PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe yesterday thwarted calls for security sector realignment, which were central to the MDC call for reform, saying the military had been a reliable pillar of his government.
STAFF REPORTER
Addressing Defence Forces’ Day commemorations in Harare yesterday, Mugabe said he was surprised by calls for security sector reforms, saying this was disregard for the good work the military had done in maintaining peace.
He said it was “surprising that some misguided fellow countrymen, at the behest of their Western allies, blatantly disregard the good work done by the Zimbabwe Defence Forces in maintaining peace and tranquillity in the country”.
“They disguise this by demanding what they call security sector reform, when it is obvious the enemy’s real ploy is to dilute the efficiency of the Zimbabwe defence forces,” he told the crowd.
Ahead of last month’s poll, the two formations of the MDC claimed that the security sector was partisan and needed to be reformed, a proposal that Mugabe and his Zanu PF party flatly rejected.
In the past, some senior army officials have made disparaging remarks about Mugabe’s rival, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, with some saying they would not salute him if he won elections.
Mugabe, who garnered a massive 61% in the past polls, said the election had given him and his party a mandate to implement their policies, with the main one being the indigenisation policy, where foreign firms should cede at least 51% of their ownership to locals.
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“Now that the people of Zimbabwe have granted us a resounding mandate in the governance of the country, we will do everything in our power to ensure that our objective of total indigenisation, empowerment, development and employment is realised,” he said.
“This is our final phase of implementing the ideals of the liberation struggle.” The President vowed to see through the indigenisation policy, saying he wanted to ensure that Zimbabweans enjoyed the country’s resources.
“The indigenisation and empowerment drive will continue unabated in order to ensure that indigenous Zimbabweans enjoy a larger share of the country’s resources,” he said.
As Mugabe soldiers ahead with his black empowerment policies, critics fear that this will only benefit his inner circle, while the rest of the country will not see any tangible benefits.
