By Margaret Kamba
The Head of State and Government, as well as ZANU PF First Secretary, His Excellency President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa has challenged each individual to self introspect on how they are giving back to Zimbabwe.
His remarks were aired during the burial of the late National Hero Cde Winnie Cabby Mandeya at the National Heroes Acre today.
President Mnangagwa reiterated the selfless nature of the country's gallant sons and daughters.
"The lives of the heroes and heroines interred here at the National Shrine, as well as throughout the Provincial and District Heroes Acres are epitaphs of consistent and persistent dedication to the national interests and cause of our motherland, Zimbabwe. I challenge the nation as a whole, to use these solemn occasions to introspect and reflect on our individual, collective, and generational roles we must play for the Zimbabwe of tomorrow," he said.
"This yester- year generation of cadres, liberation war-time fighting force and nationalists, which we sadly continue to lose, had a dream of a free and independent Zimbabwe. They relentlessly pursued this dream against all odds and in spite of the seemingly technically superior enemy, in the mold of the racist Rhodesian settler regime and its allies.
"That rich liberation history and the embodiment of numerous re-collections of the lives of our heroes and heroines, beginning at the family to the national level, should be a source of motivation and inspiration to fuel the realisation of Vision 2030.
"Pauri, zvivhunze kuti urikushandira nyika yekwedu here? Mabasa ako arikusimudzira Zimbabwe here? Zvaurikutaura, zvirikuvaka Nyika yekwedu here, kana kuti kwete?"
President Mnangagwa added that each individual's actions must advance the interest of Zimbabwe.
"May our actions and activities always advance the interest and prosperity of our motherland. Like the national heroes and heroines we celebrate, such as the late Air Vice Marshall Mandeya, among others; we must one day be counted among those who sacrificed, worked hard, and fully deployed their skills, talents, and capabilities for the development, peace, unity as well as modernisation and prosperity of Zimbabwe."
Going down memory lane, President Mnangagwa revealed that the "heroes and heroines of the First and Second Chimurenga fought in cold, rough, and often impassable terrains. Hope and confidence in their unity and collective power, saw them realise the vision of their time. That of independence and freedom."
He challenged the nation to have the "same flames must burn among us, in all corners of this great land, as a united and peace-loving people, so that we realise Vision 2030 and a higher quality of life for all."
He said our "modern-day battle grounds are now spread across all sectors, in agriculture, mining, tourism, manufacturing, and in the fields of education and health, as well as the new frontiers of science, innovation, and technology. In all these fronts and many others, Zimbabwe must continue rising victorious. A new crop of heroes and heroines must emerge across all sectors and age groups. Brick by brick, stone upon stone, and step by step, we are an unstoppable nation."