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NewsDay

AMH is an independent media house free from political ties or outside influence. We have four newspapers: The Zimbabwe Independent, a business weekly published every Friday, The Standard, a weekly published every Sunday, and Southern and NewsDay, our daily newspapers. Each has an online edition.

Hope should never run dry

Letters
We invest in the hope of getting returns, pray in the hope that divine intervention will come to our rescue and yes, we plan in the hope that our plans will one day come to fruition.

HOPE for a better tomorrow, hope for better fortunes. The rich and the poor, realists and idealists alike, hope is the hinge upon which our lives are anchored, for hope is the driving force behind all that we do.

We invest in the hope of getting returns, pray in the hope that divine intervention will come to our rescue and yes, we plan in the hope that our plans will one day come to fruition.

Taking the only thing away that is core to any human being is the most callous act anyone can do.

In the wake of the global coronavirus pandemic, the only thing that kept the human species going was hope.

We all hoped that sooner rather than later, a remedy would be discovered for this pandemic and things would go back to normal.

Hope was, indeed, key to all, Christians, atheists, Rastafarians, Muslims, hope was what kept and still keeps us going.

Killing peoples’ hope brings nothing, but resentment and anger.

We now had hope that the exposure of corruption and the ills of government would bring accountability and a roadmap to good governance, but alas!

All hope for that freedom of expression and the road to a better tomorrow was dealt a heavy blow.

All hope was crushed, the people’s shining armour turning into a villain when the actual villains are sitting comfortably.

But remember, history always has a way of repeating itself, and yes, the time shall come with or without the consent of the oppressors and the oppressed shall be emancipated.

The same will that sprung from the pain Zimbabweans endured from the colonial masters is precisely the same will that will also possess those that are being oppressed and history will rewrite itself.

The electoral playfield will one day be levelled. Time always has a way of taking care of things with or without external interference.

The pain and suffering that Zimbabweans have been subjected to under the Zanu PF government for the past four decades will one day vanish and the will of the people will prevail.

Hope is something we dearly will hold on to. Hope will never run dry.

The wheels of change are always turning and trust me, fear is a dangerous application to install in any living creature for the blow and retaliation of a fearful creature is extremely fatal.

Always, remember the seemingly calm rivers are mostly the deepest. You always taught us growing up that no bad deed goes unpunished. I hope you still concur.

Soothsayer

Citizens key to ending Zimbabwe crisis

THE key to resolving the Zimbabwean crisis lies in us embarking on a set of comprehensive social, political and economic reforms.

Key among these are electoral reforms which will try to correct the problem of contested legitimacy in Zimbabwe.

These electoral reforms will see the enfranchisement of millions of Zimbabweans living in the diaspora.

But this first requires the establishment of a governance forum, where citizens are at the centre.

It then will call for the establishment of a governance structure to initiate and implement these reforms.

Zimbabwe’s Constitution provides a great starting point for reforms. This means government must stop tampering with the Constitution, which was adopted by Zimbabweans in 2013.

The fundamental rights and freedoms of the Zimbabwean people must be observed and respected. DOUGLAS KWETE WEKWAMWONZORA

Africa must promote agro-biodiversity

CONSUMERS are always on the lookout for “healthy, nutritious and affordable” meals, but are always overwhelmed by the amount of choices out there.

Understanding that not all sustainable diets are healthy and not all healthy diets are sustainable, an integral and systemic approach would be deemed necessary to strike a balance in producing sufficient, safe and nutritionally enhanced food.

Familiar words like ultra-processing, repackaging, refining are the basic routine of many food production companies, which has significantly contributed to the growing figures of national epidemic such as obesity, overweight as well as diet-related non-communicable diseases like cancer, diabetes and heart related diseases.

A reorientation on consumer’s purchasing and demanding power would directly impact farmers to shape, maintain and promote a diverse array of crops, thereby promoting diverse diet and conserving agro-diversity.

Agro-diversity does not only contribute to a sustainable food system, but also stretches its impacts to improve livelihood for farmers, enhance pollinators and economically important soil organisms which thus reduces the risk of pest epidemic, and also reduce yield losses resulting from climate change, access to market.

Actions like impact investments on agro-innovative solutions to provide user friendly data and solutions would equip actors across the agri-food chains to make informed decisions towards sustaining agro- biodiversity, formulate evidence-based agro strategies and track progress.

Creating awareness through research studies and promoting policies that nurtures agro-bio-diversity would go a long way in catalysing the change across the agri-food chain to attain a sustainable food system.

Further Africa