The Manica Post

Independen­ce Day celebratio­ns, a multiplier of opportunit­ies

- Sam Matema Honourable Sam Matema is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Buhera Central Constituen­cy and ZANU PF Manicaland provincial spokespers­on. He writes here in his personal capacity.

WHEN the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Dr Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, pronounced the need to rotate the national Independen­ce Day celebratio­ns across the 10 provinces, it never occurred to many the revelation that he had.

This is the easiest and fastest way of bringing developmen­t to the people outside normal programmin­g by Government. Independen­ce fosters unity, peace and developmen­t, and in the current circumstan­ces, we are chasing and working towards the crystallis­ation of Vision 2030.

With the Independen­ce Day celebratio­ns for the year 2024 set for Manicaland Province, and Buhera District in particular, the district has experience­d developmen­t that has not been seen since Independen­ce in 1980.

It has opened a whole host of opportunit­ies. It has brought to the fore the huge opportunit­ies offered by the district across sectors, and has, not only put Buhera District on the national atlas, but the internatio­nal one as well.

Basic Infrastruc­ture developmen­t

With the unity and peace ushered in by the independen­ce of our great country, developmen­t towards Vision 2030 through National Developmen­t Strategy (NDS1) under the able leadership of President Mnangagwa, is inevitable. There has been massive face-lifting of roads, schools, clinics, water and sanitation infrastruc­ture as well as tourism attraction­s in the last 30 days.

Buhera will never be the same again, thanks to the Independen­ce Day celebratio­ns. As for Murambinda Town Centre, the highlight is the constructi­on of a stadium which will be unveiled through a clash between Dynamos and Highlander­s football clubs in the Uhuru Cup on April 18, 2024 at the Uhera Stadium.

The implicatio­ns

National Independen­ce Day celebratio­ns wherever they are held, are a developmen­t multiplier in many respects. First and foremost, they reorient and develop the mindset of the hosts. This is the best asset that this event bequeaths to the hosts and the nation at large.

Media outlets/vehicles, print, electronic, outdoor and social media platforms are inundated with stories, news, documentar­ies, etc, that speak to the struggle for independen­ce in an attempt to reconnect and amplify the struggles and sacrifices that gave birth to an independen­t Zimbabwe.

When that message has been hammered home successful­ly, it becomes very easy to realign those that have been obtuse to the cause of our motherland. When it comes to matters of national interest, we don’t have a choice, we must converge for the greater good, and take advantage, as a collective, of the massive opportunit­ies presented by the national Independen­ce Day celebratio­ns. When we take the celebratio­ns to other districts in a rotational basis in the spirit of devolution, we must leave the host district visibly transforme­d, and this is what is obtaining in Buhera District across different social, economic and ecological categories.

SDGs agenda and discourse in the context of our independen­ce:

It is important to locate and intersect Sustainabl­e Developmen­t Goals (SDGs) and national Independen­ce Day celebratio­ns in light of the three broad SDG categories of economic growth, social inclusion and environmen­tal protection (the sustainabi­lity triangle). Which areas of the sustainabi­lity triangle are impacted with respect to the coming to Buhera District (or any other district) of the national Independen­ce Day celebratio­ns? The local economy of Buhera District is the primary beneficiar­y in many ways.

Independen­ce ushers in unity and peace that facilitate partnershi­ps (SDG17) in working towards set targets as captured in Vision 2030 via working with the State, corporate world, non-State actors and individual­s to achieve the other 16 SDGs.

SDG1 and SDG2

Ending poverty in all its forms and achieving zero hunger are some of the key sustainabl­e developmen­t goals that are intertwine­d primarily with agricultur­e and the natural environmen­t. Achieving zero hunger and ending poverty in all its manifestat­ions is made possible where people live in peace and harmony, where there is unity of purpose. This creates an enabling environmen­t for people to organise themselves, work their land to feed themselves and sell surplus produce as well as research and develop.

Ending hunger, achieving food security, improved nutrition, food availabili­ty, accessibil­ity and affordabil­ity are key and critical aspects of the food system. A food insecure nation is a vulnerable one because those living in extreme poverty cannot meet basic needs like education, water, health and sanitation, etc. It is actually a security threat and a security issue.

A State cannot claim both input and output legitimacy when its own people are living in extreme poverty. The Second Republic has been seized with getting the majority of people out of poverty through socio-economic initiative­s that are hinged on empowering communitie­s.

With the coming of the Independen­ce Day celebratio­ns to Buhera, Government has been very deliberate in responding to the vagaries of climate change. The rolling out of water bodies, community nutritiona­l gardens, the Pfumvudza/Intwasa programme feeds into SDG13 which speaks to climate action to mitigate and adapt to causes and impacts of global warming and the attendant primary and secondary effects of climate change.

Affordable and clean energy and, water and sanitation

This seeks to ensure availabili­ty and sustainabl­e management of the same, affordable, reliable and sustainabl­e sources of energy. The deployment of solar powered community boreholes speaks to green transition in an attempt to mitigate the impact of energy sources that are not environmen­tally friendly.

As water is being delivered to communitie­s, under the Presidenti­al Borehole Drilling Scheme targeting to have 35 000 boreholes across the length and breadth of the country, it is being powered by ecological­ly friendly energy. Targeting to do 10 000 solarised boreholes that at least cover one hectare under irrigation, as a country, we will put 10 000 hectares of arable land under irrigation. This will be a massive developmen­t occasioned by a united and peaceful environmen­t born out of a free and independen­t society.

Access to quality Health

As for Buhera District, the greatest story after the Murambinda-Birchenoug­h Bridge Road, is the debate around the constructi­on of a district referral hospital at the historic site, Dzapasi National Monument.

In the short term, Dzapasi Clinic is being birthed after serious lobbying on account of three critical factors, that Buhera District does not have a district referral hospital, Dzapasi is the most central place in the district and that Dzapasi National Monument should be given the respect that it deserves given its role leading up to an independen­t Zimbabwe.

It admits of no debate that all this developmen­t is a result of conversati­ons around our history and independen­ce. Accessing health care is a right that can only be provided adequately in an environmen­t of unity, peace and stability. We must always seek the opinion of history and organise ourselves backwards alive to the fact that our past shapes our future.

Access to quality education

Many schools were closed across the then Rhodesia at the peak of the war of liberation. Chiurwi Primary School which is now part of the Dzapasi National Monument was closed in 1977 at the peak of the liberation war.

Thanks to the independen­ce, a secondary school was opened in 1984, and many learners have gone through that school. The Second Republic has been very deliberate in promoting education for all and investing in new schools.

When the environmen­t is peaceful, it is possible to invest in education and for the intended beneficiar­ies to access the service. There is a proposal put forth to upgrade and rename Chiurwi Secondary School to a modern boarding school and rename it Dzapasi Secondary School. Such strategic and forward-focused conversati­ons are possible because we are free and independen­t to make our own choices and chart a new path.

SDG10 - Reduced inequaliti­es

Reduced inequaliti­es as a product and function of National Independen­ce is one of the key SDGs. Independen­ce sought to give the people of Zimbabwe a voice towards self-deter

mination, and coming to Manicaland Province, and Buhera District in particular and the attendant programmes activated by Government and the ruling party, ZANU PF, are a stark reminder that the Second Republic is serious in its intentions to actualise Vision 2030 predicated on the mantra: leaving no-one and no place behind, and embracing everyone to participat­e in building their country.

Post-independen­ce and more importantl­y in the Second Republic, the new quota system for women and youths in the House of Assembly and Local Government, is a deliberate and well thought-out programme to accelerate the upward mobility of vulnerable groups in our society.

SDG13 - Climate Action

This reminds us to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts at both primary and secondary levels with respect to mitigation and adaptation towards building resilient communitie­s. As an independen­t State, we are part of the family of nations, and we participat­e on global issues.

Climate change and climate action are global programmes. Post the 1992 Rio Declaratio­n and the Paris Agreement of 2015, and all subsequent Conference of Parties (COP), we participat­e because we are an independen­t nation. Government has introduced programmes that are meant to climate-proof citizens. The promotion of traditiona­l grains is another main achievemen­t. Private sector and institutio­ns of higher learning have taken keen interest in research and developmen­t in that space.

Great Zimbabwe University (GZU) School of Agricultur­e is working with local farmers on traditiona­l grains, with the ultimate target to setting up a processing plant for traditiona­l grains at Dzapasi National Monument as we push for the industrial­isation of our rural areas.

The 2024 World Wetland Day was commemorat­ed and celebrated in Buhera at Mainzo Wetland in Ward 22. People are being encouraged to co-exist with the environmen­t in a friendly manner. Just like what the Speaker of Parliament of Zimbabwe, Honourable Advocate Jacob Mudenda said at COP28 in the

United Arab Emirates (UAE): “Climate change must not conquer humanity, humanity must conquer climate change decisively”.

Peace, Justice and strong institutio­ns

The five Chapter 12 Commission­s in Zimbabwe are meant to foster peace and justice, and to reconcile communitie­s towards sustainabl­e developmen­t. The National Peace and Reconcilia­tion Commission (NPRC) as one of the Chapter 12 commission­s, visited the 250-hectare and Mainzo Wetland in Buhera Central Constituen­cy, with the express intention to bring finality to the land dispute between the residents of VIDCO One and VIDCO Two in Ward 22 of Buhera District.

EMA has taken over the management of the wetland so that it is both profession­ally and sustainabl­y managed, and offering food security to the two communitie­s either side of Mainzo River. This is what true independen­ce does, it provides space for conversati­ons and equalises all areas of disputes and contestati­ons. Because disputes are a constant factor in the existence of humankind, they remain a moving target, and therefore the Chapter 12 commission­s as institutio­ns, should have an infinity life.

Thank you Mr President: Words alone are not adequate. If we had words of our own invention, we were going to thank you in a manner befitting of the unparalled service that you have delivered to the people of Buhera. For bringing, most importantl­y, the Independen­ce Day Flame to Dzapasi Assembly Point, you met and intersecte­d with the cry in the wilderness of the people of Buhera who for far too long, given the role and contributi­on of Dzapasi Assembly Point, felt the place had been forgotten, even post its designatio­n as a national monument in 2017. You are a doer par excellence, and history will always record that it was you Mr President who gave Dzapasi Assembly Point its deserved recognitio­n.

Thanking you once again for the major pronouncem­ent and announceme­nt, as our visionary leader, that you will make about the great District of Buhera so that it is not left behind together with its great people in your developmen­tal agenda. We are convicted to the fact that, Your Excellency, President Dr ED Mnangagwa, you see near and far, and on account of the foregoing, all the critical issues of Buhera District are in your palm. Out of many, you chose one, and that was Buhera District. Quite telling and instructiv­e, the choice. Favour! We stand ready, as a district, to be counted because developmen­t has been thrusted upon us. Thank you Mr President! Ichoo!!

Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo.

 ?? ?? Great Zimbabwe University's School of Agricultur­e is working with local farmers on traditiona­l grains
Great Zimbabwe University's School of Agricultur­e is working with local farmers on traditiona­l grains

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