The Sunday Mail
Victoria Ruzvidzo
Tomorrow, Zimbabweans the world over converge to mark the 42nd anniversary of our Independence!
This is an important day for all of us.
It ushered a new Zimbabwe and, with it, new possibilities, new opportunities and new rights even, enabling us to be who we are today, deciding and determining our own destiny as a people.
Largely being a Christian nation, it’s double celebration as the day comes just as we celebrate the death and resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!
We are because He is!
The physical and spiritual rebirth of the nation bodes well for us all.
Those who fought the war of liberation, those that supported its structures, those that only heard about the war but did not experience it and those that were born well after the war find common joy and will celebrate Uhuru as one.
The spirit of reconciliation in 1980 and the Unity Accord of 1987 ensure that we all celebrate and share the joys of Independence, “Leaving No one and No place behind,” as the theme says.
I remember 1980 vividly. I was in Grade Four when Independence came.
On April 18, we danced and sang with reckless abandon in Rudhaka Stadium, Marondera.
I might have been too young then to fully comprehend the true meaning of Independence, but I knew there was reason to celebrate, and this we did throughout the night on the day and for days and months to come.
At the stadium, everyone became family as we shook hands, hugged and danced together.
The mounds of sadza and lots of meat made it all merrier.
Lawrence Katsiru, who must have been a district political commissar in Marondera at that time, led us in song and dance with the song “Mukoma Nhongo bereka sub tiende, chauya-chauya bereka sub tiende.”
I loved that song!
The tune and the way we would dance as the entire stadium reverberated brought palpable joy.
At that moment in time, even funerals that occurred just after the attainment of Independence were more about song and dance tiine morari (in high spirits).
One could not differentiate between a funeral wake and a rally.
As we grew up, funerals were no-go areas for children, but as we celebrated Independence, it became common to find them at funeral wakes in the neighbourhood dancing the night away.
It was as if we had assumed new statuses and rites of passage.
Who cared about anyone’s age? All we did was celebrate together, the young and the old.
We would commiserate with the bereaved through song and dance of Chimurenga songs.
Sombre moments became bearable because of the attainment of Independence.
Not even death could take away the feeling of victory and the joy that this day brought.
It is against this background that I join millions of Zimbabweans here and abroad in celebrating the special day again.
The journey to Bulawayo for the national celebrations is one worth every mile as people gather tomorrow, the first time this is being held outside Harare.
Tremors have been felt in Bulawayo since the announcement.
The second-largest city is abuzz and the countdown has reached fever-pitch.
That the commemorations will now move to all provinces is a real game-changer.
Everyone wants a close feel of the national celebrations in their own home province.
The benefits accruing from this will certainly not be lost to the people.
As clearly enunciated by President Mnangagwa recently, the strategy attracts full attention to a particular province, its opportunities, its strengths, its needs and much more.
It’s a platform to expose the province and to brag even about its attributes.
This dovetails with the devolution thrust and the need for all provinces to leverage on their strengths as the country develops.
This year’s celebrations come at time when the economy has been on a growth trajectory.
This is exactly what we fought for.
We have not arrived yet but we are getting there.
What exactly do people want? Why did people sacrifice life and limb?
To have a better life!
The New Dispensation is resonating with people.
There has been so many programmes introduced to better our lives.
From roads to Pfumvudza, from education policy to performance management, from appointees to delivery, from accountability to progression, we have achieved a lot of milestones.
We should be mindful too that the Second Republic inherited a State in shambles.
It is always a difficult ask to run anything, even a small entity; it is even worse when you start in deficit.
So our expectations should be realistic.
We should know where we are and where we are going.
Have we made progress?
Are critical issues being addressed?
ls there any traction?
Is there rhetoric or action? It is always easy to say things, to be judgemental or to speak from a false sense of knowledge.
What must unite us more is being able to attain our hopes and aspirations.
A nation is a collective of goals, dreams and hopes.
We have our God-given rights to fashion our destiny.
Surely, natural justice demands it.
The National Development Strategy 1 has clearly spelt out the issues and the path we need to take.
Huge successes have already been achieved in terms of infrastructure development and creating an enabling operational environment.
Health, education, business, social sector, infrastructural development, and domestic and foreign investment opportunities are critical focus areas.
We have covered some distance in this regard since attaining Independence.
Of course, there are things we could have done better but we can still remedy the situation.
In fact, the Second Republic is doing just that.
Taking stock, in education we have done well.
Zimbabwe is regarded one of the most literate countries in Africa, if not the most literate.
Government is pressing on education and innovation hubs.
The introduction of Education 5.0 resonates with the current demands of a rapidly evolving world.
Our health system was dead.
lt has improved, perhaps not nearly enough, but since the advent of Covid-19, we are better off, hence our current recovery rate of 97 percent.
We are one of Africa’s most successful stories in taming Covid-19.
We must celebrate this.
Even the economy has been growing in spite of the pandemic.
Despite underlying inflationary threats, the economy is holding on.
Achievements realised over the past two years have brought hope of a sustainable growth trajectory now and into the future.
People need jobs; wealth needs to be created, but this is all work in progress. Significant strides have been realised.
It’s now a case of the glass being half full and not half empty.
There are gaps, there are challenges but the President and his team are at work.
A 7,8 percent economic growth in 2021 was no mean feat.
Both monetary and fiscal authorities are hard-pressed with finding solutions to current threats to the economy.
Our agriculture has grown quite substantially.
From Command Agriculture to Pfumvudza, the output has been significant.
Yet still, there are lessons there.
We need to up the game and ensure we attain our breadbasket status.
We have broken records already in maize, wheat and other crops, but the potential to do better is there, barring the effects of climate change.
The current Minister of Agriculture, Dr Anxious Masuka, is an expert.
He seems to have his hands on the pulse.
Mining is also coming up strongly.
A number of projects are in the cooking pot.
Rising metal prices are expected to boost our export earnings significantly.
Overall, the Engagement and Re-engagement strategy is bearing fruit.
Zimbabwe has forged partnerships with such countries as Rwanda, Mozambique, China, Botswana and the United Arab Emirates, among others.
The rural development thrust, devolution, more viable State enterprises, performance management systems in Government and the general transparency and accountability will all combine to serve a better Zimbabwe.
Those that fought the war of liberation did not do so in vain.
The results are there for all to see.
Expectations for more are high and so far the Government has not disappointed.
Let’s all join hands in improving our lives and ensuring we hand over a better Zimbabwe to posterity.
Viva Zimbabwe!
In God I Trust.
