Source: Liberation struggle must inspire economic freedom – VP Mohadi – herald
Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu
THE liberation struggle must inspire Zimbabweans to aggressively pursue economic emancipation through collective efforts that contribute to the attainment of Vision 2030, Vice President Kembo Mohadi has said.
Speaking during a visit to Esigodini Vocational Training Centre in Matabeleland South Province on Friday, the Vice President said the liberation struggle, which brought independence in 1980, delivered political emancipation as the first phase of the revolution, which now must be buttressed by economic emancipation.
“The second phase is economic emancipation, which we are pursuing at the moment while at the same time guarding our liberation gains. As Government, we have come up with different strategies to drive the country towards economic emancipation. Economic emancipation is what will see us as a country attain Vision 2030,” said VP Mohadi.
“For these strategies to be fully implemented, each citizen of this country has a role to play and that’s why we have a mantra, which says ‘ilizwe lakhiwa ngabanikazi balo/ nyika inovakwa nevenhe vayo’.”
VP Mohadi said that while the white colonial system tried to instil a mindset of inferiority and dependency among the black people, the revolutionary leaders refused this and fought it out completely.
He urged Zimbabweans to forge ahead, knowing that they can meaningfully contribute to the development of the country. The VP said each contribution at whatever level is crucial.
“As Government, we have engaged in a deliberate drive to inculcate a mindset of being innovative and productive among our people, which the white people were trying and are still trying to crush,” he said.
“One of the ways of addressing this has been through our education system, which we have revised. We want youngsters to go through their education system knowing that they are producers, employers, and key enablers of economic growth.
“That’s why we have STEM, Education 5.0, heritage-based curriculum, and vocational training education formats. We have the resources in the country and what we are saying is we want to utilise them to develop our nation using manpower that we will develop,” said VP Mohadi.
He said each province has to spearhead its economic emancipation by coming up with strategies that will address its problems. He challenged civil servants and various development players to take a leading role in this development agenda. Calling on provinces to intensify value addition and beneficiation in their areas, he said leadership from each province must lead by example and rope in communities.
“Let’s stop politicising development and approach it with the right mindset. Political emancipation was the easiest part of the struggle and now we are at economic emancipation, which requires a sound and disciplined mindset,” said the Vice President.
“As a province, you know your challenges and as such, you are the best people to come up with solutions to these problems and the Government will support you.
“Don’t look down upon yourselves, as you can do it. Your skin colour doesn’t have anything to do with your capacity or capabilities. Let’s shake away the effects of colonial suppression,” he said.
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