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Statement
on Zimbabwe’s Independence Day
National
Constitutional Assembly (NCA)
April 16, 2013
The National
Constitutional Assembly (NCA), calls upon all its members and every
Zimbabwean to join the celebrations of Independence Day on 18 April.
On 18 April 1980, after decades of colonial and white supremacy
rule, we proved to ourselves and the world that Zimbabwe was now
a democracy.
We must however
always remember, as we celebrate our freedom, that it was not won
without struggle and sacrifice. Thousands of members of the liberation
movement were arrested, jailed, tortured, exiled or even sacrificed
their lives to help free our nation from racist tyranny.
In particular
we dip our flags in honour of two of our greatest leaders, Josiah
Magama Tongogara and Hebert Chitepo, who both passed away on the
eve of our independence and thus narrowly missed the chance to witness
the democratic breakthrough that they did more than most to bring
about.
While we have
much to commemorate we also have a lot still to achieve before we
can say that all Zimbabweans are really free. We cannot ignore the
millions of Zimbabweans who live in poverty who cannot benefit from
political freedom, as they face a daily struggle to survive.
Millions of
our people cannot find work and the millions still living in squatter
camps fully celebrate their 'freedom' as they struggle to find ways
to earn a decent living and live in a proper house?
We also have
to shrink the massive levels of inequality which have made Zimbabwe
the most unequal society in the world. Such inequality mocks our
struggle to build a free, fair and equitable society. Neither can
we celebrate freedom when our society is scarred by such high levels
of crime and corruption.
Gross inequalities
in wealth distribution, health and education remain defined along
political lines just similar to the time it was done along racial
lines. The fault lines of the colonial economy remain largely intact.
In the main
it is the children of the poor, the working class whose educational
experience is marked by poor learning infrastructure, high tuition
fees, classroom overcrowding, high dropout rates and unsafe schools.
There are equally glaring discrepancies in the quality of health
care, with a first-world service for the wealthy in government and
the private sector and a third-world service for the poor in the
public sector.
The highest
levels of poverty and underdevelopment are also still concentrated
in our townships and rural areas.
Also denied
the full fruits of our freedom are the millions who suffer from
HIV/AIDS and other deadly diseases - many of them diseases caused
by poverty. The millions who suffer from HIV/AIDS and other deadly
diseases, many of which are diseases of poverty, are also not truly
free. Many of these diseases would have disappeared if people could
afford quality food and had access to the medicines they need, including
antiretrovirals for people living with HIV/AIDS. We urge all our
members to get themselves tested.
33 years after
a protracted war, the nation will finally adopt
a new constitution, a constitution which the leaders of the
land imposed on the people. The fruits of freedom cannot be enjoyed
if you have no job, no money, no food on the table, nothing to pay
your children's school fees or no proper health care for your family.
This new constitution will never guarantee our freedom. It retains
power on one person, a big legislature and it does not compel the
state to allocate a specified minimum percentage of the nation’s
revenue to deal with the needs of the poor.
The only way
for the people of Zimbabwe, our families and our communities to
win real and total freedom is for us to get organised in strong,
fighting trade unions, a strong alliances and civil society formations
and fight for a genuine people driven constitution and the realisation
of the People's Charter.
We will forever
remain indebted by the revolutionary and progressive step made by
the 179 849 brave Zimbabweans who voted
NO in the referendum, not only did they voted wisely, but it
was in honour and in defence of our independence.
We must recruit
and organise all in colleges, in factories, churches, and all sectors.
We must drastically improve our own civic organisations, so that
they recruit more `members as we prepare to fight bigger struggles
ahead.
Visit the NCA
fact
sheet
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