Youths have a duty to keep the fire burning

Economic Development as Resistance ONE of the sermons that have to be recited time and again to the young people of Zimbabwe and Africa at large is how our Motherland was freed from the bondage of colonialism.

President Mugabe and other liberation struggle stalwarts have repeatedly emphasised that the country was freed from white oppressors after a hard fought protracted armed struggle that left thousands of men and women dead, some injured and thus, our freedom should not be taken for granted.

And to buttress the point, part of the preamble of the country’s constitution reads; “We the people of Zimbabwe, united in our diversity by our common desire for freedom, justice and equality, and our heroic resistance to colonialism, racism and all forms of domination and oppression, exalting and extolling the brave men and women who sacrificed their lives during the Chimurenga /Umvukela and national liberation struggles, honouring our forebearers and compatriots who toiled for the progress of our country..”

The message is directed at every Zimbabwean to always remember to celebrate the works of the fathers and mothers of the liberation struggle, and men and women who dedicated their lives to free this country and this week, as per tradition, the country takes a bow to the bearers of our freedom through commemorating the Heroes’ Day as well as Defence Forces’ Day.

Of note is that this year’s commemorations come at a time when the country’s youths, especially the Zanu-PF Youth League, has been celebrating the person of President Mugabe through the Presidential Youth Interface Rallies, which started off with a One MillionMan March in solidary with the President held in Harare last year.

The President has addressed youths rallies in six provinces so far, all of them attracting massive crowds that have proven that the President is a man of the people, and Zanu-PF the people’s party.

Of note too is that the country’s supreme law also recognises the youths in the body politic, social and economic spheres.

“The State and all institutions and agencies of government at every level must take reasonable measures, including affirmative action programmes, to ensure that youths, that is to say people between the ages of fifteen and thirty-five years— a. have access to appropriate education

Whether situated on the right or the left of the ideological divide, Euro-American economic theories of development are based on the national interests of countries of the West. and training; b. have opportunities to associate and to be represented and participate in political, social, economic and other spheres of life; c. are afforded opportunities for employment and other avenues to economic empowerment; d. have opportunities for recreational activities and access to recreational facilities; and e. are protected from harmful cultural practices, exploitation and all forms abuse. 2. An Act of Parliament may provide for one or more national youth programmes. 3. Measures and programmes referred to in subsections (1) and (2) must be inclusive, nonpartisan and national in character…”

Moreover, President Mugabe has repeatedly said youths should be given opportunities to own natural resources, earn education and be given employment opportunities, as partial fulfillment of the dictates of the constitution. There is therefore a meeting point between the youths and the heroes of the struggle, all glued together by the constitution and President Mugabe repeatedly reminding the youths of the sacrifices made to free country.

Recently, he chronicled how seven gallant soldiers lost their lives in Chinhoyi in a battle that marked the second Umvukela/ Chimurenga on 28 April 1966. The seven heroes associated with the Chinhoyi battle are Chubby Savanhu, this of

Neoliberalism itself; especially with the rise of the Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan regimes in Britain and in America respectively, was constructed into a universal truth when it was political instrument used to pry open the rest of the world to the command economics of Anglo-Saxon capital.

The IMF and the World Bank imposed the Washington Consensus economic and political regime on poor African countries that were forced to conduct structural adjustment programmes that, in a predatory way, impoverished the already poor.

Those western economists that conceptualised neoliberal economic and political theories, such minds as neo-Keynesians, Joseph Stiglitz and Paul Kruger became decorated Nobel Laureates for the service that they have rendered to Empire. Western political and economic policies that are detected to Africa as expert, tried and tested advice are, in the view of Yash Chris Chatambudza, Godfrey Dube, Godwin Manyerenyere, Simon Chin’ozha, David Guzuzu and Arthur Maramba. President Mugabe has said they should be declared national heroes, and a monument in their honour erected. Addressing a youth rally in Chinhoyi, Mashonaland West recently, President Mugabe urged Zimbabweans to protect the country’s sovereignty in memory of the gallant sons and daughters of the country that lost their lives during the liberation struggle. “We, the rest, must continue not just of the present, but of those who fell, beginning with the gallant seven sons who fell here (in Chinhoyi), in defence of our country, in defence of our revolution. I have visited the graves,” he said. “I would want the seven of them, all of them, because they are the ones who started on this side, the Zanu side, the armed struggle as we recognise it today, the guerilla struggle. I would want to recommend to the rest of our comrades in Government that we declare all the seven, as they lie there, national heroes and erect a monument there, inscribing their names.” One of the founding fathers of African liberation, former Tanzanian leader Ju l ius Nye re re, in one of his famous speeches, implored the youths to pick up and refuel the torch of African freedom, and by no small measure, the Zanu-PF Youth League has taken a cue from such teachings.

“My generation led Africa to political freedom. The current generation of leaders and peoples of Africa must pick up the flickering torch of African freedom, refuel it with their enthusiasm and determination, and carry it forward,” Nyerere was quoted as saying.

As the country commemorates the Heroes holidays, young people should know that they have a duty to serve their country.

They have a duty to keep the torch of our freedom burning and that can be achieved if they keep their eye on the ball and take lessons from polished Pan African gurus and champions of the liberation struggle like President Mugabe, the late Vice President Joshua Nkomo, and many others “whose names we have been silent about and far too many to mention,” as poet Albert Nyathi would say.