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Nduduzo Tshuma, Political Editor
ZIMBABWE marks 38 years of Independence today with a number of events having taken place in the past months that make this year’s commemorations unique and very significant towards the fulfilment of the liberation promise.

Following the events of last November that ushered in a new dispensation, the Independence Day commemorations will be presided over by President Emmerson Mnangagwa following the resignation of Mr Robert Mugabe.

However, the significance of the commemorations go beyond the face or person presiding over the ceremony. What the people celebrate today is the dawn of a new era and the new path that President Mnangagwa has set for the country in the few months that he has been in office.

Beyond liberating Zimbabweans from the shackles of colonialism that saw the country celebrating its first Independence Day on April 18, 1980, the object of the liberation struggle was to ensure that after winning freedom, the government of the day pushes for the emancipation of the people.

This agenda has, however, been threatened and even frustrated by forces within and outside Zanu-PF but this year’s commemorations come at a time when Zimbabweans are hopeful of a positive direction that the country is taking.

Operation Restore Legacy, a security forces initiative which averted a crisis in the country whose levers of power had been hijacked by the G40 cabal which had coalesced around Mr Mugabe, triggered a chain of events that led to the transitional period in November last year .

The clinical operation and other processes within the ruling Zanu-PF led the country to a new path which has enabled Government to concentrate on delivering on the promises made to the people over the years.

Since occupying the highest office, President Mnangagwa has made great strides towards repositioning Zimbabwe on the regional and international arena as the country seeks mutual beneficial partnerships that would help revive the economy.

On the regional and international scale, the country has set on a new trajectory of re-engaging those nations with whom relations had soured while maintaining those that had stood by the country in the dark days of isolation.

Regionally, in his first State Visit, President Mnangagwa headed for Botswana to restore relations that had been frosty for years and the last such visit was a decade ago.

The President also visited neighbours like South Africa, Angola, Namibia, Zambia, Mozambique, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and recently China with a dual mission of explaining the transition the country went through and seeking investors.

In all his visits, including meetings of regional and continental bodies as well as international business conferences, President Mnangagwa’s administration has been warmly welcomed raising hope for Zimbabwe’s return to her former glory days as she strategically locates herself on the global arena.

It was also reported at the weekend that the country has been invited to the Commonwealth Heads of State Summit that began in Britain yesterday and ends next Sunday, a development that marks the restoration of good relations between Harare and London.

At the Summit, Zimbabwe will have observer status, ahead of a planned re-admission into the bloc before year-end.

The re-engagement process that has also attracted more than $7 billion in potential investment has lifted the spirits of Zimbabweans who are now confident of an economic turnaround they have yearned for over the years.

The Independence Day commemorations therefore come at a time of great economic prospects and a great sense of hope towards the future but most importantly confidence in the leadership of President Mnangagwa.

The commemorations of the country’s Independence also come at a time when the country is preparing for elections and President Mnangagwa has assured the world that the polls will be democratic, transparent, credible and free of violence.

In his commitment to openness with regard to the polls, President Mnangagwa’s Government has approved a list of 46 countries, 15 regional and continental bodies to observe the elections.

Foreign Affairs and International Trade Secretary Ambassador Joey Bimha said the Government has extended a hand of invitation even to those countries that were negative towards Zimbabwe in a sign of commitment towards re-engagement.

“During the previous elections, we had a stand-off with the West. Some of the Western countries imposed sanctions on us and the rationale in Government then was that they were no longer neutral observers when they had already taken a position against us,” he said.

“In the new dispensation, Government decided to re-engage with the West and the rest of the international community and this (the invitation) is also in line with the Government’s commitment to run a free, fair and credible election. Government has nothing to hide, so we are inviting everyone including those countries that still maintain sanctions on us.”

In those elections, President Mnangagwa leads a rejuvenated Zanu-PF against a number of opposition parties prominent among them, the MDC Alliance led by MDC-T president Mr Nelson Chamisa in what is almost certainly a one-sided duel.

While President Mnangagwa has been focusing on reviving the economy through a number of interventions including those listed above, Mr Chamisa and his entourage of alliance leaders have been travelling around the country with rented crowds and in those rallies making some of the most                           ludicrous statements ever recorded in the history of this country.

In an interview with a local radio station last week, Media, Information and Broadcasting Services Permanent Secretary, Mr George Charamba, said Zanu-PF was not concerned about creating synthetic crowds to create the false impression of huge following as is being done by the MDC-T but rolling out tangible programmes for the benefit of the people.

Highlighting that he was speaking as a Zanu-PF supporter, Mr Charamba said the visibility of the ruling party should not be compared to the programmes of the MDC-T and other opposition parties as it is dealing with bread and butter issues.

“Zanu-PF is visible but not in opposition terms. We are fixing the economy; we are dealing with the bread and butter issues, which at the end of the day is what determines how a voter behaves on the day. But more importantly, we have our own schedule. We don’t copy an opponent’s strategy, you pursue your own,” said Mr Charamba.

“What I see is really an excited juvenalian response to an election that looms large but a mature party doesn’t behave in that excited and excitable way.”

Operation Restore legacy is now behind us and Zanu-PF has ushered in a new leadership whose focus is to ensure an enabling environment for a prosperous Zimbabwe so it is up to the people to make an informed decision come the election day.