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Innocent Mujeri
Correspondent
The Government recently declared that Mt Darwin, which is around 260 kilometres outside Harare, will host this year’s 43rd Independence Day celebrations.
The declaration by Government was a lasting symbol of new beginnings and a new Zimbabwe under the Second Republic, not just a break with the past.
In keeping with President Mnangagwa’s campaign promise to leave no one and no place behind, the main independence celebrations are being held outside Harare for the second time since 1980.
In line with the Government’s devolution strategy, Zimbabwe celebrated its 42nd Independence Day at Barbourfields Stadium in Bulawayo, the country’s second largest city.
As we are about to commemorate this year’s Independence Day, every Zimbabwean should know that there have been many beautiful things that have come to symbolise the nation’s new leadership, even though the term “New Dispensation” has been contentious to the always sceptic.
Attempts have been made to draw parallels between the previous and current leadership, often in a spirited and odd way.
It was so because the world found it difficult to comprehend that Zimbabwe had undergone seismic leadership transformation in November 2017.
That surprisingly contagious viewpoint was influenced by a wide range of factors, one being that previously, our politics had a reputation of being stuck in the past and refusing to transform.
Since assuming power in 2017, President Mnangagwa has given the entire globe a unique insight on the New Dispensation.
President Mnangagwa has been steadily eschewing “tradition” in favour of a novel strategy since assuming office.
The decentralisation of national events is a testimony that President Mnangagwa’s administration is breaking from tradition and wants to have every Zimbabwean included in national development.
The decentralisation of Government activities demonstrates President Mnangagwa’s genuine consideration of the devolution concept.
The decision to hold this year’s independence celebrations outside Harare shows that the new administration’s efforts to promote decentralisation are on the right track.
It is well known that President Mnangagwa’s administration has been aggressively pushing a devolution agenda in an effort to decentralise economic activities across the country.
The administration of President Mnangagwa has intensified its efforts to transform previously underprivileged places into prosperous ones that can financially support the development of the nation. This is being done in accordance with the devolution programme and Vision 2030.
As a result of the on-going devolution process and the national master plan, previously marginalised areas are being given due importance in national developmental programmes.
Kanyemba District in Mashonaland Central, for instance, is undergoing a rapid transition in order to realise the President’s vision of “leaving no one and no place behind” and is located where Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Mozambique converge.
Under the direction of President Mnangagwa, the Government and private businesses are making a beeline for formerly marginalised communities, offering and executing development initiatives in line with the devolution programme.
As Zimbabweans are preparing to converge at Pfura Stadium in Mt Darwin for the Independence Day celebrations, they should celebrate it while possessed with the spirit of patriotism.
Zimbabweans should be aware that patriotism is not raising your country for your lust, but it is overcoming all greed and giving your all for the honour and unity of your country.
They should also know that patriotism is not finding heaven in the land, but creating heaven on it by protecting it from the evils and if required, achieve heroism by self-sacrifice. The country where we are born is our birthplace.
Mother and motherland are revered and respected. It is from its pride that the pride of all the countrymen comes. Hence, it is our responsibility to safeguard its dignity and pride. Thus, on this year’s Independence Day, Zimbabweans should know that patriotism is superior to all devotions and deeds as it is the spirit of reverence that should be celebrated.
Zimbabweans should again know that Independence Day is a patriotic festival where the sacrifice of every Zimbabwean who fought for the identity of the country, is respected and acknowledged.
Independence Day serves as a reflection of all the events of victory of this tremendously diverse nation. The Independence Day holds national pride and honour in the heart of every Zimbabwean citizen living in Zimbabwe and abroad as on this day, the nation secured full autonomy from the British Empire.
It is the day that, as a country, we express gratitude to our forefathers who sacrificed their lives for the liberation of this country.
The 43rd Independence Day is a unique one as it is being celebrated in a district and province that still has visible scars of the liberation struggle.
It is in Mt Darwin where more than 2 000 bodies were exhumed from Chibondo mining area where freedom fighters were buried dead or alive before the shafts were sealed and hidden from the eyes of many.
More remains still lie in the shafts. Thus, this year’s Independence Day celebration in Mt Darwin will give the community and the nation at large the opportunity to know more about the colonial system and Ian Smith’s brutality as evidenced by the Chibondo mass graves.
Let us all get ready to descend on Mt Darwin and celebrate this year’s Independence Day with style!
Online Reporter