Chegutu to mark Heroes Day with bira

year’s Heroes Day.
The bira will be held from Sunday evening to Monday.
The preparations for the celebrations are at an advanced stage with organisers saying they were expecting thousands to attend.

“We have made adequate preparations for the event, we received four cattle from local farmers and enough transport to ferry all people.
“People should come in their thousands for the celebrations,” Chegutu district administrator, Mr Makanzwei Jecheche, said yesterday.
Zanu-PF Chegutu district co-ordinating committee vice chairperson, Cde Clever Kunonga, said the bira was organised as a fulfillment of Zimbabwe’s traditions.

“The bira is meant to appease and seek guidance from our ancestors and the spirits.
“This is part of our traditions and we want to continue to thank them for their guidance during and even after the liberation war.
“The ancestors are the owners of this land so we should always appease them.

“All the chiefs in the area are expected to attend,” he said.
Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association Chegutu District chairperson, Cde Shepherd Dzepasi, called on the Government to provide assistance to maintain shrines where district heroes were buried.

“Heroes Day is an important day in our history where we reflect on where we came from as a nation.
“The kind of celebrations we are having will assist us to teach our children on the importance of our history and our culture.
“We, however, appeal to Government to provide budgetary support for the maintenance of places like our Heroes Acre here.

“As you can see we are using our own resources to maintain the place and as a place where our heroes are buried, we believe that Government should provide resources so that the places retain the respect they deserve,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Chegutu Rural District Council has embarked on a road maintenance programme.

The council chairman, Cde Farai Charakatanda, said they had mobilised resources with assistance from Chegutu East House of Assembly representative, Cde Webster Shamu, who is also Media, Information and Publicity Minister.
“We have graded about 300km of dust roads in the district and patched about 40km of tarred roads so far.

“We are currently grading a 20km stretch of a road that was formerly called Lowood but would be renamed after Vice President Joice Mujuru at the request of the local community.
“This work we are carrying out has been successful because of the assistance we are receiving from Cde Shamu,” he said.