CF: How has Zanu-PF found the experience of sharing power with Morgan
Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change?
EM: It is more than two and a half years since we established the inclusive
government, and a lot of things have happened that are positive. Among them
is that we discovered that our differences with our opponents are not that
serious, and that we can work together without too many problems in cabinet
as well as in government generally.
Since then there has been peace in the country, and the economy, which had
really gone down very seriously, has recovered. Industry and agriculture are
also in the process of recovering, and there is a vibrant mining sector.
Tourism went down drastically because of sanctions brought by your people
(Britain, Europe and the US) and the bad publicity that the country has
received internationally, but is also showing signs of growth.
CF: Are you hopeful of sanctions being lifted against your party?
EM: All three political parties in Zimbabwe have agreed to campaign for their
removal, but so far we have drawn blanks on this matter from Brussels and
London. It seems they are still inclined to impose sanctions on us. There
are also still foreign broadcasts into Zimbabwe in our local languages that
are spreading hate speech, which agitate for regime change.
CF: Are you referring to the BBC?
EM: No, I mean the likes of Voice of America. The BBC has its own crimes, but
not that one.
CF: When do you think there will be elections in Zimbabwe?
EM: This is not set in stone, but assuming that a referendum on a new
constitution is held and accepted, then the time frame for elections after
that is a period of four months. If we were to have a referendum in October,
then we would be looking at February for an election.
CF: Do you think they will be free and fair?
EM: I can assure you that the people of Zimbabwe are more concerned that the
elections are free and fair than anyone in London or elsewhere, and we want
to do everything to achieve that. The perception that Zanu-PF is violent is
wrong. It is more and more apparent that it is not us, but the MDC-T (the
party of Morgan Tsvangirai) who is like that - recently some of their
representatives were arrested in Harare for a killing a policeman.
CF: How do you view Mr Tsvangirai personally?
EM: We have seen in the past that his organisation has had foreign funding,
which does not go down well here, and also received reports that he has
consulted in the past with US and British diplomats, which again works
against him. But while I have been Minister of Defence, I have found him a
very sound, sober person, and have had no problem with him.
CF: You have profited personally from the land confiscations against white
farmers. Is this justified?
EM: I have 400 hectares, that is correct, but it is a just entitlement,
absolutely. My parents were removed by (former white Zimbabwean leader) Ian
Smith and pushed into the mountains. Other reclaimed land includes which was
taken from my grandparents 60 or 70 years ago. I would say, though, that the
single quarrel between us and Britain, on land reform, is now behind us.
Yes, six people died in the process, but the issue of land reform is a
question of justice.
CF: Do you think that Britain still secretly controls things here in
Zimbabwe, as Mr Mugabe sometimes seems to claim?
EM: The British do not command things here, no, and I personally do not think
they have any inimical intentions towards Zimbabwe. I should point out that
when we took over here in Zimbabwe, I actually offered promotions to three
of the white officers who tortured me during our struggle for independence.
The point was to make it clear to them that I realised that they were simply
doing their jobs, serving their governments, and that we wanted to build a
new country, this time based on love and respect.
CF: What do you say to claims that you were involved in organising
campaigns of intimidation against opposition supporters in the 2008 polls?
EM: I was minister of rural housing. Unless they say that people were being
intimidated during the construction of rural homes, then this never
happened.
CF: Why is it that so many Zimbabweans say bad things about you? That you
are a secret power, more feared than Mr Mugabe himself?
EM: You are the first person to ask me these kind of questions, but I don’t
really know where any of this kind of stuff comes from at all. I am number
12 in the party, not number two, and am just a very humble person.
CF: Do you have any ambition to be president?
EM: I have no ambitions to be president. People speculate left right and
centre but we have a structure in our party with a president and two
vice-presidents. The leadership has to come out of that group, and I am not
part of it. I just wish a legacy of peace, prosperity and growth for the
younger generation.
