Makoni denies ‘sell-out’ charge

conomic Forum for Africa in Cape Town, saying the economic crisis in Zimbabwe must not continue.
And in an apparent reference to accusations by the Minister of Information and Publicity, Sikhanyiso Ndlovu, Makoni said in an exclusive interview in Harare this week: “I have contributed more to this country than those who now claim to be custodians of what it means to be Zimbabwean. To mask poverty and the misery of our people can never be what determines patriotism.”
Ndlovu had said, reportedly in reference to Makoni: “In any revolution there are sell-outs. Some of the Selous Scouts were blacks. You would expect that a member of a party would know what channels to use to air their grievances if they do not see eye to eye with the leader of their party.”
Asked to comment on the MDC, Makoni said it was a home-grown political opposition that “grew out of our failure as a governing party to develop the country and address the collapse of the economy”.
On the March 11 clamp-downs, Makoni, the only senior Zanu (PF) official to visit civic and political leaders hospitalised after being assaulted by the police said:
“We can not allow a situation of hostility toward those at variance with our political thinking. What happened to Madhuku, Tsvangirai and Kwinjeh was wrong. It was criminal.”
“What we are witnessing in the country should not be taken as a reflection on all of us in Zanu (PF),” he said.
Makoni resigned as finance minister in 2003.
Asked about Mugabe’s candidature in the 2008 elections, Makoni was blistering: “The options still remain of another candidate. Contrary to public opinion, there has not been any decision by the party on who its candidate will be. This decision will be made at the annual conference and endorsed by politburo in December. The crisis in the country has been personified.
“So the party in choosing a candidate would have to answer whether Zimbabweans will be voting in 2008 for the crisis or for its resolution.”
He added that there was “a process ongoing within the party, within Zimbabwe, and even with some of our friendly partners. There is an agreement that the state of affairs cannot and must not go on, and that it must be reversed”. – Own Correspondent