Zimbabwe must address its poisoned politics in order to create the necessary environment for growth and investment, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has said.

In his keynote address at the CEO Roundtable in Victoria Falls at the weekend, Prime Minister Tsvangirai said that mixed messages from the same Government, violence, hate speech and lack of implementation of agreed reforms cannot set the correct tone for our national dream.

The Deputy Prime Minister Hon. Thokozani Khupe has been nominated for the African Achievers Award for service to Democracy and Women Empowerment.

The nomination is in recognition of her focus on improving the quality of life of women since her appointment as the Deputy Prime Minister in February 2009, where she has been at the forefront of the fight for 50/50 representation in Parliament.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has called for more transparency in the mining and selling of diamonds for proceeds to benefit the people of Zimbabwe.

Speaking at the end of a two day tour of the Marange diamond fields in Manicaland and the resettlement areas where displaced villagers were resettled, the Prime Minister said diamonds are a blessing for the country.

“In Africa oil and diamonds are either a curse or a blessing, in Zimbabwe we have discovered diamonds but they can only be a blessing if they benefit the people of this country.” The Premier said.

During the two day tour the Prime Minister was accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara, Minister of Finance Honourable Tendai Biti, Mines and Mining Development Minister Obert Mpofu, Labour and Social Service Minister Paurina Mpariwa, Housing Minister Giles Mtswekwa, Agriculture Minister Joseph Made, Economic Planning and Investment Minister Honorable Tapiwa Mashakada and Manicaland governor Christopher Mushowe.

The Prime Minister emphasized the need for accountability in the sale of diamonds saying all the proceeds should be remitted to treasury so that government can reward civil servants.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai today (Tuesday) held a fruitful consultative meeting with leaders of the civil servants negotiating team, the APEX Council.

The consultative meeting was requested by the APEX council to highlight issues affecting civil servants to the Premier.

There was consensus on a number of key principles such as transparency on diamond mining and sales, transforming the negotiating structure and on non-monetary benefits for civil servants.

The resuscitation and strengthening of the social contract and harmonization of labour laws were some of the principles were consensus was reached at the meeting.

The Prime Minister told the APEX Council that he remains concerned about the plight of civil servants. He said he will meet the Cabinet task force dealing with issues affecting civil servants.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has said the current bloated cabinet, with 38 ministries, was unsustainable and presenting problems of resource allocation to ministries.

Contributing to debate at a one day Government Work Programme Ministerial workshop in Harare Thursday, Prime Minister Tsvangirai urged Cluster Ministries to rethink their priorities and come up with short lists of projects that could be implemented in 2012.

Prime Minister Tsvangirai also urged the clusters to mobilize resources for their projects.

The Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has congratulated the people of Zambia and the Zambia national team for winning the 2012 edition of the Africa Cup of Nations.

The Premier said, Zambia’s victory in Libreville on Sunday night was an emotional moment not only for the country and its people, but also for those of us in Zimbabwe who shares a painful history with our northern neighbours.

Please go to downloads for a full PDF version of the PM’s statement.