President blasts corrupt ministers

Source: President blasts corrupt ministers – Sunday News Oct 23, 2016

Harare Bureau
NATIONAL hero Cde Cephas Msipa was principled, honest and sincere during his tenure in Government, and serving Cabinet ministers will do well to learn from him, President Mugabe has said.

The President singled out corruption in residential stands allocations to youths, saying the programme will be reviewed to award deserving beneficiaries. At Cde Msipa’s burial at the National Heroes’ Acre yesterday, President Mugabe said the late former Cabinet minister and Midlands Governor abhorred corruption.

“He was a man of his word, a man of his mind. He would tell even the President … akangomira naipapo ndipapo. He served as deputy minister in a couple of ministries, and then as a fully-fledged minister; hardworking, full of ideas, honest to the end, extremely honest. Zvechi crook anga asingatombo zvide kana.

“So, those virtues are in play and we call on others to emulate them. Vana vaCharles, baba vanga vasingaite zvechikuruku . . . nyaya idzi dziriko. Ikozvino dzekutorerana apa neapa. Baba vakanga vasingade izvozvi.”

The President said the housing programme being rolled out for young people by the ruling Zanu-PF would be revised after corrupt allocations had been unearthed.

“Even nyaya idzodzi idzi, dzema-stand, which we would want to see revised because we cannot go the way we are doing. Ma youths anongoramba aripozve. But land hairambe iripo. Why can’t we start ma-projects ekuvaka kuti vamwe vapinde mune matavapa; angave ma-double storey building . . . to accommodate their people.

“But tikada kuti wese wese anowana and vanopinda; we don’t even know kuti vanga vasina kumwe here kana havana mapurazi here, you can call it double-dipping. Varikudhiba kwese kwese. Varikudhiba pese pese. And even double-dipping ikaitwa ma-leaders achiziva, it means they are being dishonest.

“Let us, even in regard with Zim Asset, realise that we have to have that sense of honesty. We must perform and perform well.”

President Mugabe said Cde Msipa showed wisdom during post-2000 land reforms unlike sacked Mashonaland East Governor and former Zanu-PF provincial chair Mr Ray Kaukonde who protected white farmers.

“In fact, as we pursued our Land Reform Programme, Midlands was the only province which complied. We must make a distinction between land iri agro-industrial and land that is essentially where you plant maize.

“When later, some audit was done, we discovered that Midlands had land which still had lots of varungu. Tobvunza kuti, ko chii? Kuda varungu here uku? Apa vayi batana nana Mnangagwa. Zvikanzi: ‘Aiwa, takasiya vese vakanga vari vema-dairy.’

“That was different because it was done on the basis of principle. Different from what happened in Mashonaland East. Aaaah, taiti sei; hakusisina land? Why? Yakapera? Tozoti totarisa zviri mupfimbi yedu yePeople First; taakuwongorara zvakanyanyisisa tikawona kuti aaaah, Kaukonde aisiira varungu ikoko.Varungu (vaive) shamwari dzake.

“There were over 73 farms dzakaitwa discover, dzisiri agro-industrial asi pahushamwari. Hanzi tiri kudzivigiridza. Mazviona ka, izvozvo ndozvatisingade. VaMsipa vakanga vasingade.”

President Mugabe chronicled how he and Cde Msipa developed a cordial relationship when the President returned home from Ghana in the 1950s.

The President said: “He was a man of his own mind, the mind driven by the principles of his party always. It doesn’t matter what state he was at, ANC, National Democratic Party 1964 or Zapu. We built a very personal relationship . . . Takazova nekuzivana kwakanyanya naVaMsipa, kupinda kumusangano. At that time, I was on leave after two years of service as a teacher in Ghana. I was to go for another two years. Handina kuzoenda
“So, I say kuna VaMsipa, you fought a struggle that was well fought, even as we were divided, you assisted us in getting united as you worked naVaBanana in 1987. You were an honest fighter, a unifier and a nationalist politician in full, beyond reproach.

A man of courage in his views; let us have more like him, those who, when they believe in the truth; those who, when they believe that they are (right), stand by what they believe is right.”

President Mugabe added: “Let the ideals that he stood for — honesty, courage, straightforwardness, love, charity — continue to drive our interaction with the grassroots.

“The love of the grassroots, kuda vanhu . . . kuti dzikai pasi pasi, kumaruzeva, especially ma-programme edu akasiyana-siyana kuHurumunde neku-party. Izvi ndozvido zvaVaMsipa.”