by Nobleman Runyanga
Many Zimbabweans have praised President Emmerson Mnangagwa following his maiden address to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) summit on Wednesday, this week.
A snap survey carried out by the Harare Post in the capital established that many people were happy with the President’s address.
“The speech was straight forward and he articulated his vision for this country very well. He spoke of issues which are necessary for Zimbabwe to move forward. These include the 1 August post poll violence incident which needs to be addressed to enable the country to move forward and how his administration is working to improve the investment environment to facilitate economic recovery,” said Clifford Samusodza of Chitungwiza.
“The President’s speech made it clear that Zimbabwe is prepared to shed her antagonistic past, work with other countries under the auspices of global and continental bodies such as the UN and claim her stake in the global community of nations,” said Tatenda Gundumura of Mabvuku.
“Under the past administration, fora such as UNGA were reduced to mere talk shops as presentations there merely spelt out national aspirations without indicating any concrete strategies to achieve them. President Mnangagwa tore himself from the old dispensation’s way of doing things by opening up the political and economic space to facilitate the growth of the economy and the free participation in politics by all citizens. This lent credence and weight to his address as he spoke of initiatives he had already done or was in the process of carrying out,” said Charlotte Mutembwa, an entrepreneur, of Greendale.
“To me the pinnacle of the whole event was not just his address. It was the fact that the UN invited him and gave him a slot to address the world at a time that some opposition figures are shamelessly walking out on him in Parliament to protest his electoral victory despite being declared the winner by the national elections management body (the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission) and the Constitutional Court that made my day. His invitation, therefore, should put paid to the opposition’s attention-seeking antics such as demonstrations and walk-outs,” said a ZANU PF member, Peter Makwenha of Mufakose.
As the country puts behind it, the election season and fever the President clearly indicated in his speech that it was time to put the shoulder to the wheel to enable the country to not just catch up with others but accelerate her economic growth.
