The Sunday Mail
On May 31, 2015, we published the first part of a narrative by Friends of Joshua Trust’s Rayban Sengwayo on late Vice-President Joshua Nkomo’s early life and how he became Father Zimbabwe. This is the second and final instalment, whose first part concluded last week with VP Nkomo having been crowned “Father Zimbabwe”
Rayban Sengwayo
Dr Samuel Parirenyatwa died two weeks after this ceremony in a car accident. After his inauguration, this is what Nkomo had to say about his vision for a new Zimbabwe:
“My Zimbabwe — I mean the real Zimbabwe of my dreams I am toiling to establish — shall be a prosperous and peaceful country, a country of people who know no colour of skin; patriotic people and, above all, hardworking and industrious people who know no limits in their endeavour to explore and attain wisdom and education.
“But to achieve all this needs dedication and unselfish preparation. We must begin now to prepare the people. Perhaps the most important thing to be tackled first is education. When we take over, as I hope not far off, we shall embark straight away on a crash educational programme.
“All our young people; boys and girls of all races in Zimbabwe, must receive equal and non-discriminatory education, all given by the state. I do not merely mean bookish education. Our education system, as I envisage it, will be creative — equipping them with the necessary all round, professional and scientific knowledge necessary to fit in with the new planning of our economic system.”
He continued: “Besides education for the young, the welfare of the old people must be tackled immediately. All over the country, there will be adult education of one kind or another going on. Of course, I would like to see our womenfolk develop quickly and be able to take their rightful place in the community equally — without one sect of women looking down upon the other with condescension.
“The first thing I would like to see developed in our economic planning is agriculture. The land is there. All that is wanted is good planning. Knowing full well that our people are thirsty for land, agriculture should be the main spring of a vast economic programme. In order to plan our economy well, people must be given enough land. Let them sink roots into good, well-directed agriculture.
“During this time, we must plan and develop secondary industry and commerce vigorously. People will in the end choose on their own whether to remain farming areas or to settle in industrially developed towns. My Zimbabwe will be a country of opportunities where everybody will find employment of his own liking. Promotion will be by merit and not by colour of one’s skin. You cannot build sound industry while people starve, as is happening today.”
“In the Zimbabwe of my dreams, people will not loiter in the streets aimlessly. We shall create jobs and, of course, this will go with the opening of the new employment avenues for our young people in the army, police, civil service, the diplomatic services throughout the world, in banks and other financial institutions.”
On social welfare, a united Africa and equality, he said: The health services will be expanded tremendously and besides providing employment, will be serving the welfare of the people. It’s folly for anybody in this country to speak in terms ‘We are White’.
“I regard everybody here, whether brown or white, as Zimbabwean. But those who cannot fit in can go. Those who regard this country as their home can remain as long as they don’t think they are super-humans; their future is just as assured as that of Africans.
“This is my vision for Zimbabwe, but I have an outer vision for a united Africa. Africa must be united both politically and economically. If I can help, I would like to see in my lifetime a great prosperous continent. We have the natural resources, most of them untapped.
“With people of good vision and planning, Africa can swim in prosperity. I would like to see an African personality — our culture — the very basis of the people’s development, actively developed. Africa must be known by its own culture and personality unique in every sense. We must be a big united nation ranging from Cape to Cairo and from east coast to west coast.”
