Mugabe 'not ready to resign'

2003-12-06 18:15

Masvingo, Zimbabwe - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe on Saturday told cheering party loyalists he was not ready to step down.

There had been frenzied speculation that Mugabe, who turns 80 next year, would use the Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF) conference this weekend in the southern city of Masvingo to announce he was resigning or selecting a successor.

But instead he told around 3 000 party loyalists in his closing address his country had given him a mandate to continue ruling. "I must make good that mandate," he said to deafening applause.

"If I feel I cannot do it (govern) anymore, I'll come to you in an honourable way and say, 'Ah no. I think I've now come to a stage where I need a rest.' I'll tell you that.

"I haven't told you that, have I?" he told the jubilant crowd of supporters.

Mugabe has been in power for the past 23 years since the country gained independence from Britain.

- AFP