PRESIDENT Mnangagwa, who spent his 78th birthday at work
yesterday, says he is a satisfied man after achieving the aspirations of his
parents who wanted him to be a lawyer and making the resolve to fight head-on
white settlers who had expropriated land and wealth from indigenous black
Zimbabweans.
The President, who was born on September 15, 1942 in
Zvishavane District, has transformed Zimbabwe in less than two years through
pragmatic policies that experts say will inevitably lead the country to become
an upper middle income economy by 2030.
In an interview with The Herald yesterday at State House,
the President paid homage to his late parents, Mr Mafidhi and Mrs Mhurai
Mnangagwa who were both politically active, for inspiring him to become the
servant leader he is today.
He said his parents bestowed on him virtues of education
and family. “I feel very happy that the Lord above, God has mercy. He
has allowed me to grow by another year, from 77 to 78.
“My parents taught me differently. My father always wanted
me to go to school, become a lawyer and reply whites in English. That is what
he wanted, because he felt that when they speak in English and had to be
translated, he did not feel confident that the translation was correct.
“So he felt that I must go to school, become a lawyer and
reply whites in English. But for my mother, she was different. She wanted me to
be a family person, be a farmer. She felt that there is nothing that keeps you
solid as a family if you have a farm, cattle, goats and chickens. I have
achieved both, for my father and mother,” the President who is both an
accomplished farmer and lawyer said.
Walking the talk while working around the clock, the
President yesterday chaired a Cabinet meeting that touched on economic
development as well as progress, which has been made under the dark clouds of
the Covid-19 pandemic. It was business as usual as the President conducted his
normal duties while at the same time being conscious of the Almighty’s grace
for the birthday milestone.
In a statement, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting
Services Minister Senator Monica Mutsvangwa, the Permanent Secretary in the
ministry Mr Nick Mangwana, management and staff, said President Mnangagwa has
inspired “all at the ministry to put Zimbabwe on the map and be the bridge
between the Government and the general citizenry”.
“President Mnangagwa’s life has been one of unwavering,
selfless dedication and humility, having taken up arms at a tender age to fight
the unjust colonial system. By this act of self-sacrifice, he was not spared
the pain and suffering that were the hallmark of every facet of the armed
struggle that shaped our road to Independence and sovereignty. He went through
capture, incarceration, life in prison, death row, and had a lucky escape from
the hanging noose of the colonial settler regime” Minister Mutsvangwa said.
She said President Mnangagwa, after Independence,
“continued on as a dedicated son of the soil and has spent each year working
for a better
Zimbabwe”.
The Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, Dr
Misheck Sibanda, his deputies, senior management and staff in the Office of the
President and Cabinet said they are honoured to work under the servant
leadership of President Mnangagwa.
“We note with satisfaction that through His Excellency’s
wise stewardship of the Second Republic, our beloved nation continues to scale
new heights in entrenching unity, peace and stability, thus paving the way for
accelerated socio-economic development under the Transitional Stabilisation
Programme.
“Equally inspiring is the wisdom which the President has
demonstrated in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak, steering the nation away
from a catastrophe through robust and judicious deployment of human, material,
and financial resources. The nation can now look ahead with renewed hope to the
finalisation and launch of the National Development Strategy, the
implementation of which the Office of the President and Cabinet will spearhead
towards the attainment of Vision 2030 for a prosperous and knowledge-driven
Upper Middle Income society.
“Once again, the entire staff of the Office of the
President and Cabinet would like to assure His Excellency the President of its
total commitment to effective service delivery as we guide and lead the policy
formulation and implementation process of the Whole of Government Concept for
the ultimate good and prosperity of all Zimbabweans,” reads the statement.
Zanu PF Secretary for Administration Dr Obert Mpofu said
President Mnangagwa has imprinted indelible marks of delivering justice, unity
and equality for all Zimbabweans.
“Zanu PF wishes to convey its profound delight in His
Excellency and the First Secretary of the revolutionary party for yet another
anniversary of his long-lived commitment to the freedom of Zimbabwe.”
Dr Mpofu further said since his formative induction to
leadership through the armed struggle at a tender age, the President forwent
the treasonous risk of confronting the colonial regime in the pursuit of our
independence.
The footsteps of his leadership path, Dr Mpofu said,
underscores the creed of the country’s decolonisation triumph. He described
President Mnangagwa as the founding father of the New Dispensation
“Your Excellency, through this life anniversary, as ZANU PF
we join the rest of the nation in commemorating the divine validation of your
vocation. We also cherish your consistent ideological leaning to the
decolonisation agenda and your meticulous reinvention of our liberation legacy
as the Founding Father of the New Dispensation. Under the Second-Republic, we
enjoy the tide of peace and reconciliation in our nation. However, through your
leadership, we are confident in the wide prospects of national unity and
cross-cutting solidarities of our people which transcend our artificial binary
divides of race, ethnicity, gender and partisan affiliations,” he said.
“Without doubt, your inaugural electoral endorsement as the
President of the Republic of Zimbabwe in 2018 has reasserted the magnitude of
your popularity. You remain a symbol of
broad-based aspirations of the divergent sections of our citizenry. To this
end, we are confident that under your leadership Zimbabwe will be ushered to a
future of endless prosperity,” Cde Mpofu said.
The revolutionary party’s National Secretary for Women
Affairs Cde Mabel Chinomona said President’s Mnangagwa’s life serves as an
insignia of not only political democratisation, but also epitomises the
mainstreaming of the gender equality which exists in the country
“The Zanu PF Women’s League joins the nation in celebrating
this important and special day, September 15, 2020, as we celebrate the birth
of a nationalist figurehead of our nation and a decorated luminary of our
struggle for Zimbabwe and First Secretary of Zanu PF, Dr Emmerson Dambudzo
Mnangagwa.
“As the Women’s League, we take pride in your footprints of
unwavering loyalty to the decolonisation agenda as well as the post-colonial
reconfiguration of our permanent national interests and the ideological
integrity of our revolutionary Party, Zanu PF.
“Your Excellency, your life serves as an insignia of not
only political democratisation, but it also epitomises the mainstreaming of the
gender equality that we are enjoying as a modern, independent and democratic
African state. Your ascendancy to the Presidency has widened the vistas of
de-patriachising our politics, the economy and our general social livelihoods,”
said Cde Chinomona.
In an ardent pursuit of the political-cultural reform
agenda of the Second Republic, she said, the country under the leadership of
President Mnangagwa, has sustained the constitutional premise for gender
equality in a manner never witnessed before since independence in 1980.
“You have created equal opportunities for us in governance
and leadership in general and more importantly in financial inclusion through
the Zimbabwe Women’s Microfinance Bank. With these and many more milestones, we
are certain that under your wise and visionary leadership Zimbabwe will
continue on the verge of perennial prosperity in a sustainable manner.
“The Women’s League reaffirms its total support and loyalty
to the Leadership of President Dr Mnangagwa and pledges its commitment to play
its part in pursuit of Vision 2030,’’ she said.
Acting Secretary for Youth Affairs Cde Tendai Chirau issued
a statement saying “on this auspicious day, we celebrate the birth day of a man
who has travelled the road, a far-sighted leader deeply committed to achieving
social justice through pragmatic practical action, and an epitome of
resilience”.
“From his life, which is servant leadership personified, we
as young people continue to draw inspiration and vital lessons. His example in
all facets of statecraft promotes the ideals of hard work, discipline, honesty
and forthrightness, which have coalesced into a defining ethos now synonymous
with the new dispensation.
“On behalf of the rank and file of true Zanu PF Youth
League, and indeed, on behalf of all like-minded revolutionary young people, we
extend our warmest heartfelt birthday wishes to a man who continues to inspire
us to stand firm with courage, tenacity and determination as we continue in the
fight against international isolation, self-hate and other adversities such as
illegal sanctions, political duplicity, corruption and lately, the Covid-19
curse,” reads the statement.
Since making the resolve to confront the racist colonial
regime by being among the first ZANLA cadres to be sent for military training
to China, President Mnangagwa has never wavered in his dedication to the
freedom of his country. He has committed his entire life to the struggle for
Zimbabwe’s quest for total independence through economic development and
empowerment as exemplified by Vision 2030, which seeks to achieve an Upper
Middle Income country. Herald
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