What Mnangagwa and Chamisa said on Zimbabwe’s 40th independence anniversary

Fellow Zimbabweans;

We celebrate our milestone 40th Independence Anniversary in the context of unprecedented times, that of the threat brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

I would like to once again thank the nation for the collective response to our appeal towards our preparedness to fight the pandemic within our jurisdiction. I applaud the responses from the Health Services Sector, Security Sector, Higher Education and Tertiary Institutions, Pharmaceutical Sector, the private sector, churches, Traditional Leaders and Non- Governmental Organizations. I further commend the nation as a whole for the manner we have carried ourselves during this National Lockdown.

In unity, love and common purpose nothing can prevail against us. May this national character continue to grow and flourish.

I equally want to thank some countries and partners from abroad such as the People’s Republic of China, United Kingdom, United States of America, UAE, European Union, the World Health Organization and other United Nations Agencies, as well as the Jack-Ma Foundation, among many other international organizations and well-wishers, who have generously supported our fight against COVID-19.

Fellow Zimbabweans;

40 years after Independence, let us remain hopeful and steadfast in spirit. Vision 2030 is alive and beyond COVID-19, its accomplishment must be accelerated.

Our present experiences, in the wake of this pandemic, teach us that friends and investors may assist us. However, it is the collective efforts of all of our nationals across all sectors, that will make the difference. We must, thus, scale up dialogue among each other to harness our abilities, competencies, skills and resources.

Achieving food security remains a key priority to my Government. Today our stocks are being replenished through massive food imports. Food will reach vulnerable households so that no one will starve.

This includes those in urban areas. Orphans and vulnerable children continue to benefit from the Basic Education Assistance Module, BEAM, with a total of 1, 2 million children expected to be on the scheme this year.

Our situation is compounded by the continuing illegal economic sanctions, which we have endured for close to half of our years of Independence. These sanctions have limited our options and constricted our possibilities of freely interacting in the global economy. I thank the European Union for softening its stance towards us. I implore Washington to promptly lift these illegal sanctions against us without any preconditions. They are illegal and hurtful to our people; Zimbabwe does not deserve them.

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