admin
TODAY all roads lead to district, provincial and the National Heroes Acre in Harare for commemorations of the Heroes Day as the nation pays tribute to its gallant sons and daughters who sacrificed their lives to liberate the country.
Commemorations at the National Heroes Acre will start with the double burial of national heroes, Ambassador Johannes Tomana and Brigadier-General Milton Siziba (Retired).
Amb Tomana died on Sunday last week after complaining of stomach pains while visiting his rural home in Honde Valley. Bri-Gen Siziba succumbed to shortness of breath at his home in Northvale, Bulawayo on 1 August.
A memorial service was held in honour of Amb Tomana at St Mathias Tsonzo High School, Mutasa district in Manicaland while a funeral parade was held in honour of Brig-Gen Siziba (Rtd) at the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) Ntabazinduna Training Depot, Matabeleland North.
After the burial of the two national heroes today, proceedings will then turn to the main Heroes Day commemorations. This year’s commemorations are being held under the theme:
“Remembering our heroes — Ilizwe lakhiwa ngabaninilo/ Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo.”
The commemorations will be held at district and provincial level across the country while the main commemorations will be in Harare where President will lead the proceedings.
This is the time when the nation pays homage to the country’s heroes and heroines who paid with their lives to liberate the country. It is that time of the year when citizens reflect on the country’s achievements and failures since Independence in 1980. One of the biggest achievements that we look back with pride is the successful implementation of the land reform programme. More than 300 000 families are now owners of land in areas that include what used to be a preserve of the white commercial farmers.
Most Zimbabweans before independence were confined to barren land while white commercial farmers occupied prime farming areas in different parts of the country.
The skewed land ownership was one of the major grievances that drove Zimbabweans to take up arms to fight the settler regime.
The Government soon after independence embarked on a programme to resettle thousands of landless Zimbabweans but the process was moving at a snail’s pace due to resistance from white farmers.
In 2 000 the landless Zimbabweans invaded farms owned by white commercial farmers to protest against the slow pace at which they were being resettled thereby prompting Government to embark on a fast track land resettlement programme.
This has seen about 300 000 families being resettled throughout the country and what is encouraging is that most of these farmers have demonstrated that they have the capacity to fully utilise the land.
The gallant sons and daughters who sacrificed with their lives to get the land back to its rightful owners, should be smiling in their graves now that the country is producing enough food for its consumption.
Last year the country for the first time in its history, harvested enough wheat to meet its annual consumption. This year’s Heroes Day commemorations are unique in that they are coming just before the harmonised general elections to be held on August 23.
We are being asked as citizens not to betray the gallant sons and daughters who sacrificed their lives by voting wisely.
It is not a secret that the ruling party Zanu-PF liberated this country and it is the party that corrected the skewed land ownership which was the major grievance of the freedom fighters.
We, therefore, have an obligation as citizens to jealously guard the freedom we are enjoying which we should not take for granted.
Those who colonised us yesterday are still fighting us economically hence the illegal sanctions imposed on the country for embarking on the land reform programme. These are the same detractors causing divisions hence the need for Zimbabweans to remain united as we build the Zimbabwe we all want.
Online Reporter