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Celebrating President Mugabe's birthday is a necessity

24 Feb 2015 at 13:09hrs | Views
Some of the private media, which has developed an art of denouncing anything associated with President Robert Mugabe, are at it again as they trample on each other trying to denounce the celebrations of President Mugabe's birthday in Victoria Falls.

The same media is saying that the 21st February Movement should not throw a birthday party for the President this year as the country is going under economic hardships. They  are saying that the President must channel resources sourced by the 21st February Movement into other sectors of the economy and let the birthday of the President go as any other day of the year.

This mentality from some of the private media of failing to see the importance of the birthday of President Mugabe is synonymous with people who are jealous of good things coming from those they hate to the marrow.  It is high time that the private media get to appreciate that President Mugabe is a hero and celebrating his birthday is not a crime. In actual fact those in the private media should also join hands with everyone in celebrating the birthday of this iconic leader.
It is absurd that the private media has gone to town claiming that President Mugabe is using state resources in the celebration of his birthday; ignoring that the celebrations are being arranged by the 21st February Movement. For those in the dark, the 21st February Movement, which is marking its 29th Anniversary this year, has seen it fit to celebrate this day every year as a way of thanking and remembering the great sacrifices that President Mugabe went through during the colonial era until Zimbabwe became independent.

Celebrating the President's birthday is very noble as Zimbabweans will be appreciating President Mugabe's immense contribution to the country. Only those people who are against black empowerment are jealousy of President Mugabe's long life.

Zimbabwe has shown the world that owning indigenous resources by indigenous people is possible because of President Mugabe's vision and his principled leadership. Since the turn of the new millennium Zimbabwe has seen some indigenous people becoming employers as the country embarked on the land redistribution program. Today, even in the posh suburbs in which it was taboo for a black man to own a house, there is secret admiration of President Mugabe. People are now able to reside in such areas which were the preserve of white people only.

Such a milestone of having black people in areas which were meant for white people alone was made possible by the good leadership of President Mugabe. The President has done a lot of good things for the country and even those who are criticizing his leadership style were given that freedom of speech and expression by President Mugabe who fought for everyone to have his/her right to be recognised as Zimbabwean in this Southern African country.

The free-education-for-all policy which President Mugabe introduced after independence made it possible for those journalists who are always busy attacking his person and leadership to get educated and knowledgeable to write such fallacy articles. Those people are quick to forget the good things which President Mugabe brought to this former British colony only to rush into blaming him on the economic malaise which the country is undergoing.

In actual fact people should realize that the economic difficulties which the country is undergoing right now were caused by those western countries that were against black empowerment of the indigenous people. President Mugabe's land redistribution program, which he introduced during then turn of the 21st century, did not go down well with our former colonisers. As such, after realizing that if the land reform program succeeds in Zimbabwe, all other countries across the globe, in a similar predicament, would follow suit resulting in the imperialists losing their looted possessions.

For that reasons the western countries responded to the land reform program in the country by imposing economic sanctions as a way of sending a strong warning to other African countries who could have wanted to take the Zimbabwean route. As such the private media must not ignore such simple facts and rush on blaming President Mugabe as responsible for the economic malaise of this country. They should bring out clearly such simple facts showing that sanctions are the culprits in causing the economic hardships in the country.

In fact, all Zimbabweans should join hands with the 21st February Movement in celebrating the birth day of this African Statesman who has become the pioneer for the economic empowerment of the indigenous people. People should be aware that President Mugabe has travelled a long and difficult journey from during the armed struggle up to now where you and I are able to write our opinions freely. It was him who made it clear that political independence is nothing without economic independence.

After all why is the private media and its opposition cronies against the President's birth day celebrations as if President Mugabe has arranged that bash for himself? People should realize that President Mugabe did not arrange this bash but people who have realized that he made a difference by freeing Zimbabweans from political and economic bondage which we were under during the colonial era.

Zimbabweans should not be fooled by some few malcontents in believing that President Mugabe is insincere, hence, the need to celebrate his birthday in our millions. In actual fact, people should be happy that Zimbabwe is still with this African icon who is courageous enough to challenge white dominance on the African continent in general and Zimbabwe in particular.

 The birthday celebration of President Mugabe is being criticized in the country, when the South Africans have chosen the 18th of July as the Nelson Mandela Day. Former South African President Nelson Mandela was born on 18 July 1918, and this day is celebrated every year as South Africans come together to celebrate contributions of their hero.

So if South Africans celebrate the birthday of Nelson Mandela as a way of remembering good works he did for that country, what is wrong for the Zimbabweans to do the same for their iconic leader, President Mugabe.

 In actual fact, the world over, birthdays of prominent people are celebrated as a way of remembering their good works which they would have done for their people. In the United States of America (USA) birthdays of Martin Luther King (jnr) George Washington, Abraham Lincoln etc are celebrated as a way of remembering what those people did for the USA, so what is the fallacy here in Zimbabwe if President Mugabe's birthday is celebrated.


Source - John Mukumbo
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