Online Reporter
ON Tuesday night, the City of Harare officially ushered in the festive season with the switching on of Christmas lights at Africa Unity Square.
The city officials also switched on Christmas lights along First Street and at Town House.
The colourful ceremony was attended by hundreds of residents from across the capital.
Mayor Jacob Mafume said the lighting of the Christmas lights marked the official start of the festive season in the capital, noting the vibrant atmosphere created by dancers, musicians and the municipal band. He said he has seen the mood among the residents of Harare and it tells him that the capital city is read for the festive season.
Christmas is around the corner.
In exactly one week from now, Zimbabwe will join a lot of countries around the world in celebrating Christmas.
The following week, on the very same day, Zimbabwe will join the rest of the world in celebrating New Year.
These are two important days on our calendar. Mayor Mafume acknowledged the challenges faced by residents, including loss and unfulfilled aspirations, but emphasised gratitude for life.
He said it has been a difficult year for the city and its residents.
He said those of us who are still alive should celebrate the greatest gift of them all – the gift of life.
He thanked the residents for turning out in large numbers despite the short notice and paid tribute to partners who supported the celebrations.
He urged residents to celebrate responsibly and peacefully during the festive season.
Mafume noted that the festive season is associated with drinking and merrymaking but it was important that people should drink responsibly and avoid violent behaviour.
That is a very important message by the mayor. We have seen, now and again, this kind of reckless behaviour when it comes to the Christmas and New Year holidays.
A lot of people tend to lose their senses and they go on drinking sprees and, along the way, they end up being involved in car accidents.
The volume of traffic, especially on our major highways, is always high during these holidays.
We understand that because a lot of Zimbabweans, who are resident in foreign countries, come home for these end-of-year holidays.
It’s an important time to be with families and many make the long trips home. This means that there is a need for extreme caution to be exercised on the roads.
Unfortunately, we have seen a number of our people who decide not to take all this into consideration.
In their drunken state, they don’t care about anyone else, not even their safety and, in many cases, not even the safety of their families who will be in their cars.
They drive like they are in the Wild West and the inevitable product of all this is a serious accident and mass casualties.
The mayor’s message is also meant for the ears of the drivers of buses and kombis, which ferry a huge chunk of our people, to their holiday destinations.
They need to heed his message as well.
