Staff Reporter

President Emmerson Mnangagwa yesterday called upon all Zimbabweans to set aside their differences and work together for the development of the nation.

In his speech to commemorate the historic Unity Day, President Mnangagwa said that he was on a mission to heal wounds of the past era and foster unity among citizens.

“I have made it a personal mission to engage our citizens and our communities in the conflict zones of that unfortunate time of early Independence. We have to boldly confront and tackle the aftermath of that era, heal wounds it left in its wake and where possible, assuage persistent difficulties and challenges traceable to it. This, I am resolved to do until we remove whatever bitter memories that may still and are likely to linger,” said the President.

President Mnangagwa added that his Government had a duty to resolve issues of early independence conflicts and said that all conflicts should be resolved through peaceful dialogue.

“We are the generation that must resolve issues of early independence conflict, so we release our children to move forward and ahead as a united people. They key lesson from this preceding era of internal conflict should never be lost. Whatever differences and contradictions we face, or likely to face in future, these should always find resolution through peaceful dialogue in the interest of peace and national unity. Nothing beats sitting down as one people to iron out any differences that exist or might arise,” added the President.

President Mnangagwa further said that the country’s traditional leaders have a role to play in bringing unity, peace and tolerance in the country. He added that the traditional leaders know the challenges of the past dark era and they are best suited to resolve the challenges.

The President castigated people who want to open old wounds and urged the citizens to be aware of these negative elements in our societies.

“As we give space to our traditional leaders to lead processes of reconciliation and repair, we should guard against those negative elements which aim to reignite frozen differences in order to throw us back into renewed conflict. As always there are sinister forces which seek to profit from a divided and divisive past. They must not succeed,” said President Mnangagwa.

President Mnangagwa further said that the Unity Accord signed in 1987 was a national asset that should be cherished and valued by all citizens.