ON Sunday April 18, as we celebrate our 41 years of independence, it is worthwhile to review how qualities we inherited from our struggle to attain that freedom have helped shape our destiny.

Like last year, there won’t be any pomp and fanfare because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

At least for one more year, we have to forgo the usual public gatherings in order to contain this virus that has claimed the lives of hundreds of our loved ones.

To get to the age of 41 has not been easy.

We have faced many hurdles since the dismantling of colonial rule and everything this entailed since April 18 1980.

But one thing for certain is, it has not been all doom and gloom.

Right now we are battling the COVID-19 menace as the latest challenge.

However, a key element which enabled us to win our hard-won independence was visionary leadership.

It is this very visionary leadership, which, we believe, is going to see us out of this COVID-19 pandemic.

The speed with which preventive measures were enforced and the early rollout of the vaccination programme have saved many lives.

But just like in the days of the liberation struggle, there were some nihilists bent on swimming against the tide.

They did not succeed, as more and more people have found out that the anti-vaccination campaign had no basis.

Visionary leadership has also seen the remarkable transformation  of our economy, with the Zim-dollar firming against other currencies.

This has seen prices of goods and services stabilising.

But it was a mammoth task to win the day against sharks determined to see the black market flourish.

Over the years and going forward, the economy has grown in various other sectors like agriculture, mining and tourism.

With devolution, this economic growth is covering every corner of the country.

Thus, this year’s independence theme: ‘Together, Growing our Economy for Prosperous, Resilient and Inclusive Society’ is appropriate. 

We did not get our independence on a silver platter as a lot of blood was shed.

Thousands lost their lives and so many were maimed.

Intimidation by the settler-regime saw many blacks being tortured in a desperate attempt to force the ‘povo’ to dissociate themselves from freedom fighters. However, indigenes remained resolute, resilient and united in their determination to free their country from colonial bondage.

These attributes remained part of the ethos of Zimbabweans in an independent country.

We have had natural disasters like cyclone-induced floods, droughts and epidemics, but we have soldiered on.

And there are also man-made disasters like economic sanctions, specifically imposed to make our ‘economy scream’.

These illegal sanctions were imposed by cousins of our colonisers, with the aim of making Zimbabweans dissociate themselves from ZANU PF.

This is the the liberation party they hate with passion because of its pro-people policies.

Like what happened during the liberation war, they have again failed to separate the people from the revolutionary party.

Indeed, the unity and resilience of Zimbabweans have baffled the Western world.

Successive general elections, since independence, have seen ZANU PF romp to victory, leaving Western proxies well beaten.

Thus, as we celebrate our independence, we should realise the legacy of the liberation struggle lives on.

With visionary leadership, unity and resilience, we are going to be  our own economic liberators with an upper-middle income economy by 2030, with or without sanctions.

That we are celebrating behind closed doors should not in any way dampen our spirits.