Mnangagwa speech: What the crowd cheered

Reuters

Emmerson Mnangagwa, Zimbabwe’s new president whose nickname is “the crocodile”, has pledged to crack down on corruption, hold elections on schedule and restore relations with the West.

Here are the key moments from his speech that were applauded by the 60,000-strong crowd.

I am required to serve our country as the president of all citizens regardless of colour, creed, religion, tribe, totem or political affiliation.”

 In acknowledging the honour you have bestowed upon me, I recognise that the urgent tasks that beckon will not be accomplished through speeches. I must hit the ground running.”

 We should never remain hostages of our past. Let us humbly appeal to all of us that we let bygones be bygones readily embracing each other in defining a new destiny of our beloved Zimbabwe.”

 The principle of re-possessing our land cannot be challenged or reversed. The dispossession of our ancestral lands was the fundamental reason for waging the liberation struggle.”

 My government is committed to compensating those farmers from whom land was taken in terms of our laws of lands.”

Our economic policy will be predicated on our agriculture, our command agriculture, which is the mainstay and on creating conditions for investment-led economic recovery that puts a premium on job, job, job creation.”

The liquidity challenges, which have bedevilled the economy, must be tacked head on, with real solutions being generated as a matter of urgency. People must be able to access their earnings and savings as and when they need them.”

 As we focus on recovering our economy, we mush shed misbehaviours and acts of indiscipline which have characterised the past. Acts of corruption must stop. Where these occur, swift, swift, swift justice must be served.”

Gone are the days of absenteeism…days of undue delays and forestalling decisions and services in the hope of extorting dirty rewards. Those days are over.”

I stand here today to say that our country is ready and willing for a steady re-engagement with all the nations of the world.”

As we build a new, democratic Zimbabwe, we ask those who have punished us in the past to reconsider their economic and political sanctions against us. Whatever misunderstandings may have subsisted in the past, let this make way for a new beginning.”

I wish to be clear, all foreign investments will be safe in Zimbabwe.”

Brothers and sisters, the people of Zimbabwe, the task before us is much bigger than competing for political office. Let us all play our part to build this great country, together, as Zimbabweans.May God bless Zimbabwe, I thank you.”