Matobo national Independence Day celebrations huge honour for Father Zimbabwe

THE hosting of this year’s national Independence Day celebrations in Maphisa, Matobo District, in Matabeleland South Province this coming weekend is a huge honour and tribute to the legacy of the late national hero and Vice-President, Dr Joshua Mqabuko Nyongolo Nkomo, who was affectionately known as Father Zimbabwe.

The revered late nationalist, Dr Nkomo, who was born and grew up at St Joseph’s in Matobo District, is strongly remembered for his fearless and principled stand against imperialism, selfless sacrifice and unity, being among the pioneers of anti-settler regime uprisings that inspired the liberation struggle culminating in independence on 18 April 1980.

In an interview ahead of the biggest event slated for Saturday, Matabeleland South’s Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Cde Albert Nguluvhe, said the venue for the 46th Uhuru celebrations was more befitting.

He recalled how, when Government advised that the province would be the host of the celebrations this year, a committee set out to evaluate possible venues and settled for Matobo due to its connection to Dr Nkomo.

“Every one of the seven districts was interested, but Matobo came up as ideal after evaluations,” Minister Nguluvhe said.

“We wanted to recognise Father Zimbabwe’s contributions to the country’s liberation and unity.”
The Minister emphasised that hosting the celebrations in Matobo is a great honour that reflects Dr Nkomo’s bigger vision of a united Zimbabwe and development.

He said in line with how the late nationalist viewed Zimbabwe, the Second Republic has spread legacy projects, which are being implemented across the province.

These include high-impact infrastructure development, road construction, building of a new stadium in Maphisa, dozens of houses, a culture village, boosting internet connectivity, extending radio and television coverage, a vocational training centre, civil registry offices, piped water schemes, heritage monuments and village business units, among other community initiatives.

“To us, as Matabeleland South, we never expected that as a province, we would be allowed to host national Independence Day celebrations.

“True to his (President Mnangagwa) mantra, we were told that we are hosting the celebrations this year,” said Minister Nguluvhe.

“So, as a province, we then sat down as the leadership to decide on the venue and we settled for Matobo District, the home of the late Father Zimbabwe, a nationalist and then Vice- President.

“We are ready to host the event. However, in hosting the national events, a lot has to be done, and we were tasked to carry out legacy projects in the build-up to independence.”

Minister Nguluvhe said the committee’s approach was that not only Matobo would host the national celebration, but the province as a whole, hence they decided to spread the legacy projects across the seven districts, which include Gwanda, Beitbridge, Insiza, Umzingwane, Mangwe, Bulilima and Matobo.

Under this drive, the Government is building 40 science laboratories across the province, which are at wall plate level and will be equipped when civil work is complete later this year.

Other projects include road construction – key among them being the Bulawayo to Maphisa, Maphisa to Brunaburg and Gwanda to Maphisa stretch, among others, which had been on the card for years, schools, internet connectivity, borehole drilling in each of the 12 constituencies in the province, and civil registry offices construction in Filabusi, which is now 98 percent complete, the 16 civil servants garden flats in Beitbridge whose phase 1 is complete and left with electrification.

“We have managed to make the Gwanda to Maphisa Road accessible, cutting the travelling distance for people from many districts in our province to Maphisa,” said the minister.

“This project will be completed soon. In addition, in the home district of Father Zimbabwe, we had Kezi Hospital, which was outstanding and it is almost complete. We have also renovated Maphisa District Hospital and expanded an aerodrome to 1,5km at Kezi to carry small planes. We have also worked on a school of nursing at Maphisa, and the Dr Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo vocational training centre, which will be ready by September,” he added.

“We are also monumentalising the site where Commander Mpini was killed with his troops and some children, where we have already built a clinic, a standard stadium at Maphisa with an improved drainage system, a new culture village, the construction of Mahetshe Primary and Mahetshe Secondary Schools.”

Working closely with other partner organisations, the Government was setting up a piped water scheme for 100 homesteads in Father Zimbabwe’s home village.

He said they were also building a big house at his homestead to be used as a museum.
Having worked closely with Dr Nkomo in the period pre- and post-independence, Minister Nguluvhe said he learned a lot from him, which has contributed a lot to how he conducts business in the province.

“I wish Father Zimbabwe could wake up today and realise that the people of Zimbabwe, when they called him Father Zimbabwe, they meant it,” he said.

“As an honour, it is something which everyone feels proud of. As someone who has worked closely with him, I am happy to say that whatever I am doing today, I am doing it because I had to learn from him how he looked at Zimbabwe.

“To him, Zimbabwe was one; there was no tribe. He believed that we were one people born in one big house built of stones, that is, Zimbabwe. I am happy that we have honoured him and the greatest honour we can give him is that we remain united, focused and we develop this country,” said Cde Nguluvhe.