Members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) yesterday came clean on their political allegiance when hundreds of them thronged the Harare Agricultural Show where they chanted Zanu PF slogans, raising fists the party’s style and singing songs in praise of President Robert Mugabe.
REPORT BY JOHN NYASHANU
The officers, who according to their code of conduct and the Constitution, must be apolitical, were seated strategically next to a bay accommodating hordes of Zanu PF women’s league members, creating a sea of supporters for the President.
As soon as Mugabe arrived, they burst into song and dance shouting “Gushungo, Gushungo,” which is the President’s totem.
The bootlicking continued when Mugabe inspected the guard of honour mounted by the Presidential Guard as the waving of fists intensified.
At the awards ceremony, ZRP, alongside many companies and organisations which are either owned or believed to be aligned to Mugabe, scooped most of the prizes, relegating the other more than 1 000 exhibitors to the losers’ league.
ZRP scooped three awards, The Chairman’s Floating Trophy, The Zimbabwe Agricultural Society Floating Trophy, and the Best Overall Exhibit.
Dairy products concern Alpha Omega, which is owned by the First Family, scooped the Best Display Award in the manufacturing commodities sector and up stepped Mugabe’s children Bona and Chatunga to receive the accolade from their father.
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Mugabe’s own department, the Office of the President and Cabinet, received two awards, Best Exhibit by a Government, Municipal or Statutory Body and Best Public Service Provision.
Zanu PF losing candidate for Highlands councillorship in last month’s harmonised elections Mavis Gumbo graced the winners’ podium four times on behalf of State-aligned enterprise, the Premier Service Medical Aid Society (PSMAS).
The organisation won the Chamber of Commerce Floating Trophy, The Rothmans Shield, The Borrowdale Brooke Rose Bowl and The Association of Healthcare Funders of Zimbabwe Trophy.
Zimbabwe Prison Service boss Paradzai Zimondi, who has openly declared his support for Mugabe, also came in to salute his commander when he received the Municipal Public Servants Centre for Innovation and Excellence Award, sponsored by the City of Harare.
Officially opening the show, Mugabe said the agricultural sector was picking up, an indication that the land reform programme was bearing fruit.
“Over 80% of the tobacco producers numbering over 65 000 are smallholder farmers who are beneficiaries of the land reform programme . . . The national beef cattle population currently stands at 5,3 million. This is a 2% increase from last year’s figure of 5,2 million,” he said.
Mugabe also pledged to ensure that the nation would not starve in the face of poor harvests by most households.
“. . . government is mobilising grain from areas of surplus to needy areas. In addition, measures have been put in place to import grain from neighbouring countries”, he said.
