In a keynote address at a rally to celebrate 30 years of independence from Britain in 1980 Mugabe also apologised to government workers for failure by his power-sharing administration with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai to pay the disgruntled civil servants higher salaries.
“As Zimbabweans, we need to foster an environment of tolerance and treat each other with dignity and respect, irrespective of age, gender, race, ethnicity, tribe, political or religious affiliation,” Mugabe told the 30 000 people who thronged the National Sports Stadium for the celebrations.
Tsvangirai, members of his MDC party’s executive and some supporters attended the rally.
Mugabe and Tsvangirai formed a power-sharing government last year after a disputed election. The fragile coalition has stabilised the economy but has failed to attract foreign funding to support economic recovery due to power-sharing disputes between the two leaders, with Mugabe being accused of resisting full implementation of the global political agreement that gave birth to the unity administration.
Speaking against political violence that has characterised the country’s elections since the emergence of the MDC at the turn of the century to challenge the 86-year-old leader, who is Zimbabwe’s sole ruler since independence, Mugabe said; “Your leadership in the inclusive government urges you to desist from any acts of violence that will cause harm to others and become a blight on our society.”
He also said his chaotic and often violent land reform programme, blamed by critics for destroying the country’s commercial agriculture, and a controversial economic indigenisation law enacted last February serve as concrete examples which seek to truly empower Zimbabwean blacks.
"The economic empowerment policies are chiefly designed to redress the historic imbalances in the ownership of the economy," he said.
The regulations to force foreign-owned firms with a value of US$500 000 or more to sell 51 percent stake to locals by March 2015 were gazetted on February 5 in line with an Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Bill passed in Parliament by the then sole ruling ZANU PF party in 2007. Mugabe signed the regulations into law in March 2008.
Tsvangirai, labour and business have opposed the indigenisation laws insisting that they be dropped and replaced with a new indigenisation programme that should aim to empower the majority while creating conditions to ensure Zimbabwe was able to compete for the limited available international investment capital.
Mugabe also used the occasion to apologise for the low salaries which civil servants are receiving.
“We definitely regret the fact of meagre salaries and wages, but take it from me, the situation will improve progressively this year,” he said adding; “However, I wish to thank you for your sense of sacrifice and tolerance.”
The country’s civil servants, including teachers presently earn an average US$170 monthly salary. In February the government employees downed tools demanding that the cash-strapped government increase their monthly salary to at least US$600 for the lowest paid worker.
The industrial action, however, fizzled out after indications the government was technically broke. – ZimOnline
