ZIMBABWE celebrates 33 years of independence today and while political parties say the country has reason to celebrate, analysts feel more still needs to be done for the complete emancipation of the people.
Report by Staff Reporters
MDC-T leader Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said his party recognised the importance of Independence Day and would participate in all events throughout the country to mark the day.
“As the MDC, we recognise the importance of national events such as Independence Day,” Tsvangirai told journalists on Tuesday.
The party’s national organising secretary Nelson Chamisa said the MDC-T had agreed to participate in the celebrations across the country because they were a product of that independence. Chamisa said the day was not a Zanu PF event, but a national one.
“There is one national event and provincial events will also be held across the country. The leadership has instructed people to attend,” Chamisa said.
“These are platforms people converge at and forget about their parties. We don’t want any party regalia or party songs because independence does not belong to a political party, but to all Zimbabweans.”
Chamisa, however, said his party was concerned that after 33 years of independence, Zimbabweans were still languishing in poverty and democracy remained elusive. MDC leader Welshman Ncube said the country had every reason to celebrate independence from colonialism.
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“There is always cause to celebrate independence that we got after ridding the country of a colonial racist system regardless of any other differences that we might create ourselves,” Ncube said.
Zanu PF deputy director of information Psychology Maziwisa said Zimbabweans had much to celebrate as President Robert Mugabe’s government had moved from political freedom to economic emancipation for everyone without discrimination on the basis of skin colour.
“We have all kinds of rights we did not have,” Maziwisa said. “Independence is an exciting day when we should remember and reflect on our dark past before independence. President Mugabe is trying to make a complete break from the past.”
Political analyst Phillan Zamchiya said although government has done a lot to address issues like education and access to health, more still needed to be achieved. Zamchiya said Zimbabwe had received less than half the package of total independence.
“The liberation war was not an economic question alone. The liberation struggle was also fought for people to enjoy civic liberties such as freedom of choice, association and assembly,” he said.
Zamchiya accused Zanu PF of misleading Zimbabweans into believing that they were the only ones who liberated the country and that the land question was the major reason why the war for independence was fought.
He said Zimbabwe was under authoritarian rule and there was need for people to keep on engaging government until democracy was achieved.
Zimbabwe Democracy Institute boss Pedzisai Ruhanya said although the country’s democratic space was suffocated, Zimbabwe should celebrate Independence Day because it was now a sovereign State, courtesy of the liberation struggle.
He said the only sad situation in Zimbabwe was that the liberators had turned into oppressors, which was a violation of the values of the struggle.
“Zimbabwe has experienced 33 years of sovereignty without independence. Mugabe’s charlatans have no respect for what they fought for,” Ruhanya said. “But we cannot throw away the right to celebrate Independence Day because of a few misguided power-hungry people in Mugabe’s government.”
Ruhanya said more disturbing was that Mugabe’s government had been perpetuating the oppressive ways of government initiated by the colonial regime. “Zanu PF needs to relook into what it is doing versus what they fought for,” he added.
But Zamchiya said Zimbabwe’s sovereignty was questionable when the country did not have its own currency and could not feed its own people.
Reward Mushayabasa, a former Harare Polytechnic Mass Communication lecturer who is now based in the United Kingdom, said Zimbabwe would mark its 33rd birthday with an unfortunate history of disunity.
“There are times when unity has proved elusive. No divided nation can be at peace with itself,” Mushayabasa said.
He said Independence Day should present the country with an opportunity to examine itself and do an audit of successes and failures for the country to face its challenges and generate a better future for all.
Political analyst and Habakkuk Trust chief executive officer Dumisani Nkomo said there was no reason to celebrate Independence Day as regrettably, most benefits which were supposed to come with independence, including freedom, had proved elusive.
“Standards of living have declined, service delivery is pathetic and unemployment has also increased. Celebrations are for the elites that have benefited from the trappings and trimmings of power,” Nkomo said.
