mbulelo smpofu
WE reproduce in full President Mnangagwa’s address to the nation on the occasion of the commemoration of National Unity Day.
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FELLOW Zimbabweans;
Comrades and Friends
Today, on this National Unity Day, we commemorate 37 years since our founding fathers, the late Comrades Joshua Mqabuko Nyongolo Nkomo and Robert Gabriel Mugabe, signed the historic Unity Accord in Harare, on 22 December, 1987.
The accord ushered in unity, peace and stability in our great motherland, Zimbabwe, and laid a firm foundation for national cohesion and development that subsists to this day.
Those early years of post-independence unrest unnecessarily delayed our socio-economic growth and cast a dark cloud of disharmony among our people.
This day, therefore, will forever be etched on our national calendar as a sombre reminder of our individual and collective duty to defend, promote and consolidate the grand national heritage of peace, unity and love.
This is the guarantor for sustainable multi-pronged development.
Since the 1987 Unity Accord, our nation has stood firm and united even in difficult times.
These included during our fight for the sovereign reclamation of our land.
Presently, our nation is moving forward with fervent hope and determination to build a more prosperous future for all Zimbabweans, leaving no one and no place behind.
We remain inspired to continue demonstrating unparalleled national strength, resilience and unflinching patriotism to our country.
The numerous attacks and ill-will we have endured from detractors over the years were aimed at sowing seeds of division and disunity.
However, the people of this great nation have remained vigilant and resolute.
Our trials and tribulations have become the wind beneath our wings that helps us to soar greater heights like the fish eagle that adorns our sacred national flag.
Through oneness and common purpose, we are recording evident transformation in every facet of the economy, village by village, ward by ward and sector by sector.
Although our norms, customs, languages and culture are diverse, we remain a composite and solid unitary state.
From Zambezi to Limpopo, from Plumtree to Mutare, and across the most remote villages in our country, we sing with pride one national anthem and fly one national flag.
We are diverse, but one.
Thirty-seven years since this historic National Accord, self-hate, violence, tribalism and regionalism are now rejected in our national psyche and culture.
We embraced and embedded unity, peace, self-belief and confidence in our identity as the sons and daughters of this sacred soil.
This national consciousness is now imprinted in our individual and collective mindset, embodied by our national development philosophy: Nyika inovakwa, inotongwa, inonamatirwa nevene vayo/Ilizwe lakhiwa, libuswe, likhulekelwe ngabanikazi balo.
The policies and programmes of the Second Republic are galvanising us all towards increased production and productivity, and propelling us to the realisation of Vision 2030.
Brick by brick, stone upon stone and step by step, we are unapologetically marching forward.
As the people of Zimbabwe, we are entrenching our identity as an independent, sovereign, free, united and truly liberated African people.
To this end, this past week saw my administration concretise the constitutionally enshrined obligation to give rights to every Zimbabwean citizen to hold and occupy agricultural land.
Hence, the bold decision to empower the beneficiaries of the Land Reform Programme through the issuance of deeds of transfer that will unlock the value of our land.
Through this historic act, these new tenure documents will be issued to the over 23 500 A2 and over 360 000 A1 farmers.
The celebration of this year’s Unity Day is, therefore, equally a jubilant occasion affirming that the land is now irreversibly with its people, and the people with their land.
This is what our forebears fought for.
This is what we, the current generation, have achieved.
I congratulate the people of Zimbabwe for this unprecedented feat and achievement.
Fellow Zimbabweans;
Under the Second Republic, we are cementing and consolidating national unity and social cohesion through several strategies.
These include accelerated development at grassroots level and broader decentralisation.
Home-grown unity and peace-building processes, led by our chiefs, are a testimony of the effectiveness of our heritage-based strategies in addressing contemporary realities.
Let us, therefore, look ahead to a brighter future as we continuously discover the strength that resides in our diversity, culture and traditions.
Fellow Zimbabweans;
Since our last commemorations, our nation has endured a gruelling climate change-induced drought.
Together as one united people, we have persevered, endured and continue to build resilience against the negative impact of climate change and other economic shocks.
The enduring spirit of unity that forms the bedrock and a fundamental character trait of our nation, Zimbabwe, was reflective during our hosting of the 44th SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government held in August this year.
Therefore, in executing its role and responsibilities as the SADC Chair, Zimbabwe will do its part towards consolidating solidarity and inclusion for the overall goal of poverty eradication and multi-sectoral integration of our united region.
Meanwhile, successes in the sporting arena, the creative cultural industry, as well as the science, technology and innovation field, raised high our national flag and “Brand Zimbabwe”.
It, therefore, gives me great pleasure to congratulate all Zimbabweans, at home and abroad, in their various socio-economic and cultural endeavours for their hard work and achievements over the past year.
Let us continue running our own race, competing solely with who we were yesterday, for the ultimate benefit of the peoples of our great motherland, Zimbabwe.
Unity, patriotism, peace, as well as love and respect for one another, are indispensable values to accelerate the development of our country.
I, therefore, call upon all citizens to commemorate this National Unity Day with sober reflections and recommit to the rich national heritage embodied in the historic Unity Accord of 1987.
Never, never, never again, should anything ever divide us.
United we must stand, strong and solid as the walls of Great Zimbabwe, from which we derive our nation’s name.
Hand-in-hand, in unity, from village to the provincial level; sector by sector and industry by industry, Vision 2030 shall surely become a reality.
As we celebrate this important national holiday, let us do so responsibly and safely, especially for the travelling and commuting public.
With these remarks, on my own behalf, that of Government and indeed my family, I wish all fellow citizens, at home and abroad, a Merry Christmas and a prosperous 2025.
May the New Year ahead bring hope and greater prosperity for our motherland, Zimbabwe.
Long live our unity.
Happy National Unity Day Zimbabwe.
God bless you all.
God bless Zimbabwe.
I thank you.
