By Golden Guvamatanga
LIFE begins at 40, so goes the saying, but for Zimbabwe, life began when the brave men and women took up arms to unshackle the chains of colonialism.
So successful was the struggle for liberation that since April 18 1980, Zimbabwe has been fending off the never ending, puerile attempts by the West to re-colonise us.
This has become an everyday battle which found takers through an opposition that is bent on aiding and abetting the enemy’s insanity.
In the MDC Alliance we have had the misfortune, as a country, to be blighted by an entity that has yet to understand what freedom is and, with it, what it entails.
They have been tutored by their Western handlers to create a counter liberation struggle narrative through what they say is ‘a struggle for democracy’.
That is hollow and shallow.
That does not mean we let them off the hook.
We cannot do that because of the agony of where we came from and the glitter of where we are going.
This country cannot be sold for a few pieces of silver by a hopelessly out-of-sorts grouping that does not appreciate the beauty of freedom and independence, ownership of land resources and the eternal glow of economic empowerment.
We find their politics antagonising, devoid of sense and substance as well as being anti-people for a reason.
They are against the majority.
Yet the majority are in sync with our history.
They walk the same lane with the country’s aspirations.
And they are guided by what defines and drives this great nation.
This is why we also take exception with the rather bizarre conduct of the enemy.
The enemy has not relented on its objective of making Zimbabwe its colony again.
But in Zimbabwe, they have found a stern, studious and steadfast people who are ready to defend their land at all costs.
They have found a people who have embraced the revolutionary Land Reform and Resettlement Programme, itself the cause of the hostilities.
The West resent the country’s Land Reform and Resettlement Programme.
They resent our liberation struggle.
They resent our exploits in the DRC.
They resent the black farmers who have managed to sell more than 200 million kilogrammes of tobacco since 2000.
They resent ZANU PF’s stance on matters of principle and sovereignty.
But we are a country that has pounded the asphalt with aplomb.
And that is the tarmac that will lead to unprecedented success because we are Zimbabwe, the land of blood and sweat.
Tomorrow we enter into a new phase in what has been a journey of empowerment and prosperity.
We march towards a phase of restructuring our economy that has been battered by the arrogant West’s illegal economic sanctions.
Heartening is the compelling fact that those sanctions have failed to destroy this country.
Not even the devastating effects of COVID-19, the pandemic that is threatening the existence of mankind across the globe, has put a damper on our 40th anniversary.
From the late President Robert Mugabe to President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Zimbabwe has been steadfast on preserving the legacy of the liberation struggle and empowering its citizens.
Below we give quotable quotes on Zimbabwe’s independence:
“I could go into the whole theories of discrimination in legislation, in residency, in economic opportunities, in education. I could go into that, but I will restrict myself to the question of land because I think this is very basic. To us, the essence of exploitation, the essence of white domination, is domination over land. That is the real issue.” — Herbert Chitepo, Chairman of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), in his speech during a trip to Australia in 1973.
“We do not want to create a socio-legal order in the country in which people are petrified, in which people go to bed having barricaded their doors and their windows because someone belonging to the special branch of the police will break into their houses…. This is what we have been fighting against…This is why we are in this revolution for as long as it is necessary, to abolish this system.” — Edson Zvobgo, founding member of ZANU Patriotic Front.
“What some of us are fighting for is to see that this oppressive system is crushed. We don’t care whether, I don’t even care whether I will be part of the top echelon in the ruling, I’m not worried but I’m dying to see a change in the system, that’s all, that’s all. I would like to see the young people enjoying together, black, white, enjoying together. In a new Zimbabwe, that’s all….” — Josiah Magama Tongogara, Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) commander.
“Democracy is… and should remain disciplined rule requiring compliance with the law and social rules. Our independence must thus not be construed as an instrument vesting individuals or groups with the right to harass and intimidate others into acting against their will. It is not the right to negate the freedom of others to think and act, as they desire.” — President Robert Mugabe on April 17 1980.
“We now want Zimbabwe to catch up with the rest of the countries in the region and across the world. We have declared Zimbabwe open for business across the board. Let me assure you that Zimbabwe is not the same and will never be the same again. We have an obligation to look after our people. If you want to go out, it must not be because home is bad but it’s a matter of choice.” — President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Let those with ears listen.