THE Second Republic has the political will and boldness to confront the past so as to ensure national healing and closure, President Mnangagwa has said.
In his speech on the occasion to mark the signing of the
historic Unity Accord that was signed on this day by the revolutionary parties,
ZANU and ZAPU, in 1987—the President said the Accord brought about peace which
must forever remain a key feature of national development.
“Peace-building, conflict-resolution and management must
remain a binding feature of our national development agenda. Where there are
differences, we must aim to settle and resolve them through dialogue and
engagement. Further guided by our national Constitution, heritage and
traditional value systems; toxic politics and divisive tendencies have no room
in our society. By and large, we are a peaceful people and nation.
“My administration has the political will and boldness to
confront the past and bring about healing and closure”.
“I am encouraged by the success we are scoring towards
building greater national cohesion and singleness of purpose informed by
lessons from the disturbances which characterised the early years of
independence. To date, a concrete course of action has been drawn out following
inclusive interventions and meetings held with traditional leadership and
stakeholders of Matabeleland Provinces and parts of Midlands Province,” he
said.
The President described unity as the bedrock of national
stability which must be entrenched through the full participation of all
Zimbabweans through policies such as Devolution.
“Decades have passed since that historic event of our Unity
Accord. However, its conceptualisation must now go beyond narrow
interpretation. Therefore, today as we remember and celebrate Unity Day, let us
re-commit ourselves to the important virtues that bind us as a people and
equally incorporate the importance of our unity within the transformative
national economic agenda”.
The President said the common goal for every Zimbabwean is
to continue strengthening the unitary State that is Zimbabwe and which is home
to multiple cultures, “all co-existing in harmony under one flag and one
national anthem. Individually and collectively, we bear the responsibility to
bequeath present and future generations, an economically developed, modern and
prosperous country”.
Zimbabwe is one of the most peaceful nations in Africa and
a destination of choice for tourists thanks to the Unity Accord, which remains
key to driving the country’s development agenda towards Vision 2030, to become
a middle class economy.
“As we focus on the future and inspired by the new national
trajectory of economic development; I challenge us all to draw from the
fundamental principles of the Accord to unify and collate our national
capabilities, competencies and skills for the attainment of Vision 2030.
“On its part, my administration remains decisive in
ensuring that all Zimbabweans have a sense of belonging and that they flourish
and prosper leveraging on their potential and abundant natural resource
endowments. This is indeed what our Founding Fathers envisaged when they
committed to entrench unity as a critical pillar of our great nation”.
And towards equalisation and development that leaves no one
behind, under the Second Republic budgeting, administration and the execution
of development projects is being done in a way to give a voice to communities.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa address journalists in Harare
yesterday. Picture by Innocent Makawa
“We have shifted our development paradigm to be more people
centred. In this regard, my Government continues to diligently implement the
Devolution Policy. This transformative policy is informed by our desire and
commitment to bring about balanced growth, modernisation, industrialisation and
overall development which leave no one behind and no area of our country
behind.
“The policy further underpins and reflects our pursuit to
preserve unity and peace through the democratic participation of all nations in
national development,” he said.
Demonstrating the Government’s commitment towards the Devolution
Policy, $19.5 billion dollars was allocated for implementation of devolution
projects across the country so as to ensure that the “development course and
destiny of our communities is in our hands”.
“The important role of national infrastructure in connecting
and uniting communities cannot be overemphasised. To this end, Government has
embarked on extensive modernisation and expansion of our national
infrastructure for sustainable economic growth.
“The completed and ongoing road, energy, mining, agriculture
and irrigation development projects, among others, are impacting communities,
and engender inclusive national development and progress”.
The President said Zimbabwe should reap from the successes
gained under the Transitional Stabilisation Programme as the country prepares
to implement the National Development Strategy 1 from next year to 2025.
In the spirit of unity, not only within but also with other
nations, the President saluted Botswana for bringing back Zimbabweans who had
sought sanctuary there as well as Kenya for according to the Shona speaking
community citizenship in that country as well as recognising the language as
official.
“As we move into the future, we must broaden the
significance of Unity Day by recognising that unity and peace must be firmly
rooted in our day to day interactions, daily chores and activities. In the
spirit of this Unity Day, I further urge families, communities, organisations,
churches and other institutions to embrace national symbols such as our diverse
languages, music, art and dance as well as our national fabric and dress to
reinforce our oneness, national pride and identity.
Such an attitude will rally us to unleash our full
potential towards an economically prosperous and empowered society and the
realisation of the Zimbabwe we want”.
President Mnangagwa has been leading from the front in
planting the seeds for peace, unity and reconciliation and his administration
has embraced all progressive political parties under the Political Actors
Dialogue (POLAD) that was established after the 2018 elections to entrench
national cohesion and progress.
Just last week, the MDC dominated Victoria Falls council
honoured President Mnangagwa in a major highlight of what can be achieved when
political parties act in the national interests. Herald
0 comments:
Post a Comment