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Thousands flock to Mugabe party
24/02/2007 14:07 - (SA)
Gweru - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe held an 83rd birthday party for thousands of his supporters on Saturday, shortly after the International Monetary Fund expressed deep concern over the country's deteriorating social and economic conditions.
Mugabe has ruled the southern African country since its independence from Britain in 1980. Critics accuse the president of human rights violations and say his nationalist policies have plunged the economy into deep crisis.
Crowds of supporters from Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF party and school children gathered in a stadium in the quiet central city of Gweru for the celebration of song, dance and poetry.
Organisers have also promised a huge feast.
The main opposition Movement for Democratic Change says the party is "in bad taste" given the state of the economy.
Doctors, nurses and teachers have staged wildcat strikes demanding higher wages to cushion against rampant inflation.
The IMF said on Friday that it would maintain its suspension of financial and technical assistance to Zimbabwe.
It said Harare had failed to clear its debt arrears and address the worsening economic and social crisis.
Mugabe defiant in interview
Mugabe turned 83 on Wednesday and struck a defiant tone in an interview with state television.
He looked relaxed and offered no clues as to how he would reverse a deep recession that had hit urban workers hardest.
On Wednesday, the government banned political rallies and protests in volatile townships and districts in the capital Harare, a move the opposition compared to a "state of emergency".
On Friday, the police cancelled an opposition meeting in the country's second largest city of Bulawayo.
The three-month ban followed weekend clashes between riot squads and opposition supporters when police officers fired teargas and water cannons to stop a major rally.
Mugabe has kept the nation guessing on when he will relinquish power.
He suggested in the interview that colleagues in Zanu-PF were plotting to edge him out.
At its December congress, the ruling party noted a motion to extend Mugabe's rule by two years under a plan to hold presidential and parliamentary elections in 2010.
The motion is expected to be considered by Zanu-PF's central committee and debated in parliament before the end of the year.
- Reuters
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Zimbabwe Special Report
