Harare (New Ziana) – Zimbabweans at home and abroad have a duty and responsibility to uphold the prevailing peace as it is a key ingredient to development and prosperity, an official has said.
In a statement marking United Nations International Peace Day, Sekai Holland, who is also the chairperson of the Zimbabwe Peace Initiative (ZimPI), said peace was a prerequisite for development.
She said this year’s theme ‘Actions for Peace: Our Ambition for the #GlobalGoals’ is a call to action that recognises individual and collective responsibility to foster peace.
She added that the theme, which is anchored on the attainment of UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), is a call to peace across the globe.
“ZimPI now calls us all to go forward together, finding peace building ways to consolidate this peace; within our homes, communities and nation, with a new focus: identifying that common ground that Zimbabweans share, as the basis to unite ourselves as a society,” said Holland.
“This unity opens us to recognise that unity of purpose is essential in society; it is a key ingredient for our sustainable development: for without development, we cannot achieve equality. Let us all work together, mapping our way forward, in solution-based community conversations, flowing from our households, communities and into our Government National Plan,” she said.
She lauded President Emmerson Mnangagwa for his Vision 2030 campaign message of ‘Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo/ Ilizwe lakhiwa ngabanikazi babo, saying this had helped the country to move away from the damaging donor dependency syndrome.
“It is in this light that ZimPI also implores Zimbabweans from all walks of life to put the country first by coming together to realize the Zimbabwean dream, united as one regardless of race, gender, religious or political affiliation,” said Holland.
“Fostering peace contributes to the realization of SDG’s and achieving the SDG’s will create a culture of peace. ZimPI salutes Zimbabwe for aligning its development blueprint National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) with SDG’s,” she said.
New Ziana
