PRESIDENT Mnangagwa has urged Zimbabweans to remain peaceful and shun violence as the country gets into campaign mode saying the date for the harmonised elections will be announced soon.
Addressing thousands of people who attended a national field day at his Precabe Farm in Sherwood, Kwekwe, at the weekend, the President said Zimbabweans must embrace each other first before their political affiliations.
“We’re going for harmonised elections very soon. We must maintain this peace, this unity, which we are enjoying,” he said.
“First, we must be proud to be Zimbabweans, whether we are poor, we should be proud to be Zimbabweans. We must love our neighbours.
“The Lord above blesses nations who love others, who promote peace who promote harmony.”
President Mnangagwa said Zimbabweans were peace-loving people and should always uphold such virtuous conduct by avoiding violence during election campaigns. He also said Zimbabweans should strive to uphold unity, bounded by the fact that they are one people.
“We are by nature a very peaceful people, violence is alien to us. We’re Zimbabweans, we should build our Zimbabwe, its nature which gave us this land between Zambezi and Limpopo,” said President Mnangagwa.
“Others are in Mozambique, it’s the Lord who made them Mozambicans, others are in Portugal it’s the Lord who said they must be Portuguese, so be proud of your country.
“Be remembered for building your country not destroying your country, be remembered for uniting people not disunity, be remembered for preaching peace and not for preaching hate.”
The President said opposition elements were a normal recurrence in any society adding that the country, which is on an economic rebound under the Second Republic, was aware of its detractors that are bent on reversing the gains achieved so far.
President Mnangagwa explained how the illegal sanctions, which have caused untold suffering of Zimbabweans through suffocating economic progress, were imposed on the country as the imperialist forces tried to push regime change. He, however, said the Second Republic has managed to circumvent the embargo and is forging ahead with its transformative development programmes.
“Yes, sanctions were imposed on us with the view of causing disharmony amongst the people so there could be regime change and at one point it nearly succeeded but now the reverse is what is happening,” said the President. “We’re getting more and more enlightened. But in Shona we say in a family not all family members will pull in the same direction, one or two will pull in the opposite direction, and in our country, it also happens.
“That doesn’t make us lose sleep, in fact, it makes us sleep because we know who is pulling in the opposite direction. So, it’s our country, let us build our country.
President Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe was a friend to every country hence its deliberate policy to engage and re-engage with the global community of nations.
“We are friends to all and enemy to none as our foreign policy, we don’t hate anyone and we don’t want to be hated by any,” he added.
Speaking at the same function, Vice President Dr Constantino Chiwenga echoed the President’s peace message urging Zimbabweans to remain peaceful ahead of the forthcoming polls.
“We are headed for the harmonised elections in a few months to come and we must all be peaceful,” he said.
“Every time I am reminded of the late Former Vice President Dr John Landa Nkomo who said peace should begin with me, peace should begin with you and that peace should begin with us all so we all uphold peace,” said the Vice President.
Given the massive development momentum ushered in under the New Dispensation led by President Mnangagwa across the country, the ruling party is poised to garner a resounding victory in the forthcoming elections as it has endeared itself more with the electorate.
Already, a Citizen Satisfaction Survey and Baseline Survey on Work Culture Transformation, 2022 has shown that a majority of citizens are satisfied with President Mnangagwa’s servant leadership and citizen-centric governance style as the Government’s policies are made transparent for all.
Notably, the survey included gathering information on the behaviours, attitudes, and knowledge of public service employees from the poor, vulnerable, and marginalised groups such as women, the youth, and persons living with disabilities. – The Chronicle
