By Tawanda Chenana

WE, in the village, are so besotted, forgive us, with the idea of the people, not individuals but the people.

Maybe it is the history of the pungwes in the villages that drilled into us the importance of the community, as a whole.

The objectives of the liberation struggle were to empower the people of Zimbabwe by, among other things, giving them land and allowing them to participate in the mainstream economy not only by being workers but by owning companies.

Through the Land Reform and Resettlement Programme, more than 400 000 families got land.

Currently, the Government has come up and implemented numerous policies designed to make Zimbabweans thrive.

The National Development Strategy 1 (NDS 1) Performance Report for the fourth quarter of 2022 recently adopted indicates that the Government exceeded the set economic development targets which keeps us on track to achieving an upper-middle income economy by 2030.

Clearly, Zimbabwe is on the brink of a break-through spurred by a growing demand for minerals like lithium, among others.

The revival of our economy, led by vene venyika, will undoubtedly catapult our nation to dizzy heights as a regional and continental economic powerhouse,

We are a blessed nation with a leadership going out of its way to ensure our country is fully functional.

And it is time we stop being petty, especially in our politics. 

All of us must play a part to support the ongoing revival efforts.

Our leadership has shown and proved that it means business by delivering on its promises.

And again I implore that we, in the village, be not left behind.

Gone are the days of crying foul and perpetual lamentation — we all must sing from the same page.

The people of Zimbabwe will not be perpetual workers in their country, that has been made crystal clear.

Every programme and policy must be rooted in the struggle to make Zimbabweans enjoy both political and economic freedom, to be masters of their own destiny.

The objectives of the liberation struggle are being fulfilled.

However, the important question that begs is: Do Zimbabweans fully understand our national interests? 

If the answer is yes, then there is no problem in understanding what the philosophy of Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo/Ilizwe liyakhwa ngabanikazi underscores. 

If we believe that we are a free people whose allegiance is only to God and know no other authority except Zimbabwe, then we must rally behind the Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo/Ilizwe liyakhwa ngabanikazi philosophy.

There is no confusion as to where we are heading; this is a criteria set by Zimbabweans articulating the people’s values and beliefs. 

Freedom from foreign domination and a sovereign nation whose territorial integrity and national interests that cannot be compromised is the definition of Zimbabwe. 

Let us all follow the template put in place by our leaders.

Let us not entrust our future to persons who do not subscribe to our national values, traditions and beliefs. 

We are a people together and anyone who aspires to be for the people must be an ardent enforcer of all national aspirations.

Let us be consistent with the principles of unity, peace and development.

Colonial education taught us that Africans did not have any history and they did not contribute to the great ancient civilisations of the world.

We believed these blatant and absurd lies told us by European historians, anthropologists and scientists. 

Based on such erroneous assumptions, it was generally accepted that white colonial history was the main field worthy of study while African history did not exist.

We must capture the truth of what we have lost through colonisation and restore the historical consciousness and heritage of our African identity.

We all must realise today that our efforts are for posterity and not personal expediency.

As we deliberate community, district and national issues, it is imperative that we be guided by events that have shaped us as a nation.

There are even some among us who are opposed to the idea that blacks should be the owners of their own resources.

Colonialists seem to be wearing black faces in their bid to thwart the objectives of the liberation struggle.

Zimbabwe is our home.

Its resources belong to us.

We need to protect these resources.

We need to be imbued with nationalism to chart our way forward.

Zimbabweans need to be wary of new threats of neo-colonialism.

We need to be wary of rampant propping up of anti-nationalist movements and coalitions whose objective is to bring back our former colonisers.