Below are highlights of MDC leader, Nelson Chamisa’s address to Bulawayo last week.
Chamisa extended a heartfelt thank you to the people of Bulawayo for their show of support with a huge turnout for the MDC Alliance rally on Saturday at the White City Stadium.
Chamisa said “It was a heartening sojourn into the city of Kings and Queens at the weekend as the ambience and camaraderie amply testified to a city ready to step into a new country.
The crowd was huge, the atmosphere at the White City Stadium was electric and
scintillating, arguably our biggest crowd so far.”
“The huge crowd that turned up at White City stadium on Saturday in its own unique way answered its own questions and stood testimony to the successful rebranding that the party has undergone and the growing confidence and faith that the people continue to repose in our democratic movement.
“I saw the old and the desperate, the young and the impatient, the restless and the carefree all ready to walk into a novel moment-a new Zimbabwe. Bulawayo
showed it was a city all set to step out and meet a new destiny. I saw a people ready
and prepared to shake the hand of destiny and to behold the new,” Chamisa
added.
Addressing the throng, Chamisa said in a new dispensation, the MDC wants to make sure that it is compulsory for national leaders to speak all the major languages in Zimbabwe.
“We do not want language imperialism in a new Zimbabwe. We do not want language
cleansing, where you dwarf other people’s language but you want to advance your
own. We are correcting that. It starts with your President,” he said.
“We do not want the Zanu PF culture of bastardising other communities,” he
added.
Chamisa spoke of a new governance culture in which civil servants are
not victimized for serving under an administration. He said it is the politicians
whose terms of office are altered by the people who elect them, not the civil
servants.
“Politicians are the ones who are elected, not civil servants. In a new government our
civil servants will know that their service is service to the people and not to a party.
Zanu PF does not know the difference.
Party and government are different. We need to ensure this distinction is in place.
No one should be victimized for serving in government at any given point,” he said.
He added that in the month of April, which the MDC has declared to be independence
month, it is important to redefine why that struggle was fought and how the new
generation can embrace the celebration of independence as equals knowing they too
fought for the independence of this nation.
He said independence was attained so that people could lead a better life, not the constant struggles people endure in this generation.
“We did not attain independence to see the problems we face this day. We did not
attain Independence for the suffering and fracturing we are seeing in this country. We
did not attain independence to victimize people,” Chamisa said.
He added that devolution of power was a constitutional requirement that need to
be upheld in order for the nation to start developing.
The current government has failed to implement and respect the provisions of
the constitution.
“We want areas like Matopo to be elevated to town status. It is possible. We want
devolution. Let us devolve power and authority. Devolution is our revolution.
We want to ensure Bulawayo returns to its status as an industrial hub,” he said.
Chamisa took a swipe at the government interference in the Khumalo
throne saying the government should allow communities to deal with their chieftaincy
alone according to their cultures.
“Leave the Khumalo clan do what they know best according to their culture. Leave
them alone. We must respect our culture.
Going forward, we want Matopo to be the center of annual cultural celebrations,” he
said.
Chamisa also took time to visit the Joshua Nkomo memorial museum as part of the party’s thrust to commemorate Independence month. – Changing Times