Chronicle Editor
Luckson Pasipanodya, Correspondent
INDEPENDENCE is a symbol for one’s freedom to make decisions without infringement. It also means the ability to pursue developmental initiatives based on the resources at one’s disposal and its importance in the national integrity, human dignity and development discourse of any country can never be overemphasised. It is a prerequisite.
On Monday 18 April, Zimbabweans from all walks of life will be commemorating 42 years of independence that came as a result of the liberation struggle and brought joy to the segregated and suffering black masses.
The armed struggle was fought and won to advance freedom and justice and it is in this light that the day should be divorced from party politics but should be seen as one that unites the country as it looks back through the historical view mirror and find a common way forward.
Independence itself came as a result of unity. It was after a lengthy and arduous battle against the colonial rule which was characterized by injustice and inequality that brought about freedom.
And freedom meant that black people were given the platform to explore their potential and capability to manage their national affairs towards economic, political, social and technological development.
This freedom never came as an accident. People committed themselves to it since they wanted to enjoy their rights fully in their own country without an iota of interruption whatsoever.
It was won in the battlefield after sixteen years of a bitter war that claimed sons and daughters guided by the ideals of comradeship and love for their country. Their support for the cause of freedom and justice was indeed unwavering. They accepted and endured pain, suffering and brutality.
But it was immediately after independence that the country began to pursue education, economic growth that gave birth to employment creation for its people as well as aligning its political structure to speak to the new reality.
These goals were pursued to trim down the effects of poverty brought by colonialism on the indigenous people. This package marked the sovereignty which Zimbabweans have become accustomed to.
The New Dispensation led by President E.D. Mnangagwa has fulfilled many of the goals through strategic policy crafting and implementation to ensure development.
The developmental trajectory has been spread across from dam construction to promote farming, road rehabilitation to ensure accessibility to markets and economic growth to ensure the competitiveness of the country’s produce and good life to its population.
The unity that was brought by the spirit of nationalism and that led to the collective fight in the liberation struggle by the two major liberation movements namely ZANLA and ZIPRA should guide the country as it seeks solutions to the challenges facing it and that is the basis of President Mnangagwa’s ‘nyika inovakwa nevene vayo’ (a country is developed by its own people) slogan.
It is an emphasis that through unity, no challenge is insurmountable. Development can therefore only be achieved when people pull in the same direction so that ‘no one and no place is left behind’ – another one of President Mnangagwa’s philosophical adages.
As the country celebrates Independence Day, hopes are high that the vision of President Mnangagwa’s Government of making the country an upper middle-income economy by 2030 is maturing to restore the country to its iconic status as a competitive economic hub in Southern Africa and globally.
In addition, Zimbabweans got their land back from the colonialists who had seized it through pieces of legislation such as the Land Apportionment Act of 1934.
The Government has been developing and implementing policies to enhance productivity on the land. Before the armed struggle which ushered in independence, land was a preserve for the colonialists.
Their insatiable appetite to create a mini-heaven by the white minority saw blacks being relegated to tsetse-fly infested, mountainous and low rainfall areas.
Had it not been for the armed struggle, Zimbabwe’s land redistribution exercise would have been a pie in the sky. This means that independence was indeed a blessing to the majority who had watched the colonialists enjoy themselves on the blacks’ ancestral land.
The Government is focusing on building a production-oriented economy where value addition and beneficiation are the guiding principles.
As Zimbabweans enjoy independence, development has become a feature of the independence celebrations. While independence is a time to reflect on the development so far achieved, the former colonists continue to strangle Zimbabwean’s efforts at development. They did this through the imposition of sanctions after the land reform.
Initially the impact was felt hard on the economy which was dominated by foreign companies but Zimbabwe has risen above the economic embargo through economic blueprints that speak to empowerment and development.
The people of Zimbabwe need to be aware today as in the future that their destiny is in their own independence hence it mustn’t be merely viewed as a simple historical ritual but it should foster unity and development.
Equally important, Zimbabwe’s independence means the enhancement of massive socio-techno economic transformation and development.
The wave of budding developmental strides witnessed after independence are milestones to celebrate. Had it not been for the armed struggle, the colonists would have continued privatizing for their own benefit all the country’s natural endowments.
Today, Zimbabweans are free and are busy shaping their destinies in a liberated country in spite of colonial media’s reportage of Zimbabwe as a country characterized by incurable diseases, underdevelopment, and corruption, tribal discontent, and possibly perennial droughts.
Independence should therefore strengthen national solidarity, unity and dignity of all Zimbabweans irrespective of political biases and affiliations. It is not a party event but a national event to be celebrated by all even those in prison.
Online Reporter