The Sunday Mail
TOMORROW, Zimbabwe celebrates the heroes, dead and alive, who brought the independence we enjoy today. This is a day that is taken for granted in some quarters, but one that should see all of us coming together to salute Zimbabwe’s gallant sons and daughters.
Editor’s Brief
Victoria Ruzvidzo
Tomorrow’s celebrations are unique in that we also inter the remains of Ambassador Johannes Tomana and Brigadier General (Retired) Milton Siziba.
Indeed, it is a sad day for our country, but we take the opportunity to celebrate their lives, their works and that of others who have sacrificed and continue to do so for this country.
Fare the well Amb Tomana and Brig-Gen (Rtd) Siziba. You ran your race and did so very well. We salute you.
Surely, there is no better day than this day to epitomise the None But Ourselves mantra. The fallen heroes and the thousands among us took it upon themselves to liberate our country. It did not matter losing their lives in the process or getting permanent physical or mental wounds as long as Zimbabwe was liberated. It did not matter leaving their parents and siblings with a slight or almost non-existent chance of seeing them again as long as this brought freedom to Zimbabwe.
It did not matter it meant them abandoning school and their future careers as long as they liberated their country. Indeed, it did not matter walking long distances, going hungry for days, facing danger in the wild forests as long as it meant the birthing of Zimbabwe.
This is the Nyika Inovakwa Nevene Vayo (None But Ourselves) principle at its best.
If they could sacrifice that much, with their lives literally, would it then be so difficult for us, the living, to do our utmost best to contribute towards rebuilding our country and consolidating the gains of our independence?
Would it be too much to ask for people to market and brand their country so we can attract capital, tourists and general goodwill, instead of tarnishing our own image with falsehoods and exaggerations?
Would it be too much to ask to do our utmost in ensuring we receive due recognition and our entitlement as a country without always going on our knees?
Would it be too much to ask to ensure we become the breadbasket of Southern Africa, a feat we have already achieved in a few agriculture sub sectors.
Last week’s instalment on the None But Ourselves mantra elicited encouraging responses, with many vehemently expressing the need for all of us to do our part. A few fell short of demanding legislation that makes it mandatory for every Zimbabwean to contribute their bit in building their country.
The Zimbabwe we want does not come by mere wishful thinking, but by deliberate action that contributes towards a better country, one that assures posterity that all will be well. Every generation should hand a better nation to the next, but this comes by taking ownership of the mantra and consonant action to achieve a better and brighter Zimbabwe.
The gallant sons and daughters we celebrate tomorrow did their part. It behoves us to do ours.
We must also salute and celebrate our defence forces for standing ready to defend the country, the region and the continent as a whole when called to do so. They have not disappointed. In fact, they have excelled in all missions, even beyond the continent where their services have been called for.
We should rise as a nation on Tuesday to celebrate such workmanship. Our defence forces are a source of pride and joy. Indeed, Nyika Inochengetedzwa Nekudzivirirwa Nevene Vayo.
So, the next two days will be exciting as we await to exercise our rights in voting for the Vene, who will lead us in taking this country to another level. August has become a progressive month, pregnant with events set to consolidate the gains made so far and more that will yield the Zimbabwe we all want!
Below are some of the responses from last week’s article:
One of the most profound, thought-provoking articles I have read all year. It made me do a lot of introspection as to how I, as an individual, can push my country forward and it starts by accepting my own part of the blame and resolving to put my country first and to put my all in the contributions expected of me.
We need to ask ourselves how much we have also contributed to the plethora of challenges we find so easily to blame the Government for.
The Second Republic is doing a sterling job in addressing and redressing a lot of issues inherited from the previous administration, a lot of challenges created by us, individuals.
For the longest time, we have been involved in activities and businesses detrimental to the development of our country but are quick to point fingers at the Government, whose work is there for all to see.
I am certain if we all had the mindset to work for our economy and the nation, the current efforts by Government would have yielded even more impressive results.
None But Ourselves can get us to the glory days we all desire and deserve as a nation but it starts with a paradigm shift and then action, action and more action.
Ask not what your country can do for, but what YOU can do for your country.
I believe we can do a lot as a nation to support Government efforts.
And once we all pull our weight together for the same cause, with the potentials resident within all of us, we can achieve success of breathtaking proportions. Thank you very much for this and all your articles l so religiously read.
I, for one, had my mindset changed by your latest contribution and l pray the same will happen for all of us. Let us take the Vene message to all corners of our beloved land and beyond and we stand to achieve much. God bless you and God bless Zimbabwe, wrote Tendai Makore.
Another reader, Warren, from Mt Darwin, wrote: Powerful piece, Editor. True, nyika inovakwa nevene vayo. As much as we might not always agree, this is just the plain truth. None But Ourselves can build this country. Even when we were under colonialism, the colonialists were the ones who built the country because they were in power. The onus was on them to build their environment and so they did. What we must simply do as Zimbabweans now is to rebuild the country ourselves and take the country back to its glory days. We have the power and resources, so why not?”
Takudzwa “The Economist” from Nairobi wrote: Thank you, Editor, for your thought-provoking piece. Below are my few points. More tax revenue results in better and more Government spending on essential services. Rather than lament over the current state of some roads and medical services, among other things, we ought to formalise our trades and crafts and put them under the umbrella of formal businesses, which perform their duties to the nation through payment of tax to allow for better services by the Government. They should not remain as informal businesses.
Markets are now plagued with counterfeit products, which have caused more harm than good to the nation at large. This is particularly so in the sale of raw materials and machinery. Recently, a local shop that deals with agricultural inputs was caught selling fake maize seed. Such actions by businesses result in the nation producing way below its potential and that can lead the country further down the rabbit hole of economic disfigurement.
It is, thus, of utmost importance that severe penalties are imposed for such crimes. If the issue is not adequately dealt with, the nation’s agricultural output will be adversely affected. A nation like the United Arab Emirates has harsh penalties for such crimes.
In God I Trust!
Twitter handle: @VictoriaRuzvid2; Email: [email protected]; [email protected]; WhatsApp number: 0772 129 972.
