The Sunday Mail
President E.D. Mnangagwa
In two days, our Nation celebrates 43 years since attaining statehood on April 18, 1980. That momentous event in 1980 followed a protracted liberation struggle, during which tens of thousands of our people paid the ultimate price. Many more were injured, with some still nursing wartime wounds to this day. Our freedom, thus, did not come cheap, which is why we hold it so dear and priceless for all times, and across generations.
Tears and triumph
April 18 evokes mixed feelings: feelings of pain and joy; of tears and triumph; of grief and grandeur. We will never forget those brave men and women who laid down their lives so such a day would come, and so our Zimbabwe would be born: sovereign and self-governing. Many still lie in unmarked graves, closer to where they fell as they battled a brutal foreign occupying force which had entrenched itself across our land. We should never forget this grim fact as we celebrate.
We gather at Mt Pfura
We all must cherish our Independence and celebrate it without let or hindrance.
This year’s celebration of this historic and solemn day will be held in Mt Pfura, renamed Mt Darwin by the hunter-occupier, Frederick Courtney Selous, back in the 19th Century. He renamed it in honour of the racist British naturalist, Charles Robert Darwin, famed for his theory of Evolution, and whose remains lie buried in Westminster Abbey, alongside other British imperialist figures like David Livingstone. Like Selous, Livingstone also renamed our iconic Mosia-oa-Tunya to Victoria Falls, in honour of his British Queen Victoria. To this day, we still know this Seventh Wonder of the World by that name.
Stamping our heritage
We go to Mt Pfura to overwrite this shameful colonial heritage; and to affirm, assert, reconnect with and proclaim our own heritage of National Struggle. Mt Pfura lies in Mashonaland Central, itself the last citadel of the Rozvi Empire before its demise. It is also the province of the decisive phase of our Second Chimurenga.
All that history must come into focus.
Where it all began
The first bullets of the formal phase of our Revolution were fired in Mashonaland West, near to where the City of Chinhoyi now sits. This was the Chinhoyi Battle fought by the seven gallant fighters who all perished in that encounter with the settler army. They did not fall in vain, for they inspired a whole generation of freedom fighters who then followed to eventually accomplish the National Mission. We remember the gallant seven always, even more keenly now as we commemorate the day of our freedom.
Wankie, Sipolilo and Altena
Barely a few months later, in 1967, another iconic battle would be fought in Wankie, now Hwange, in Matabeleland North, when a joint ZIPRA-Umkonto weSizwe Unit engaged the enemy. It would be followed by another battle in the then Sipolilo, now Guruve, in Mashonaland Central. The Altena Farm attack in the Centenary district of Mashonaland Central, in December 1972, fell within that tradition of determined armed resistance, and announced its decisive phase. Soon after, and in practically all the provinces and districts of the then Rhodesia, the war of resistance would spread, to be characterised by many pitched battles as sons and daughters of this Land stood resolute, sparing no life or limb in a determined effort to free our motherland.
Saluting a gallant generation
Altena had ignited this determined push for our Independence. The commander of the unit which launched that attack is with us. His name is Lovemore Rugora, born in Rusape, Manicaland, in 1942. His war name is John Pedzisa. Through him and through thousands of his colleagues drawn from both ZANLA and ZIPRA who are still with us today, we thank and pay tribute to all veterans of our War of Liberation, both living and dead, for making this great day, which our Nation reveres and celebrates yearly. We shall never forget.
We never let go!
Our heroes’ bequest to us is the freedom and Independence, embodied in this God-given land we know as Zimbabwe. There is only one Zimbabwe on this planet, and it is for us Zimbabweans only, thanks to Almighty God who willed it so. We dare not let it slip through our fingers; we dare not let loose our grip on this priceless bequest, delivered to us through precious blood of a gallant generation.
Independence for us all
The story and tapestry of our struggle for National Independence combines all tribes, all regions, all tongues, all creeds and all colours. It is a political construct from our collective endeavour and sacrifice. That fact alone makes Zimbabwe ours together, regardless of place of birth, tribe, region, language, creed, colour or culture. All these become riches and attributes which endow our land, adorn our freedom and go towards making our collective National Identity. They live side by side; blend in harmony and in perfect peace. This is the diversity we gather to celebrate in two days’ time. We all belong; we all must belong, feel sheltered and at home under one national flag, and singing one national anthem in so many tongues as our God and heritage gave us. Unity, peace and love must bind us, for all times and across generations.
We will grow this land
The Zimbabwe our heroes freed from shackles of settler colonialism and handed down to us, today becomes the land we till, the land we grow, seek and strive to prosper. It becomes our daily chore and vocation; indeed, our collective assignment to which there should never be any sense of fatigue. We must grow it; we must modernise it so we prove to be its worthy children and inheritors.
Hard, honest work
We have a National Vision, Vision 2030, which envisages a Zimbabwe fully transformed into an upper middle-income society by 2030. There is no magic wand towards this goal; only blood, sweat and hard, honest work by each and all. We must put all hands on deck, break the clod, turn and till the soil so its cultivated abundance nourishes us all.
We must dig beneath, bore deep so its hidden treasures become tangible riches that prosper us equitably, leaving no one and no place behind. Today, thanks to our freedom and Independence, the land continues to reveal its hidden treasures to us, its children, forever reminding us to be provident stewards. We owe this land and its riches to generations to come.
Banishing hunger
As your President, my covenant with you has been to banish hunger from our land. That goal is now well in sight, what with the massive investments we continue to commit towards weather-proofed agriculture, and, of course, the sheer hard work of all our farmers, big and small. We congregate at Mt Fura as a food-secure Nation; indeed, as an ambitious people already resetting targets towards higher agricultural ideals. These include a diversified agricultural base which is value-chain driven. I have released Minister Anxious Masuka from distractions of constituency politics so his sole focus and sole politics relate to this one goal of transforming our agriculture for a food-secure Nation for all times. He will be a non-constituency Member of Parliament, so he has enough time to live, think and dream agriculture only.
Guarding our subsoil heritage
Our mining sector continues to positively unravel. New and more mineral deposits continue to be discovered, putting us into top league of mining nations. Mashonaland Central, our host province, is no exception. Our minerals are a unique heritage we must savour as Zimbabweans; indeed, one we must guard jealously so it is not stolen from us, whether through outright reconquest or through corporate wile and guile. We need to be vigilant all the time, knowing full well that the unravelling global order is not always friendly to small but richly endowed countries like our own. Zimbabwe’s subsoil assets must prosper Zimbabweans and generations of Zimbabweans yet to come. We are already reviewing our mining policies, including policies governing royalties, so Zimbabwe benefits the most from its subsoil, finite endowments.
No to improvidence
The second term of the Second Republic will see far-reaching decisions in the mining sector. Any partnerships we enter into on our finite, non-renewable resources, must put Zimbabwe and Zimbabweans first. Above all, our commitment to providing for generations to come must go beyond mere pronouncements and platitudes; we must walk the talk, indeed show through stockpiles of strategic minerals and assets that we plan to provide for generations yet to come. Improvident policies have no place under the Second Republic.
Whole-of-Economy approach
I am quite pleased that our whole economy is moving beyond little, unconnected enclave sectors, towards greater integration through cross-sector value addition and chains.
Going forward, sectors must talk to each other so we have a Whole-of-Economy approach to economic development for a Whole-of-Society approach towards Vision 2030. Value chain approach to economic planning and development is the panacea to little enclaves and isolated prosperity in pockets of the economy, amidst omnipresent backwardness in many other sectors. No economic sector must lag behind, or run away un- or dis-connected from the rest. An upper middle-income economy for an upper middle society imply greater integration across sectors. I am very happy that this imperative is beginning to guide our Industry, and to inform our quest for and selection of Foreign Direct Investments, FDIs. We must go tertiary, but on the strength of a strong agriculture and a strong mining base. Our continued emphasis on agriculture, and the recent ban on raw mineral exports, must be seen from this philosophy and perspective of rejecting a baneful primary economy status we were designed to be under the Western colonial dispensation. We must become a modern, fully developed economy.
Befriending modern technologies
Of course, such far-reaching transformation benefits from an aggressive uptake of new, modern technologies and skills. We must become a society which befriends technologies, befriends cutting-edge technologies at that! Our forebears lived ahead of their times; they gave us countless monuments led by the Great Zimbabwe. They built enduring settlements using the most brittle medium: stone. They tamed stone to give us walls which have defied time and age. Built monumental structures slowly, painfully, determinedly: stone upon stone. They chiselled stone into form and shape which met and actualised their monumental vision. Not too far away from Mt Pfura is where they relocated to settle so the sinews of their State encompassed the whole territory. They never shunned technology of their time, which is how they became masters of hard, granite stone. It is an important lesson to us.
Creative dominion
From them we learn the all-important lesson of dominion and creative stewardship through sheer ingenuity and hard work. Today we invest in our schools and tertiary institutions for technology to abide. We have embarked on innovation hubs; indeed, encouraged our youngsters to venture beyond known technologies so they break new ground. All this is in line with our ambition to grow a technological culture of inventiveness for the growth of our economy. Through new technologies, we will build modern monuments. To that end, we expect more from all our institutions of learning. More such institutions will be built so each district has a skills and technology focal point.
Vision for Rural Industrialisation
My vision is to see our rural areas transformed into industrial propositions, based on local factor endowments.
A key question each community must ask itself – with full support from our devolved Government approach – is, what can we do within our means and circumstances to create or add value to our communities and to our nation? What support do we need for that to happen? Support financial; support technological; support by way of research and development and, of course, support by way of skills and markets for finished goods. Only that way do we live true to our mantra of leaving no one and no place behind. I am happy that our rural communities are already beginning to witness the beginnings of industrialisation. This thrust must strengthen as we move into the future. Rural industrialisation should become the next greatest miracle Zimbabwe shows to, and shares with our African brethren. China did no less, and lifted millions out of poverty. Again, I expect more involvement of our tertiary institutions, which must engage in purposeful, community- and local resource-based research for rural industrialisation.
Zimbabwe is roomy for us all
We all must cherish our Independence and celebrate it without let or hindrance. That way, all those who sacrificed for it will feel recompensed. They did it for you, for me and for all of us, so we grow and live a free and sovereign people. So we deliver and guarantee a handsome bequest to those who come after us, primarily the gift of a free and sovereign Zimbabwe in which hopes and dreams are realised; in which peace abides pasina mugumo! Total peace, including as we prepare for our Harmonised Elections which will come soon. Our elections must be held in peace and amity, with us all reminding each other there will always be a Zimbabwe roomy enough for us all, winners and losers, governing or governed alike. A country at peace, of peace, love, dreams, hopes and fulfilling development to all those ready to work and serve it with total loyalty.
