Mugabe gives his first State of the Nation Address since 2007

(Last Updated on August 26, 2015 by Editor)

ZIMBABWE – HARARE – President Robert Mugabe on Tuesday gave a short State of the Nation address, his first since 2007.

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said he failed to rise to the occasion, and accused the president of being “out of touch”.

Nobody really thought Mugabe would announce his retirement in this speech.

But Morgan Tsvangirai’s spokesman Luke Tamborinyoka said he should have taken advantage of the occasion to do so.

Mugabe was speaking to a packed house of Parliament; some Members of Parliament even struggled to get a seat.

He said Zimbabwe was positioning itself for major economic take-off, in a speech described by former Information Minister Jonathan Moyo as “insightful and grounded”.

But the MDC said Mugabe didn’t address the “monumental challenges” facing Zimbabwe.