MIRROR REPORTER

HARARE – The hallmark of true independence is found in the dignity of the people, opposition leader, Nelson Chamisa has said.
Making his independence speech distributed on social media, Chamisa said people cannot be independent without dignity and he says dignity is found in the fulfilment of people’s basic needs.
He said people cannot be independent when they have nothing to their names, when they have no food, no money, no access to good hospitals and cannot send their children to school.
Zimbabweans have none of those basics and cannot talk about independence, said Chamisa. He said people also need to have free and fair elections where they can choose their leaders to be truly independent.
The absence of such basic things erodes away people’s dignity and hence independence, argued Chamisa.
He said a new Government must bring about change and restore people’s dignity.
He said the dignity of Zimbabweans is lost when they get scattered all over the world looking for opportunities. There are six million Zimbabweans in the Diaspora and they are called derogatory names like makwerekwere and they suffer xenophobia despite that their country is rich with 60 minerals.
“There is no independence when you have nothing to your name, when you are made to have no value, when millions are scattered all over the world looking for opportunities, when you cannot pay school fees for your children, when you drive on gullies which we call roads and when there is no medicine in hospitals.
“There is no independence when people cannot have elections. People must be afforded the dignity to choose their own leaders. We need love,” said Chamisa.
He preached love and togetherness and said this has always been the fabric of the Zimbabwe people even from the time of the liberation struggle.