Mugabe should go peacefully – Makoni

Makoni, a former Finance minister and politburo member of the Zanu (PF) party, said: Those who are in power have the responsibility to create a conducive environment for free and fair polls. There has been a lot of bickering which has led to suffering of people.

There is need for thorough cleaning of the voters roll to weed out ghost voters and the Electoral Commission must be managed with people of high integrity. Citizens outside the country should have a say in the governance of their country, said Makoni who was addressing journalists at the press club in the city.

He denied the country was under sanctions as being portrayed by President Robert Mugabe and his Zanu (PF) party.

Mugabe threatened at the opening of the just ended Zanu (PF) annual conference in Mutare last week that if sanctions do not go the government will take 100 percent ownership of foreign owned firms in Zimbabwe. The current Indigenisation Act has already scared off a lot of investors because it requires foreign owned companies to sell 51 per cent of its shares to locals.

Makoni said Zanu (PF) politicians wanted to convince Zimbabweans and outsiders that the sanctions imposed on President Mugabe and about 200 individuals of his inner circle and companies were directly linked to the collapse of the country`s economy and general drop in quality of life. There is a lot of propaganda surrounding the whole issue. At one time I was on the targeted list before my name was scrapped off recently and I know how it is to be on the targeted sanctions list, said Makoni.

The truth of the matter is the whole issue involves around propaganda. President Mugabe and his guys were so obsessed about going to Europe and America to shop in expensive shops such as Harolds. Now that they can`t go there to do their business and spending public finance and it hurts them so much. That`s why they are making this noise about sanctions.

He said President Mugabe was insensitive to the plight of suffering Zimbabweans as evidenced by his foreign trips which gobbled over US$11 million in five months. Makoni said the European Union (EU) remained Zimbabwe`s second trading partner after South Africa.

According to EU ambassador to Zimbabwe Aldo Dell`Ariccia, EU is funding an US$18 million project to support the recovery of country`s important sugar sector. The EU also remains actively involved inseveral humanitarian projects in the country.

Makoni said the Zimbabwean government should pay up its debt with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He advised President Mugabe to change his approach towards these lending institutes, saying his `pompous` remarks had further strained the relation between Zimbabwe and West.

Makoni heaped praises on Prime Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC party saying his party was more receptive than President Mugabe`s Zanu (PF). On education, Makoni said the Rhodesian education was better. You cannot talk of sovereignty every time when there are no textbooks in schools, he said. Education in Rhodesia was better off than what it is today because we had full set of books. School was affordable. Makoni said it was a shame that the country was no longer a shining beacon of Africa in terms of its quality and high standards of education.

We used to have the best education in Africa with high pass rates in our schools. But today we are the worst in Africa with 15 pupils scrambling for a single textbook. Teachers do not have equipment to use in schools, said Makoni. He said money spent through travelling by Mugabe and his entourage could be used to buy books in schools. We are saying President Mugabe must reduce his entourage when travelling outside the country. Let`s give priority to things that affect the lives of our people.

He thanked Prime Minister Tsvangirai for sourcing textbook from donors to resuscitate the collapsed education sector.

Turning to national healing and reconciliation process, Makoni said the only solution to reconcile the nation was removal of fear among people.

Flighting adverts and holding of meetings by a designated body which does not engage people at personal level is not enough to bring national healing. We have to disband the instruments of violence and fear. It`s sad that we see the strengthening of such machinery by Zanu (PF),said Makoni.

MKD leader said national healing will only succeed if perpetrators admit and acknowledge their past crimes. Those who have made mistakes can ask for forgiveness and that victims can accept this forgiveness, said Makoni. The inclusive government established an Organ for National Healing and Reconciliation to spearhead national healing process but the body has suffered a still birth as political parties failed to agree on the implementation strategy.

Zanu (PF) wants an umbrella amnesty to its members who committed grave human rights abuses while the civic society and MDC want a South African model of Truth and Reconciliation Commission where perpetrators come out in the open and confess.