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Stephen Mpofu
WILL Zimbabwe’s 36th year of independence, be a turning point in the manner in which our nation nurtures the revolution that ushered in freedom and independence on April,18, 1980?

In the current circumstances the answer to the above question is neither a definitive “yes” nor a definitive “no” either. The latter because some heroes of the armed revolution, who are supposed to be the nation’s guiding stars have turned out to be shooting stars instead.

These are the comrades who should at all times pursue the character of indefatigable stewards of the revolution as a road without end, passing on the baton to patriotic born-frees upon reaching their milestone, but who have instead sadly resorted to acts that are decidedly anti-revolutionary, witness the indiscipline that has surfaced its ugly head of late.

This sad development resulted in President Mugabe holding a meeting with ex-combatants on April 7 in Harare in his capacity as the patron of the former fighters, and at which he clearly spelt out the need for the erstwhile former freedom fighters to respect elders and for them to further advance the revolution economically and socially by opening up minds for themselves and by utilising land set aside for them under the agrarian revolution to improve their welfare and that of their families.

If the war veterans stop squabbling among themselves as they have been wont to do in recent months and close ranks as they did during the war of liberation, they will earn the respect of the masses and the support that they need from the government  to continue to anchor the revolution and its political, social and economic thrusts.

While we are at the economics sphere, it appears critical for government ministers not to appear as though they are on a journey of non-believers by making policy pronouncements that contradict each other instead of being complementary and therefore portraying government in bad light especially in the eyes of international players waiting on the wings to invest capital and technology as a way of augmenting our government’s own economic development programs.

That President Mugabe had to weigh in to clarify the country’s indigenisation policy — after contradictory pronouncements by two cabinet ministers which left that policy clouded in a fog of confusion — is no doubt a strong case for consultative meetings on critical policy matters by government officials before any public statements are made.

Giving Zimbabweans ownership and control of their economic resources to which they claim the same inalienable rights as to freedom and independence and sovereignty, is all in keeping with the revolution about which patriotic Zimbabweans pride themselves.

It is undeniable that revisionists and diversionists roam our independence, plying their trade by hobnobbing with imperialists who will not accept defeat and so dream day and night of once again riding on the backs of the people they once kept under their thumb. They continue to dangle unfettered financial and moral support to those Zimbabweans willing to turn themselves into Trojan horses.

Consider the behaviour and pronouncements of some opposition parties in this country and you will not fail to identify foreigners with whom they sup, or with whom they go to bed as they crave power themselves at any cost, including the cost of selling out the country.

Now, with the next year of Uhuru also marking the eve of general elections in 2018, the masses have a huge role to play to ensure that our revolution does not come unstuck in the elections, as these people wield the trump card at the ballot box.

They can guarantee the continuation without end of the revolutionary road by denying any support for leaders who engage in factionalism or tribalism or in corruption as these values are counter revolutionary by their very nature as they divide people by fragmenting their loyalty to and support for the revolution as a unifying factor for one nation with the same aspirations and destiny.

So, then, should the masses remember the difficult road they travelled and the precious lives lost along that road as the gallant sons and daughters of the soil fought from outside the country and from within for the restoration of the dignity and rights of blacks in the motherland, independence celebrations this Monday should provide a new impetus to Zimbabwe’s revolution and its guardians — the masses themselves who stand to suffer the brunt of any recolonisation by hegemonists  after Zimbabwe’s rich natural resources.

This essentially means that the future of this country rests in the hands of patriotic Zimbabweans who must at all costs support the motherland against those of their fellow nationals driven by obscene desires for power and even using Machiavellian means to accede to that power through the back door.