Opinion / Columnist
1987 Unity Accord was an ideal union
08 Feb 2016 at 10:49hrs | Views
The recent false claim by Andrew Nyati, a ZAPU secretary for mobilization and organization that the 1987 Unity Accord was a mistake should not be given an ear as it depicts the level of political mediocrity that the man has.
Unity Accord was the best union to be mooted in the political history of Zimbabwe. Lack of tolerance to local political history by myopic politicians like Nyati, is catastrophic and sends a wrong message to our youths. It is indeed a political crime to disseminate such information which negates the efforts that were expended by Cde Joshua Nkomo, then leader of the Patriotic Front ZAPU and Cde Robert Mugabe, representing ZANU PF.
Actually, Nyati should be made conversant that the Unity Accord signed on 22 December 1987 is one of the major political milestones in Zimbabwe's political history since attainment of independence in 1980. In fact, Unity Accord ended divisions between the two revolutionary parties which threatened the peace and security of the country.
Upon independence, the two parties ZANU PF and PF ZAPU clashed over the political direction the country should take. This led to the Matabeleland Zimbabwe's civil war of 1982 to 1987 in which many people lost their lives.
Hence, the best way to resolve the impasse was to bring peace and reconciliation in those communities through a shared willingness to reunite all the major actors for the benefit of the nation. Truth be told, the issue of civil wars in any given community should be dismissed with due contempt as they have effects that leads to suffering and mass graves of a number of innocent people. It was therefore necessary for the two parties to mutually agree on arresting the issue of conflict through reconciliation.
It is a universally recognized fact that unity breeds harmony, peace and progress in every field of human endeavor.
It is imperative to note that peace is needed in any home, community, nation, region and entire world. Ever since independence, the people of Zimbabwe enjoy peace and tranquility. It was essential for PF ZAPU to unite with ZANU-PF. That union lowered tensions between the two parties. Essentially, the two former parties irrevocably committed themselves, and agreed to unite under the banner of ZANU-PF.
Therefore, it is crucial for Andrew Nyati and other like-minded individuals that foolishly accuse President Mugabe of being inhuman to acknowledge the pivotal role that the President played as a way of cushioning the bad blood between ZANU-PF and PF ZAPU. Had it been that either President Mugabe or father Zimbabwe, Joshua Nkomo disregarded the idea of unification; a lot of more people could have perished in that civil war.
It is therefore the opinion of author of this article that Unity Accord was necessary as it eliminated violence and paved way for development. Expansion of the country's economic environment was essential as most infrastructure was damaged during the civil war.
In the aftermath of the struggle for independence, the government had to focus development and civil war had no place in such a set-up. Such development involved the best utilization of available domestic and foreign resources to achieve certain growth targets. The main objective of unity accord was to re-build our nation which had already been ravaged by the war of independence. The unity accord made that possible and anyone who thinks otherwise is a traitor to the nation of Zimbabwe.
Unity Accord was the best union to be mooted in the political history of Zimbabwe. Lack of tolerance to local political history by myopic politicians like Nyati, is catastrophic and sends a wrong message to our youths. It is indeed a political crime to disseminate such information which negates the efforts that were expended by Cde Joshua Nkomo, then leader of the Patriotic Front ZAPU and Cde Robert Mugabe, representing ZANU PF.
Actually, Nyati should be made conversant that the Unity Accord signed on 22 December 1987 is one of the major political milestones in Zimbabwe's political history since attainment of independence in 1980. In fact, Unity Accord ended divisions between the two revolutionary parties which threatened the peace and security of the country.
Upon independence, the two parties ZANU PF and PF ZAPU clashed over the political direction the country should take. This led to the Matabeleland Zimbabwe's civil war of 1982 to 1987 in which many people lost their lives.
Hence, the best way to resolve the impasse was to bring peace and reconciliation in those communities through a shared willingness to reunite all the major actors for the benefit of the nation. Truth be told, the issue of civil wars in any given community should be dismissed with due contempt as they have effects that leads to suffering and mass graves of a number of innocent people. It was therefore necessary for the two parties to mutually agree on arresting the issue of conflict through reconciliation.
It is imperative to note that peace is needed in any home, community, nation, region and entire world. Ever since independence, the people of Zimbabwe enjoy peace and tranquility. It was essential for PF ZAPU to unite with ZANU-PF. That union lowered tensions between the two parties. Essentially, the two former parties irrevocably committed themselves, and agreed to unite under the banner of ZANU-PF.
Therefore, it is crucial for Andrew Nyati and other like-minded individuals that foolishly accuse President Mugabe of being inhuman to acknowledge the pivotal role that the President played as a way of cushioning the bad blood between ZANU-PF and PF ZAPU. Had it been that either President Mugabe or father Zimbabwe, Joshua Nkomo disregarded the idea of unification; a lot of more people could have perished in that civil war.
It is therefore the opinion of author of this article that Unity Accord was necessary as it eliminated violence and paved way for development. Expansion of the country's economic environment was essential as most infrastructure was damaged during the civil war.
In the aftermath of the struggle for independence, the government had to focus development and civil war had no place in such a set-up. Such development involved the best utilization of available domestic and foreign resources to achieve certain growth targets. The main objective of unity accord was to re-build our nation which had already been ravaged by the war of independence. The unity accord made that possible and anyone who thinks otherwise is a traitor to the nation of Zimbabwe.
Source - Chido Chikuni
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