ZANU (PF) congress wrap up.

Addressing the first day of the party’s extra-ordinary congress in Harare, he made it evident that he will crush potential challengers, and promised to accelerate the transfer of economic resources to black people.
He was greeted with rapturous welcome at the City Sports Centre where his ruling party’s extra-ordinary congress is being held. Zanu (PF) officials said he had shown that he was dominating the approach to the 2008 general election, where the ruling party is widely expected to win another five years in office against an opposition torn with internal strife and a concerted State campaign that has weakened its structures.
An expectation that internal ruling party rivals will use the three-day conference to battle for the party’s soul by challenging Mugabe’s candidacy and confronting the leadership on its policies on the economy, unemployment, poverty and agriculture faded yesterday when they gave a guarded welcome to Mugabe’s hour-long speech, apparently accepting that they are too marginal to resist.
The extra-ordinary congress of 7,000 delegates – called to endorse Mugabe’s candidacy in the 2008 joint presidential, parliamentary and municipal elections – has the task of deliberating on ruling party candidates and debating government policy, but no significant change to strategy or challenge to the leadership is expected, despite the tension between Mugabe and the Solomon Mujuru-led faction.
Mugabe clandestinely called the Mujuru faction disloyal, and accused the faction of bad-mouthing him and the party.  
Not everyone aspiring for a position will win, Mugabe said. Avo vacharuza musarudzo dzemuparty ngavasazorovera bhora mudondo. (Those who lose primary polls, should not kick the ball out of the pitch.)  Mugabe, 83, although losing his oratory finesse, remains a dynamic speaker and was greeted with polite applause, towards the end of his hour speech.  
Promising to continue his populist indigenization policies, including the grab of mines and foreign-owned companies, he expressed hope for his revolution and said an over-arching empowerment charter was needed to give a bigger stake to black Zimbabweans.
National independence and freedom would be meaningless until it carries with it the right to resources, he said.
Mugabe, 83, claimed he was being demonized for fighting for the rights of his people.
Their welfare is my welfare, their suffering my suffering. They own Zimbabwe. Mr. Blair, Mr. Brown, Mr. Bush, you don’t belong, you are not one of them. So keep out, keep out, keep out.
He repeated his mantra that the opposition was creation of the British and that it would never rule my Zimbabwe.
He later appealed for a violent free poll.
We don’t want any violence during campaigns. Campaign peacefully, said Mugabe.
Political analyst Ibbo Mandaza, who is also executive director of the Sapes Trust think-tank said: I think the main thing that motivates him is that he wants to die in office. The monarchist thread in nationalist politics is quite strong.
Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe since the country attained independence in 1980. He denies wrecking the country’s once prosperous economy, blaming former colonial power Britain for retribution over his campaign to seize white-owned farms for redistribution to peasants.