COMMENT: Zimbabwe has refused to fall

When the Covid-19 pandemic claimed its first victim in the country, about a year ago, there was a belief in some quarters that this was the end of Zimbabwe.

There was a strong belief that President Mnangagwa and his Government would be found wanting and thousands of lives would be lost.

Since then, two Covid-19 waves have hit the country but the health sector did not collapse. There were no mass graves or bodies lying around the streets. Zimbabwe did not make international headlines for all the wrong reasons.

In fact, Zimbabwe turned out to be a Covid-19 success story and slowly but surely, the economy is finding its feet again as life goes back to normal.

Huge strides have been made by the President and his team towards defeating Covid-19 once and for all by achieving national herd immunity.

One such stride is the vaccination of the entire population of the country’s youngest city, Victoria Falls, which is ongoing.

This move will allow the tourism sector to get ready to function fully once tourist arrivals reach yesteryear peaks.

President Mnangagwa on Wednesday received his first Covid-19 jab alongside Cabinet Ministers and 16 other political party leaders at Victoria Falls Hospital where he also officially launched the second phase of the national mass vaccination programme.

The national launch was historic not only in being held in the resort town of Victoria Falls, the country’s prime tourism destination, but also in the attendance of other political party leaders, who were vaccinated.

Following the successful rollout of the initial vaccination phase, which targeted frontline workers, President Mnangagwa’s Government has procured 1,2 million doses of vaccines from China whose initial consignment was received last Tuesday, with the remainder set for delivery early next month. China, Russia and India have also donated vaccines to complement Government efforts to save lives.

Vice-President Dr Costantino Chiwenga, who is also Health and Child Care Minister, said the massive turnout for Covid-19 vaccination in Victoria Falls has impressed the Government as the country builds the momentum towards the 60 percent herd immunity target, which will give impetus to tourism recovery.

All the cynics are now quiet. It’s almost as if they have abandoned social media platforms.

This is because the President has been and is still on top of the situation.

The few remaining cynics are now praying for a third Covid-19 wave, which they believe will reverse all the gains achieved by the President and his dedicated team.

The third wave may indeed come; no one knows for sure. However, it will also come to pass as did the first and second wave.

That is the advantage of focused leadership. A leadership that is ever ready for challenges.

And the challenges have not spared a young Second Republic. Cyclone Idai, drought and Covid-19.

Through President Mnangagwa’s astute leadership, Zimbabwe has refused to fall. Zimbabwe is still refusing to fall.

The national mass vaccination programme launched by the President in Victoria Falls on Wednesday is a giant leap towards the defeat of the greatest challenge of our time.

Eventually, all the cynics will have to admit that although Zimbabwe is named after stone monuments, her walls will not fall like that of Jericho.