Bob blasts West, says reforms nonsensical

‘Nonsense’ … President Robert Mugabe

Mugabe was addressing mourners gathered at the National Heroes Acre where the late Retired Brigadier General Felix Ngwarati Muchemwa was buried after passing on in Egypt last week where he had gone for treatment.

“Do not fail those who sacrificed their utmost sacrifice for the land through partnering our detractors who are calling for regime change. They say our policies are not good and they will not give us funding if we do not reform,” said Mugabe.

He added, “We say no. That is nonsense. Keep your resources because our land is greater than your resources. My land shall always be there and we shall always have Zimbabwe.”

“..if we are going to suffer, be denied resources by outsiders, them demanding that they do as they like in our country then let them keep their resources, our land that we have suffered for is greater.”

Mugabe’s comments come as finance minister Patrick Chinamasa is involved in talks with the Western institutions in a bid to unlock the much funding. Last week government announced that it was going to be able to pay civil servants on time due to cash shortages.

Zimbabwe has not received funding from the western financial lenders for more than a decade and much of that time Mugabe has blamed the country’s decline on “illegal western sanctions”.

Last week, the newly appointed US Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Harry Thomas Jnr, told Mugabe that sanctions were not the cause of Zimbabwe’s challenges. He said Zimbabwe needed to institute financial and political reforms and to implement the country’s new constitution.

But on Sunday Mugabe mantained his sanctions mantra.

“To get assistance for international institutions like all other countries do in order to assist our production -even as we want to pay our partners who will have assisted us, our monies are frozen. New York says no and penalises all banks that handle Zimbabwean money.

“So there are always difficulties and some people don’t seem to appreciate. They think no, we are like any other country, free as air. We are not.”

Mugabe also took a swipe at those partnering whites to till the land, saying such people were giving back land to the country’s detractors.

“Those who are giving land back to the whites should remember that it is the land that many people died for.

“Some of you do not understand that this country is important because it came through a struggle that shed blood. Let us keep those values. The struggle has been a sacred one for the people of today, tomorrow and for the future generations to come,” Mugabe reiterated.

Mugabe described the late Rtd. Brig. Muchemwa as a true hero with true love for people.

“Muchemwa had people at heart as he sometimes gave free medical service to people in need. Always humbled, smiling with a charming personality ministering to life as a medical doctor.

“Muchemwa igamba remberi-mberi angaasingatye, asingazvirovedundundu,” (A high profile, fearless and humble man who did not boast about his status), Mugabe said.

“We have sanctions that have been imposed on us and therefore there are those limitations and restrictions that prevent our economy from running smoothly.”

“Sometimes it’s not possible to export our goods at all because of certain countries,” said Mugabe.