A Minute for Cde Dzino. I never got to meet Wilfred Mhanda in person, yet I feel so bereaved. I feel and share the tragic loss that has befallen this nation. The dark hour of mourning, mourning not just the departure of a courageous, selfless and principled pillar of the liberation struggle but also the tragic fact that what he and thousand others who sacrificed their lives for has not been realized. There are principally three reasons why the liberation struggle was waged: foremost was the question of majority rule (one person one vote) or democracy if you like. The main objective was to overthrow a racially skewed minority government and replace it with a majority government of the people by the people and for the people. This was to enable people the ability to determine their own destiny by choosing leaders of their choice freely and fairly. More than thirty years after independence a truly free and fair election remains a pipe dream in Zimbabwe. The second reason was the issue of land which was not only in the custody of a few minority but where the indigenous majority were cramped together in the least productive lands while the foreign white minority enjoyed the luxury of vasts tracts of the most fertile land, in most cases having more than they needed. Thirty years later Dzino and those who paid the ultimate price turn in their graves because a truly equitable land distribution exercise has not been achieved. Despite the fast track land reform program, the two fundamental problems which the liberation struggle sought to address still subsist namely that the most fertile lands still belong to a minority at the expense of the majority, albeit of a black colour which is even worse. The second problem is that these new black land owners still have more than they need ie multiple ownership. As if that is not enough, the new land dispensation has brought new problems of its own. For example the issue of unproductivity as a result of many factors such as cellphone farming, multiple ownership, lack of skills and training , lack of access to credit and inputs, incompetence and laziness, ignorance and incompetence among others. This in turn affected two important pillars of the economy namely the negative effect of agricultural production in an agro-based economy meant that the entire economy suffered and so did the once prestigious food status-the famous bread basket of Africa (others say now the basket case). Surely Dzino and others who went before him did not sacrifice the precious years of their most productive ages so that our country could end up in such an unfortunate situation. The last but not least was the question of fair and just distribution of the economic cake as a whole from access to education and health care without discrimination, fair job business and general economic opportunities for all. All these, Im afraid remain a pipe dream, and for the foreseeable future even further from being realized. Yet Wilfred Mhanda and others sacrificed their lives and all they had for these key issues to be achieved. Even more sad is the fact that despite all Dzino gave for this country, because of differences with his fellow comrades, he may not be conferred hero status after all, meaning he may not lay in his rightful place in the national shrine of heroes and heroines . Dzino makes me and my generation ashamed of ourselves because he didnt sit when things were not going right in the country. He waged a war and attained independence. But he did not stop there: when his colleagues diverted from the values of the liberation struggle he remained vocal criticising that digression and acting to correct it through the formation of the Zimbabwe Liberators Platform and writing the famous book which put the historical record of the liberation struggle straight. Todays young people should not mourn Wilfreds death but celebrate and try to emulate his life. With more young people like him we can get to the promised land. Today one person one vote has not been achieved. This country has barely ever had a free and fair election, land remains in the hands of a minority and the majority remain in political bandage and economic servitude. Whether Mhanda goes to the heroes acre or not, there is no doubt that he is indeed a national hero. Go well commander. Rest in Peace !!!
Posted on: Thu, 29 May 2014 18:52:33 +0000
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