By Byron Mutingwende
On the occasion of this year’s edition of the Heroes’ Day, President Emmerson Mnangagwa projected a futuristic relevance of this commemoration. In his submission, he located the idea of the new dispensation in the essence of remembering Zimbabwe’s heroes and how the committed sacrifice to independence must translate to the enhancement of the national project.
Core to this perspective, President Mnangagwa indicated that the goals of the liberation struggle must be preserved.
“We have to be united in purpose, always patriotic and should always call for peace and tranquility, as we seek to modernise and industrialise our economy in line with our national vision: to become a middle class economy with increased investments, decent jobs, broad-based empowerment, free from poverty and corruption, by 2030,” President Mnagagwa said.
He said it is mandatory for all Zimbabweans to strive for unity of purpose in creating economic growth and social cohesion.
“It is our collective responsibility to achieve this vision by growing the economy together, creating employment for the majority of our populace and improving the standard of living of all our people”
The President-elect said, “I urge all of us to strive to build a Zimbabwe where everyone is accommodated, has a sense of belonging and feels safe and secure, irrespective of creed, tribe, race, religion or social standing. We are all Zimbabweans, united by our national flag and national anthem.”
In the same vein, the President indicated that the future is dependent on strategic utilisation of natural resources.
“Equally, I further exhort us to exploit the rich mineral endowment in our country, some of which remains unexplored and unexploited.”
On other note, President Mnangagwa indicated the need for Zimbabweans to re-imagine the scope of heroes and heroines since other sectors of economic growth like agriculture, mining, tourism, manufacturing, technology and cultural heritage and the arts need ground-breaking innovations to complement the economy.
Speaking on the sidelines of the celebrations, Minister Christopher Mushohwe underscored the need to focus on the economy.
“Our mantra should be redirected to economic revival. With our God-given natural resources, Zimbabwe can only be the jewel of Africa. We have the best human capital on the continent and the country is home to most of the minerals in the world,” Minister Mushohwe said.
Minister Supa Mandiwanzira weighed in by rallying everyone to fight for peace, justice and sovereign rights to the land and natural resources.
Betty Nhambu-Kaseke, the former Member of the National Assembly for Kuwadzana said it is important to celebrate the Heroes’ Day to honour those who fought for the freedom of this nation.
“The heroes and heroines have done great work by sacrificing their lives for our good. As young women we respect and honour this day because back then we were not recognised. We now have women in politics, business and mining. We are pushing towards the 50-50 representation.
“I was given the chance to stand as a Member of Parliament, representing the girl child and all women of this country. Even though the outcome of the election was not in my favour, I will continue with development in Kuwadzana constituency through my foundation, which is a non-profit organisation. We should realise that we can not be all Members of Parliament but we have other roles that we can play in order to spur economic growth. I urge all the other MPs who did not make it not to lose focus but continue with development in their respective areas,” Hon Nhambu-Kaseke said.
She said her foundation has the mandate to assist the less privileged in the community and to uplift the livelihoods of women and girls.
“We have started women’s clubs and businesses. We also have partners across the world . So far we have signed MOUs with some Chinese who want to assist us not only in Kuwadzana but to reach out to all HIV positive people countrywide.
“I am also willing to continue working for the party at a higher level to help other women in other areas since we now have a women’s bank that will give women access to capital. There is also a youth fund and we need to prioritise the girl child for funding,” she added.
