Robert Mugabe Speech: 24th Independence Anniversary, 18 April 2004

Today, we once again celebrate, as free and proud Zimbabweans, our country's anniversary of Independence. We celebrate this 24th anniversary of our freedom with a stronger sense of unity and cohesion at home, and a strong sense of place and identity internationally. We face the future with confidence, hope and dignity. The last four years presented us a number of challenges and real trials for our country. Yet they have years also of break-throughs arising from our firm and indomitable stand on matters of national sovereignty and economic freedom, the high point being the fulfillment of our liberation war goal of recovering and regaining the ownership and control of our land, and distributing it to our people. Expectedly, this far reaching policy has not endeared us to those countries of the West, led by Britain and America, forcibly linked to us by cruel history of colonial occupation and other forms of imperial plunder. We will not compromise our principles of freedom and national sovereignty, no matter who gets upset. Zimbabwe is not for the convenience and pleasure of any country, less still of adventurous, bloodthirsty and domineering neo-colonialists. Zimbabwe will never be a colony again! While we continue to fine-tune the results of the Land Reform Programme, the focus is now clearly on the utilization of that land which is ours to work on, feed and prosper from. This, we must address with the same sense of urgency and resoluteness that characterized the four defining years that have gone by. The new Ministry of Lands, Land Reform and Resettlement will expedite the land delivery process, once other outstanding matters, which include the acquisition programme, are resolved. Repossession of excess land from greedy multiple owners and re-distributing it to the needy and landless must be accelerated. Land must genuinely and irreversibly change hands in favour of the formerly landless indigenous population. It must never go back to the white settler community. The gray areas of our land policy, including land allocated to conservancies, should be resolved during this mop-up phase. The same also applies to agro-industrial concerns, particularly those belonging to owners and companies, who continue to show contempt for our people and our land policy. Such landowners must have their resistance broken once and for all. The financial support Government has extended to agriculture has been growing over the years, with the $150 billion made available through Agribank in the current Budget, bearing testimony to Government commitment to agrarian reform. This is over and above the billions that have been channeled to agriculture and irrigation through the Productive Sector Finance Facility and other instruments, including those availed to farmers by the private sector. A part from providing financial support for agriculture, it is clear that agrarian reform needs complementary extension and information services, an efficient input supply machinery and satisfactory provision of tillage. Happly, the bilateral agreements we have concluded with friendly countries like China, Malaysia, Egypt, Indonesia and Iran should facilitate greater mechanization in agriculture for enhanced output. Within the context of the National Economic Revival Programme, the 2004 National Budget and the December 2003 Monetary Policy Statement, Government is determined to tame inflation and grow the economy, relying of course, on the impulse from agriculture. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe's pointed support for the productive and export sector facilities is expected to increase output in the manufacturing, agriculture, mining, tourism, construction and transport sectors. This positive outlook, which will benefit also from the deregulation of the oil industry, is expected to lead to an improved GDP out-turn, compared to the originally projected negative out-turn of 8.5 per cent. To ensure the country's self-sufficiency in electricity, Government has embarked on a process of opening up electricity generation to private participants. The electrification of rural areas continues at a satisfactory pace with assistance from friendly countries. Since the start of the Expanded Rural Electrification Programme, 2 125 institutions have been electrified countrywide, rendering true, the mission of " Taking Power to the People". Indeed, rural communities can contribute significantly to the economy if only they have electricity to drive their business. In the past year, Government continued to implement rural development projects, especially in the newly resettled areas. Throughout the country's fifty-eight districts, the Rural Development Fund implemented micro-scale rural infrastructure projects that included clinics, schools, and such water supply facilities as boreholes and piped water schemes. Work was also carried out on small-scale irrigation facilities, access roads, bridges and bakeries. Given the success of the programmes, a total of $16 billion has been allocated to the Rural Development Fund this financial year. Investor confidence in mineral exploration has improved significantly as demonstrated by the increase in the number of Exclusive Prospecting Orders which, this year, already stands at 179 for diamonds compared to 136 for all minerals in 2003 and only forty-six in 2002. The success story of Rio Tinto's Murowa diamond project in Zvishavane and the strengthening of investments at Ngezi, Mimosa and Unki platinum mines, also point to increased investor confidence. Further, the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a Chinese company, which will lead to exploration for ferrochrome and other minerals. As part of Government's continued support for mining development, the sector has accessed $85, 8 billion from the Productive Sector Finance Facility. This should go some way in resourcing this crucial sector as principal earner of foreign exchange, and thus advancing our empowerment goals. The newly created Indigenisation and Empowerment Department in my Office will ensure that indigenisation and empowerment policies, including the takeovers and mergers that are being proposed in various, but principally, the financial sector, are consistent with our indigenisation thrust and benefit the majority of our people. Unless and until we commit ourselves to clean business practices, the billions of dollars we have made available for growth of our economy will not yield desired results. We have millions of youngsters without employment, who depend on Government safety nets for survival, education and general sustenance. All these want to work and the many facilities made available through banks, led by our Reserve Bank, are meant to bring about greater employment through an expanding economy. The National Housing Delivery Programme launched in November last year has seen the allocation of stands to housing co-operatives, land developers and individuals in Harare and other towns. Government hopes that by the end of this year, 250 000 Zimbabweans will have stands which will become their future homes. In addition, new housing arrangements to facilitate cheaper and faster housing delivery, using new technologies have been made. The Rural Housing Programme, which will assist people in resettlement and communal areas acquire descent housing, has also been revived. To this end, $400 million has been disbursed to Provincial Governors who will identify the beneficiaries. Government is deeply concerned about the escalating costs of education, which have the potential of undermining our proud record as Africa's most literate society. Government will soon come up with arrangements, which will continue to make education accessible to each and every child regardless of his status or family background. The HIV and AIDS pandemic continues to be, by far, the biggest challenge facing the country. Its devastating effects on the lives of individuals, families and communities have become known to all of us. Public education and awareness programmes continue to be intensified while the decentralized structures for the management and distribution of funds from the National Aids Levy also continue to be strengthened. Our security forces have continued to effectively and efficiently discharge their core function of safeguarding and guaranteeing our national sovereignty and territorial integrity. The country enjoyed peace and tranquility in the year 2003. These fine men and women performed exceptionally well by intercepting mercenary terrorists who would have wreaked real havoc in sister African republics. We thank them heartily for their alertness, and urge them to remain even more vigilant. In realm of foreign relations, we have continued to consolidate and broaden our excellent relations with our partners in SADC. We are grateful that SADC has remained firm in its support for Zimbabwe. The support we enjoy in the African Union, our continental organization, is similarly solid and unwavering. We are most grateful for it. Zimbabwe remains an African country whose obligations are to the continent of Africa. Our membership to other organizations outside our continent and the United Nations will strictly be on principles of equality and mutual respect. We will not allow our membership to be used against our interests or those of our neighbours, allies and friends. This is why we left the Commonwealth once it became apparent that some racist countries were using that colonial Club for selfish policy ends that were clearly detrimental to our national interest. For us in Zimbabwe, our challenge is to clearly join hands in unity and work selfishly for our country. We always aim at unity of purpose with those who share our salient principles and ideals and not with those align themselves with our enemies. We are Zimbabweans and will never, never ever, aspire to be Britons! I thank you.