by Graystone Mapondera

The general atmosphere of peace and tranquility has gradually and inevitably returned to all parts of the country. This is witnessed by the resumption of business in all sectors of the economy as was the case before the violent protests that rocked the nation the previous week.

These disturbances disrupted all facets of life from social, economic, political and in any other angle that one might choose to look from. As a nation a lot of lessons have been learnt chief among them being the fact that violence is definitely not the way to go about solving whatever problems that the nation might be facing.

It remains a fact that after all the debate that has been raging in every corner of the country, the authorities could not stand by and watch as the lawlessness continued. The act of quelling the violent protests demanded that the security forces step in, to ensure the return of normalcy throughout the nation.

To close down the flames of violence that were spreading like a veld fire, the Government used its powers through the Hon Minister of State Security to suppress rampant, wanton and irresponsible use of the Internet, especially the social media to instigate acts of terrorism and infringement on other people’s rights. This remains a major task for the Government moving forward, as different sectors of the community have suddenly shown interest in the Interception of Communications Act.

From the observation point of all caring Zimbabweans, these issues should now be water under the bridge. It would be regrettable if as a nation there are no valuable lessons learnt from the events of violence that took place during the unrest. Lives were lost unnecessarily, while many were injured, property was destroyed and millions of dollars lost in revenue due to the disturbances.

It is now time to demonstrate astute leadership taking the example of President ED Mnangagwa and the whole presidium, who are reading from the same script in calling for the return of normalcy and peace among all Zimbabweans.

The prophets of doom who wish for divisions not only within the presidium but among the security forces will not realize their dream as that will not happen any time soon. It is very clear that there is no discord within the security forces.

It must be noted that the leadership of the country has gone a step further to engage and re-engage with the international community to rebuild the economy. Following the recent violence, President Mnangagwa on his return reiterated the need for Zimbabweans to dialogue and find a peaceful solution to the country’s problems.

In view of the President’s example, it is in the best interest of every Zimbabwean to take heed of the call to dialogue for the good of the country.