Online Reporter
Mukudzei Chingwere
Senior Reporter
VICE President Constantino Chiwenga has said President Mnangagwa’s “Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo/Ilizwe lakhiwa ngabanikazi balo” mantra is the best approach for a holistic and inclusive national development strategy that leaves no one and no place behind.
The VP said development efforts by different communities and independent groups are a positive contribution to economic growth, which, when combined, can have a significant impact on the national economy.
Speaking at St Paul’s Musami, where he highlighted the long-standing role of the church in national development, VP Chiwenga traced the origins of the mantra to earlier engagements with President Mnangagwa, including a visit to Kopa-Jopa following the devastation caused by Cyclone Idai in 2019.
He praised Catholics for their efforts in mobilising resources to develop key infrastructure at Musami.
“We are all one community. I have been so moved that the St Joseph Guild and everyone has this thought, which has now deepened into our hearts that we are the only ones who can build our own church, not anyone else,” he said.
“Just like we have come and say we are the only ones who can build our own country.
“I think you know the disaster that happened in Chimanimani, then I drove through that road (Kopa-Jopa after it was constructed) and then I said, ‘we are the only people who can build this country on our own . . . now we are building.”
VP Chiwenga added that he has a strong personal connection to St Paul’s Musami, noting that his two brothers were educated there.
He also said the surrounding areas witnessed intense fighting during the liberation struggle, during which many lives were lost.
“The last born in our family, now late, was educated here. Then our first born is alive, he is now 80 years old; he got educated here at St Paul’s in 1961, 1962, 1963. So, we are so attached,” said VP Chiwenga.
