Harare (New Ziana) -Allowing surrogates of former colonisers to rule Zimbabwe will be a betrayal of the living and fallen heroes and heroines of the protracted war that was fought to liberate the country, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said on Monday.
He was speaking at the 43rd anniversary of Heroes Day at the national shrine, which coincided with the double burial of national heroes, Brigadier-General (Retired) Milton Siziba and former Prosecutor General Johannes Tomana.
Brig Gen Siziba succumbed to shortness of breath at his house in Northville, Bulawayo on August 1, while Tomana died from stomach complications after visiting his rural home in Honde Valley, Manicaland province last Sunday.
President Mnangagwa said both Tomana and Siziba shared the same philosophy that the country should not be ruled through outside influence.
In 2001, the British government through the Westminster Foundation, unwittingly exposed its links with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (now the Citizens Coalition for Change) when it published a breakdown of the money it had spent sponsoring the formation of the party to effect regime change in Zimbabwe.
London had been incensed by the bold move by the Zanu PF government to expropriate prime agricultural land from its minority kith and kin in Zimbabwe to correct a colonial injustice which saw the black majority being confined to rocky and sandy soils in the Tribal Trust Lands.
“Zimbabwe will never, ever be run by a puppet government of our erstwhile oppressors. Never! This is a position that the national heroes we are interring today, Cde Tomana and Cde Siziba un-apologetically associated with. In the same spirit, the heroes and heroines we are honouring today played their part and left us a legacy of resilience and unflinching patriotism,” said President Mnangagwa.
He said the late Tomana played an important part in transforming the justice system of the country, while the late Brig Gen (Rtd) Milton Bekithemba Siziba served as a commander in the war of liberation, within the Zimbabwe Defence Forces and the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service.
“It is most befitting that these cadres are being interred on this sacred day when we remember our Heroes under the theme; “Remembering our Heroes; Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo, ilizwe lakhiwa ngabanikazi balo (a country is built by its own people).”
President Mnangagwa noted that said this year the Heroes Day commemorations and the interment of the two gallant national heroes were taking place only nine days before the country holds harmonised elections and congratulated Zimbabweans for maintaining a peaceful election season.
“This is the unity, peace, and harmony that the heroes we are remembering today, including the late Cde Tomana and Cde Siziba would have wanted. Our heroes fought for our independence, sovereignty and freedom as a united people.
“They knew no tribe, region and no clan or totem. In their honour, let us recognise that the right to vote and ideals of democracy, universal suffrage and human rights did not come on a silver platter. The obligation is on us, individually and collectively to say No to violence; No to tribalism, No to regionalism, hate speech and all other divisive tendencies.
“Under Zanu PF, democratic practices, Constitutionalism, good governance and the rule of law are being entrenched. The late Cde Tomana and Cde Siziba played their part in this regard,” he said.
President Mnangagwa said 23 years after the ruinous sanctions that some Western countries imposed, Zimbabwe continues to trudge on defying all odds.
“We are transforming our infrastructure as well as industrialising and modernising our economy. This must never be taken lightly. Makorokoto; Amhlophe people of Zimbabwe; you are all heroes in this ongoing battle against the neo-imperialistic vultures, who without shame, hover over our country’s resources.
“Victory is in our DNA. In whatever field, sector or profession, as the people of Zimbabwe, be it here at home or in the Diaspora, let us avail ourselves, professional skills and capabilities for the national good. This was a recurring trait of our country’s heroes and heroines. They fought for the establishment of a people-oriented, democratic, just and fair constitutional order, among other aspirations,” he said.
It was a befitting honour to the two departed heroes who were both farmers, he said, that Zimbabwe produced an unprecedented 375 131 metric tons from the 2022 winter wheat program, being the highest produced since 1962 when the crop was first grown in the country.
Coupled with the projected yields for winter wheat this season, Zimbabwe will become as a net exporter of the strategic crop, he said.
“Similarly, production levels of tobacco are record breaking at 291 million kg. The livestock sector has been resuscitated while more of our farmers are undertaking farming as a business and diversifying into export and agro-value chains. I want to assure our nation that preparations for the 2023/2024 farming season have commenced earlier than usual, with inputs under the Pfumvudza/Intwasa Climate Proofed Agriculture Program, now available at the various GMB depots.
“Mechanisation equipment under this program will also be availed to our farmers. Across all our communities, let us work harder and continue preaching production and productivity. Government, under ZANU PF, will continue to support you all,” President Mnangagwa said.
To leap-frog the country to the next level of development, President Mnangagwa said the onus is on the current generation of young boys and girls who he challenged to ride on science, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship which the government is advancing through the Heritage Based Education 5.0 to realise their full potential to build the country.
He said the increased investments as well as the participation and involvement of the country within the comity of nations stand as a testimony of the success of the engagement and re-engagement policy which the Second Republic is pursuing.
Meanwhile, the occasion also witnessed the second Honours and Awards Ceremony in which the Government honoured inspirational role models, personalities and organisations, who render invaluable service to the people and place Zimbabwe on the map.
One of those who received the awards was Zimbabwean born virologist who is based in Botswana, Dr Sikhulile Moyo, who discovered the Covid-19 variant, omicron, in 2021.
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