Independence in the air as Maphisa moves from quiet district to centre stage

THOUSANDS of delegates had by yesterday started making their way to Maphisa for the national 46th Independence Day celebrations to be hosted by Matabeleland South Province for the first time on Saturday.

Over 50,000 people from all walks of life, including foreign dignitaries and members of the diplomatic community, are expected to grace the event that will be presided over by President Mnangagwa.

Judging by the excitement among hundreds of Maphisa residents and villagers from surrounding areas, who trickled into Maphisa Stadium to watch rehearsal displays by teams from the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP), Air Force of Zimbabwe and school children, energetic performances will be one of the draw cards of the event.

Paratroopers from the Air Force of Zimbabwe glided from a plane and descended hundreds of metres in the air before landing on the Maphisa Stadium pitch.

Almost everyone with a smartphone pulled out their device from their pockets and purses to record the breathtaking displays. Members of ZRP also wooed the crowd with motorcycle rides through metal rings set on fire and dog displays.

School children were also at the main venue rehearsing for the acts that they will perform tomorrow.
In addition to the massive crowds that will converge at the main arena for the festivities, vehicular traffic that has not been in Maphisa is expected to descend in large volumes.

The Government has urged drivers of public transportation and private vehicles, especially from the eastern provinces, to avoid using the Bulawayo-Maphisa route to avoid delays and traffic congestion.

“All the country’s 10 provinces will each have thousands of people attending the Independence Day celebrations and access to Maphisa is via two major arteries, which are either via Gwanda or Bulawayo,” Local Government and Public Works Minister, Daniel Garwe, told Zimpapers in an interview on the sidelines of a final inspection of facilities ahead of the Independence Day.

“We are encouraging people who are coming from Masvingo, Manicaland and all the Mashonaland provinces to use the Gwanda-Maphisa Road, which will ease pressure on the Bulawayo-Maphisa Road.

“Both the roads that lead to Maphisa from the different directions that people will be coming from are ready for the thousands of vehicles that will be headed to the event.”

As of yesterday morning, some delegates were already making their way to Maphisa and as the day progressed, scores of buses carrying school children from as far as Shurugwi, Plumtree, Hurungwe and other places.

Over 3,000 children from across the country are expected to attend this year’s annual Pre-Independence Children’s Party, which will be held at Mahetshe Primary School.
According to Primary and Secondary Education Minister Torerayi Moyo, each of the country’s 10 provinces will contribute 50 learners, bringing a total of 500 participants.

“In addition to that, we expect 2,000 students from Matabeleland South to attend, bringing the figure to 2,500.
“Furthermore, we expect learners who will participate in mass displays and exhibitions to be 550 and all these will also come from the host province. All in all, we will have 3,050 children attending this year’s party,” said Minister Moyo.

The large number of people expected for the annual celebrations has prompted Government to put in place an emergency services mechanism to assist in the event of accidents and other unforeseen incidents, said Minister Garwe.

“From a Civil Protection Department perspective, we have come up with a national emergency response plan in the event of road accidents or any disasters that might occur.

“Ambulances will be positioned 50 kilometres apart along each of the two main roads that lead to Maphisa from Bulawayo and Gwanda to ensure that emergency services personnel are on standby to attend to accidents and ferry the injured to the nearest hospitals.

“Equipment to move vehicles that are stuck on roads leading to Maphisa will also be on standby to enable a free flow of traffic,” said Minister Garwe.

HeliZim Drive, the local Government-supported air rescue service, has also been deployed for the event.
“Here at the venue, we will position five fire tenders and a few more on roads leading to Maphisa,” said the minister.
Turning to the state of preparedness for the Uhuru celebrations, Minister Garwe said all the facilities are ready.

“In terms of the state of preparedness, we are 99 percent ready with the smallest fraction that is outstanding, just cleaning up and clearing debris and putting it away where it’s supposed to go,” he said.

“The stadium is ready, as everyone can see, the terraces have been completed as well as the pitch. Maphisa Stadium is a state-of-the-art facility with a modern drainage system, so even in the event that it rains heavily, we will not have issues of a waterlogged pitch like what happened last year in Nembudziya, Gokwe.”

“The changing rooms for the players that will entertain the crowds in a football match are ready.
“In terms of the two schools — Mahetshe Primary and Mahetshe Secondary that were rehabilitated ahead of the Independence Day celebrations, everything is in order to host the Children’s Party that will be attended by the First Family tomorrow (today).”

Minister Garwe said the local hospital, which underwent extensive renovation work together with the aerodrome are 100 percent complete.

This year’s celebrations, to be held under the theme “Zim@46 — Unity and Development Towards Vision 2030,” are expected to draw thousands of people, with organisers racing against time to ensure a flawless national event.