The ManicaPost
Post Reporters
WILD celebrations and street parties were witnessed around Mutare and its environs on Tuesday night as Zimbabweans greeted the news of former President, Cde Robert Mugabe’s resignation with joy.
Most people interviewed said it was a dawn of a new era for Zimbabweans as they had eagerly waited for the day for more than three decades. Zimbabwe has not known of any other executive president since 1980 and those born after independence believe it is a new birth of the country.
Fortune Tipisa of Mutsago Village under Chief Marange said: “Change was inevitable in Zimbabwe and this is our early Christmas present. For us the young generation we had never enjoyed this economy. We had come to the conclusion that we are a cursed generation. Yes, Cde Mugabe played his part, but it was high time that he passed on the baton stick to someone else. Being at the helm of an organisation for 37 years is not a joke, one will surely run out of governance ideas. One is bound to be out of touch with reality, hence fresh ideas will be needed.
“We want change in Zimbabwe. We want jobs, affordable education and freedom of expression. We want Zimbabwe to regain its status as the breadbasket of Southern Africa.”
Tendai Mutiyadhi of Hobhouse high-density suburb said: “The whole nation is happy that the old man has finally resigned. I am ecstatic that finally Zimbabwe will move forward as a country. We should move away from the seemingly unending political bickering. We cannot continue to be in an election mode forever.
“The economy was suffering as energy and time was being spent on consolidating political power. We should engage everyone including the West because as a country we cannot achieve success alone.
“We need to develop and remove the tag of being the laughing stock of the world. We pray that the next leader will have our concerns at heart and take us to the Promised Land.
“Half of the country’s population had migrated to other countries in search of greener pastures, but I am sure this is the end of it all. Let us all join hands in rebuilding our beautiful nation.” Matthew Donga of Zimunya said Cde Mugabe would be missed.
“Yes, Cde Mugabe is gone, but we should not forget his contributions to Zimbabwe, both before and after independence. Cde Mugabe might have had his weaknesses, but he will be remembered for champion the causes of black Zimbabweans,” he said.
A Mr Bonyongwa said: “We cannot shed tears for people like the outgoing First Lady, Mrs Grace Mugabe because she allowed herself to be used by people who had other sinister motives. She allowed Cde Mugabe to be surrounded by criminals who ended up usurping and abusing executive powers.
“We hope the change will bring sanity to the nation. We also want reconciliation and unity of purpose. The new leadership should also do away with witch-hunting and focus on nation development. We want plurality of ideas and all those known to be capable of taking the country forward should be brought on board.”
Mr Roy Matangira said: “We are over the moon with this latest development. We want a new beginning with people-centred policies. We want a prosperous economy that will also benefit future generations.”
Mr Donald Kamba Makoni said the economy was the major challenge facing the country and Government should do all in its means to provide for its people.
Mr Kamba Makoni also said Government should right-size its workforce starting from the top.
“The state of the economy is the chief grievance seizing the nation, deliberate and serious efforts at tackling this challenge will open avenues where there will be many other attractive roadmaps outside the roadmap to State house.
“Once achieved, we will see a return to sanity and decency in conduct of political activity which had been reduced to a land of conducting elections as opposed to being the land for socio-economic sustenance of the people,” said Mr Kamba Makoni.
Mr Albert Nyakuedzwa said: “Though the country had been reduced to a pathetic little economy that relied on hand-outs we have the brains to make it work again. I think we are fully aware of what we really need to do to get out from under our current economic woes. We need to revive our industry, attract foreign direct investment, and cut spending. We need to be all-inclusive in growing the economy. We need to draw lessons from our past experiences, reorganise and pull together as Zimbabweans in one direction,” said Mr Nyakuedzwa.
Nyanga Rural District Council chairperson, Councillor Moses Gutu, said Zimbabwe should accrue maximum value from its tourism heritage.
“We have some of the best tourism sites in the world which we should take advantage of and if the sector is properly planned and implemented, the giant in us can be awaken,” said Cllr Gutu.
Mr Lovemore Gijima Msindo said Government should provide a vibrant agriculture regulatory and service framework and an enabling environment within which the private players can do business.
“Agriculture is a business, and land is a key element of the enabling environment of the agricultural industry. We need clear cut formulation of policies and their and implementation,” said Mr Msindo.
