Chronicle Editor
Vusumuzi Dube in Bulilima
PRESIDENT Mnangagwa has sounded the alarm on the growing menace of drug and substance abuse among Zimbabwean youths, declaring that it goes against all tenets of ubuntu and is an alien practice to the country’s culture.
In a speech read on his behalf by the Minister of Defence, Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri at the Methodist-run Thekwane High School centenary celebrations yesterday, the President said with the Government launching the Multi-Sectoral Action Plan on drug and substance abuse there was now a need for action.
The President emphasised the need for collective action in the fight against the moral fibre-thinning scourge, calling on the church, key stakeholders, and the community to join forces in supporting the Government’s efforts to eradicate drug and substance abuse and protect the well-being and future of the country’s young people.
“My Government launched the Multi-Sectoral Action Plan to guide our actions in combating drug and substance abuse for the period 2024 to 2030. It is now time for tangible results and I urge the Church and other key stakeholders to partner with my Government in implementing the action plan to eradicate the menace.
“To students, I say no to Drug and Substance Abuse. Our Ubuntu/Hunhu is not associated with drug and substance abuse, a drug culture is alien to us as Zimbabweans. A drug-free nation begins with me, it begins with you and it begins with all of us,” said the President.
His remarks come as Zimbabwe grapples with an escalating drug menace, with many young lives already lost to addiction and related social ills.
He challenged the church to continue preaching unity, peace, love, and harmony, while also urging society to reject societal ills such as drug and substance abuse, gender-based violence, bullying, corruption, and child marriages.
President Mnangagwa reiterated the Second Republic’s support to the education sector, saying the Government will continue to promote initiatives that encourage the establishment of School-Based Business Units to foster entrepreneurship and self-sufficiency in schools around the country.
“The Heritage-Based Education curriculum adopted by my Government is premised on having an education sector which contributes to the production of goods and services in our economy, by inculcating problem-solving mindset, science and technology, creativity and entrepreneurship.
“Moreso my administration pioneered the implementation of Chapter 14 of our Constitution on devolution and decentralisation, the initiatives include availing devolution funds to empower communities to invest in infrastructure development projects based on their needs and aspirations,” said President Mnangagwa.
“Funded projects under devolution and decentralisation programme include construction of schools, health centres and roads among others. In addition, we have on-board the OPEC Fund which is earmarked to construct 50 schools, ten of which will be boarding schools across the country.”
Turning to the school’s centenary celebrations, President Mnangagwa commended the Methodist Church of Zimbabwe for the strides it has made in promoting education in the country.
He noted that Thekwane drew students from all over the country and was a cosmopolitan community from the start, with students from all tribes in the country and the region.
“My Government under the Second Republic expanded the church’s ability to advance our citizens’ spiritual and socio-economic development. My administration recognises the church’s role in strengthening families, communities, and the nation as a whole.
“We applaud the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe in particular, for establishing schools and hospitals and empowering its members across the country, which aligns with my Government’s developmental thrust of leaving no one and no community behind.
With your support, we are already living into Vision 2030, of attaining an empowered and prosperous upper-middle-income society, as espoused by the National Development Strategy 1,” said the President.
He further noted that the school imprinted an indelible mark on the annals of the country’s liberation struggle history.
The school’s location near the Botswana border, said the President, served as a springboard for ZIPRA forces recruits who crossed into Botswana on their way to Zambia for military training.
“In 1971 students from the senior classes were arrested for demonstrating against the colonial machinations during the Lord Goodman’s talks. In 1978, all of the students (nearly 400 boys and girls) crossed to Botswana at night to join the liberation struggle.
“After negotiations with Botswana officials, the students were returned to Zimbabwe; however, a few chose to stay in Botswana. A number were incarcerated when they were caught trying to join the liberation struggle. The mass exodus of the students led to the closure of the school in 1978 and only re-opened after independence.
When the exiles returned, the Patriotic Front utilised the school as a holding facility for students until they could be transferred to other schools within the country,” said the President.
He further applauded the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe for attaining autonomy from the mother church of the Methodist in the United Kingdom saying that entailed that the church had to assume the responsibility to mobilise resources to support the activities of the church in Zimbabwe.
“Such inward-looking policy is consistent with the development philosophy of the Second Republic that, nyika inovakwa, igotongwa, igonamatirwa nevene vayo/ Ilizwe lakhiwa, libuswe, lithandazelwe ngabanikazi balo,” he said.
Founded in 1924 as Tegwani Upper Primary School for boys by Mr Herbert Carter a Methodist Church Missionary, Thekwane initially enrolled four boarders and two-day pupils: Elijah Mhlanamano, Mqiqima Mangoye, Jonathan Ntaisi, Dzinqilani Malumo, Vilani Nkobi, and Kangezi Pile.
In 1934, the school admitted its first intake of 11 girls. The Famous Beit Hall was officially opened in 1958 by Vice-Admiral Sir Peverill William Polett.
The school is a Methodist Church school, situated about 13 kilometres north of Plumtree Town, in Matabeleland South Province. It is one of the earliest secondary institutions in the country.
It is situated near Thekwane River, which takes its name from the hammer-headed stork, “uthekwane”, which used to be common along its banks, and which is depicted on the school badge.
Thekwane has had a difficult recent history, having struggled to re-establish itself after the destruction inflicted during the war of liberation, against a background of financial stringencies.
Throughout this period Thekwane has remained a school of accolades in all life spheres. Accolades in quality academic practice, accolades in sports, accolades in religious undertakings — Methodism, accolades in intellectual and political cultivation of minds.
Online Reporter