensure that Government through the responsible
ministry and Government departments to attend to the construction and
rehabilitation of roads in both rural and urban areas.
(d) To direct the party to urgently take remedial measures to redress the
rapid decline in the quality of the education system alongside the
deterioration of national sport and recreational facilities.
4. Regional and international relations
Encouraged by the growing spirit of regional solidarity within Sadc
demonstrated by the continuous engagement and interaction through the forum
of secretaries general of liberation movements in the region whose regular
meetings have created new networking opportunities between and among the
liberation movements and their countries;
Alarmed by the escalating instability in the eastern part of the Democratic
Republic of Congo and its geopolitical implications that threaten to
destabilise the wider Great Lakes and Southern African regions;
Concerned about the involvement of external players in the Eastern part of
the Democratic Republic of Congo and their wanton disregard of the
sovereignty of the DRC in violation of international law;
Disturbed by the continued abuse of multilateral institutions by NATO
countries in pursuit of their neo-liberal unilateralism and foreign policy
interests in search of elusive solutions to their crippling financial crises
as exemplified by the Eurozone crisis that threatens to collapse the EU;
Now therefore, Conference resolves;
(a) To express gratitude for the messages of solidarity conveyed to the
conference and the unanimous condemnation of the illegal economic sanctions
imposed on Zimbabwe.
(b) To congratulate the Palestinian State for becoming an observer member
state of the United Nations.
(c) To call upon the United Nations to expedite the process of granting self
determination to the Saharawi people.
(d) To congratulate Dr Nkosazana Dhlamini -Zuma on her election as AU
chairperson.
(e) To congratulate Xi Jingin upon his election as Secretary General of the
Chinese Communist Party.
(f) To note the re-election of president Barack Obama and call upon him to
repeal ZIDERA and unconditionally lift the illegal sanctions against
Zimbabwe.
6. Media, science and technology
Noting the strategic importance of Information Communication Technologies
(ICTs) and the comparative advantage of connectivity in political
mobilisation and as critical tools for advancing the development of a
knowledge based economy;
Concerned about the widespread abuse of the social media by regime-change
seeking countries for purposes of negative propaganda to fan disunity,
hatred and engender instability;
Dismayed by the continuing violation of international law which has
undermined the GPA through the sponsorship of pirate radio stations by the
British, American and Dutch governments that respectively sponsor SW Africa,
Studio Seven and VOP;
Encouraged by the party’s new thrust to apply ICTs in its internal
management systems demonstrated by the introduction of its Electronic Card;
Now therefore, Conference resolves;
(a) Condemns the American, British and Dutch governments, for violating
international law and undermining the GPA guaranteed by Sadc and the AU,
through sponsorship of pirate radio stations in aid of their political
proxies with intention to effect illegal regime change.
(b) Condemns EU, America and white Commonwealth countries for supplying ICT
gadgets, such as cellphone, decoders, radios to communities to create
conditions for the broadcast and spread of falsehoods to distort so as to
undermine confidence in the electoral process and trigger Arab-style civil
unrest.
6. Women’s Affairs
Recognising the crucial role that women played during the liberation
struggle and continue to do so and paying special tribute to past heroines,
like Mbuya Nehanda;
Cognisant of the leading role that the party continues to play in
championing the cause of women towards the realisation of gender equality in
all socio-economic and political spheres;
Grateful for the role women play in sustaining livelihoods of families under
the harsh and illegal economic sanctions imposed on our country by
imperialist forces;
Concerned by the ever increasing cases of gender based violence perpetrated
against women ;
Acknowledging that women continue to be under represented in positions of
decisions making institutions;
Now therefore, Conference resolves;
(a) That the party should spearhead and take the leading role in ensuring
greater representation of women in all decision making institutions so as to
attain the 50/50 ratio set by Sadc and AU in its protocols.
(b) That the party calls on all its members to be involved in the campaign
against gender based violence and commits to advocate for the deterrent
punishments of perpetrators.
(c) Calls upon the party to implement deliberate policies to empower the
rural women so as to reduce their chores.
(d) To adopt more systematic, sustainable, continuous education and training
policies for women to facilitate their skills development and empowerment.
(e) To urge the party to encourage young women, professional women and women
in special interest groups to integrate and affiliate with the party.
(f) Urges the party to develop and institute a mechanism for the utilisation
of Community Share Ownership Trust and the Sovereign Wealth Fund facilitate
value addition.
7. Youth Affairs
Recognising that the youth constitute the majority of the population;
Acknowledging that the youth are a significant national resource and play a
pivotal role in the national economy;
Noting that unemployment is a major concern and challenge negatively
affecting the wellbeing of the youth;
Cognisant that the youth represent the future leadership of the country in
all spheres of society;
lApplauding the adoption of a new Youth National Policy to be launched soon;
Now therefore, Conference resolves;
(a) To reaffirm past resolutions that called for the acceleration of
provision of land to youths and call for concrete steps for their full
implementation.
(b) To call for a deliberate policy advocating for a quota system in all
leadership positions in both parliamentary and council seats for the youth.
(c) To call for the appointment and deployment to strategic positions in
Government, Diplomatic Services, Parastatals and state enterprises.
(d) To call for speedy disbursement of youth empowerment funds to districts
and wards by the responsible Government Ministry to facilitate the much
needed development capital to the jobless youths.
(e) To condemn the harassment and arrests of youth in small scale mining
deemed to be illegal panners.
8. Religion, culture and liberations war gherirage
Whereas the vagaries of cultural imperialism and Westernisation continue to
threaten Zimbabwe’s heritage, values and traditions;
Noting that the primacy of Zimbabwe’s cultural heritage is the moral basis
of indigenisation and economic empowerment;
Celebrating Zimbabwe as an African country, multi-cultural; multi-religious,
multi-lingual and modern, whose strength lies in the unity of its people;
Respectful of the institution and role of traditional leadership and aware
of its historic function as the first line of defence in the struggle
against colonialism, cultural imperialism and Westernisation;
Now therefore, Conference resolves;
(a) That the party takes a leading role in identifying historic places and
locations where major battles took place during the First and Second
Chimurenga and to build shrines and museums at those places to commemorate
and immortalise heroic sacrifices.
(b) To urge the party to review and broaden the educational curriculum in
primary and secondary schools to include the teaching of the history of the
Liberation Struggle.
(c) That the party should institute research programmes to design ways and
means of protecting and enhancing the African cultural heritage.
(d) That the party should promote the design and implementation of the
teaching of a curriculum from Kindergatten to tertiary education to promote
core values that underpin the African way of life.
(e) That the party should promote cultural dialogue with religions of all
faiths.
(f) That the party should establish cultural centres from district to
national level for cultural education and the holding of arts workshops.
9. Constitution-making process
Whereas on September 15, 2008 the party signed the Global Political
Agreement (GPA) with the two MDC formations whose main objectives included
the making of a new constitution based on the views of the people and
subject to a referendum within 18 months of the start of the process;
And whereas a Select Committee (Copac) was set up in April 2009 under
Article VI of the GPA to spearhead the Constitution Making Process and
produce a draft constitution within 18 months after which there would be a
referendum on the draft to be immediately followed by the holding of
harmonised elections;
Now therefore, Conference;
(a) Deplores the delaying tactics employed by the MDC formations which have
caused a constitution-making process that was supposed to take 18 months to
last but has so far taken 44 months and is still going on with no certainty
as to when it would be concluded.
(b) Is outraged that the draft constitution produced by Copac on July 18,
2012 deviated in serious material respects from the views of the people
expressed during the Copac outreach exercise and which are contained in the
National Statistical Report.
(c) Reiterates that any draft constitution emanating from the Copac
constitution making process must adhere to and conform with the views of the
people expressed during the Copac outreach exercise and repeated at the
Second All Stakeholders’ Conference.
(d) Calls upon the party to resist all attempts and machinations by some
international forces and their local proxies to smuggle nefarious values and
practices onto the proposed new constitution.
(e) Implores the GPA parties to conclude the constitution making process
before Christmas this year, failing which the Head of State and Government
and Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces should in terms of the law
issue the relevant Proclamation dissolving Parliament and fixing a date for
the holding of the harmonised elections under the current Constitution.