Speaking to delegates at the Zanu (PF) annual congress in Mutare, Mr Mugabesaid it was time for revenge: “Why should we continue having companies and organisations that are supported by Britain and America without hitting back? Time has come for us to revenge. ..We can read the riot act and say this is 51 percent we are taking and if the sanctions persist we are taking over 100 percent.”
Speaking to the Zanu (PF) central committee Mr Mugabe said: ” It is grossly disturbing to learn of the extent to which some of our people have gone towards literally giving back the land to white farmers, all for a pittance of the farm profits at the end of the season.” Speaking on International Human Rights Day, MDC Prime Minister MorganTsvangirai said: “We all know that soldiers, members of the police and CIO are being deployed in the rural areas to harass our parents. The army is not there to beat up and abuse people. It is there to protect them. . These are national security institutions which must not be abused. This must stop. When we go to elections it is not a declaration of war.”
Speaking about her powerlessness and frustration in tackling corruption, the MDC’s Co Home Affairs Minister, Theresa Makone said: “There is a sense of impunity that pervades the whole government, because the people that ruled this country for the past three decades have not been able to arrest public officials, or to try to address the problem or bring justice to perpetrators of corruption”
And then came this little gem from the Zanu (PF)Bulawayo governor, Cain Mathema, who is apparently pushing for the exhumation of Cecil John Rhodes who was buried in the Matopos over a century ago in 1902. Mr Mathema said: “I wonder why years after independence of Zimbabwe his grave is still found there. We are going exhume it and send it to Britain where it belongs. Right now we are failing to get rains because of Rhodes’ bones buried at Matopo Hills”
The last pertinent quote, and a suitable place to end another year of letters from Zimbabwe, comes from across the world.
Released after 7 years of house arrest, the Burmese opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, may as well have been talking about Zimbabwe when she said: I don’t believe in one person’s influence and authority to move a country forward. One person alone cannot do something as important as bringing democracy to a country.”
I am taking a short break from this letter and wish all Zimbabweans, wherever you are in the world, a peaceful and happy Christmas filled with love and laughter and hope for real change for our beleaguered Zimbabwe in 2011. Until Mid January, I leave you with sincere thanks for your support of my writing and with the sight of Flame Lilies, the sound of Paradise Flycatchers, the smell of rain and the feel of a million gossamer wings in your fingers as you catch flying ants pouring from the depths of the Zimbabwean soil.
Love, Cathy
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