By Staff Writer
As ZANU PF continues to meet and engage with its revolutionary sister Parties, the Secretary General Cde Obert Mpofu has called for a joint effort in working towards economic development.
Speaking during a recent meeting with his counterpart from FRELIMO, Cde Chakil Aboobacar, Cde Mpofu said that Party’s presence in Zimbabwe was a sign of the commitment between the two sister Parties.
"Your presence in Harare is a living testimony to the enduring vitality of the liberation movements of southern Africa and to the grassroots support that continues to sustain our shared revolutionary ideals. Our two Parties are bound by blood, by sacrifice and by an unshakeable conviction in the right of our peoples to chart their own destiny. From the trenches of our liberation struggles to the conference halls of today, ZANU-PF and FRELIMO have walked hand-in-hand," Cde Mpofu said.
"In recent years our relations have flourished, marked by frequent high-level visits—including that of His Excellency, Cde Daniel Francisco Chapo, prior to his election as President of the Republic of Mozambique. We remain forever grateful for Mozambique’s solidarity during Zimbabwe’s war of liberation, and we stand, as ever, ready to reciprocate that solidarity in word and in deed."
Cde Mpofu added that the two Parties have an obligation they must fulfill.
"Our shared history imposes upon us a sacred obligation to deepen and broaden collaboration in every sphere. Let us rededicate ourselves to strengthening ideological and strategic co-ordination so as to thwart the challenges of neo-colonialism, disinformation and external interference demand a united front of liberation movements. We should further endeavour to institutionalise regular bilateral engagements."
"Our parties should continue their quest to achieve economic development and people-centred policies. Political freedom must be buttressed by economic emancipation. Together we can share best practices in grassroots development, from Zimbabwe’s Presidential Rural Development Programme to Mozambique’s district-level initiatives; pursue collaboration in agriculture and renewable energy, leveraging our comparative advantages to improve food security and energy access for our peoples, champion youth employment and entrepreneurship, recognising that the demographic dividend can only be realised through deliberate, inclusive economic strategies.
"Having witnessed the events that unfolded after the last elections in our respective countries, it is important that we exchange experiences and lessons so as to refine our internal processes and public engagement strategies. We have noticed the increased use of social media to attack our parties and leadership in recent times and we should therefore come up with means of thwarting these attacks by our detractors through the use of social media platforms. It is therefore prudent for the Former Liberation Movements (FLMs)to constantly meet, exchange notes on how to thwart attacks from the enemy as well as strengthen relations."
Cde Mpofu said the two sister revolutionary Parties are only divided by colonial borders.
"Since our people are one and are only divided by the colonial borders imposed on us, I suggest that we strengthen our cultural and historical ties. No future is secure unless it honours its past," he said.
"I invite FRELIMO to join ZANU-PF in documenting our shared liberation history through museums, oral-history projects, films and digital archives; expanding cultural-exchange programmes, from school twinning arrangements to arts and sports festivals that foster people-to-people understanding across our borders.
"The torch lit by our forebears still burns bright. It illuminates a path of unity, sovereignty and shared prosperity for the peoples of Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Let us guard that flame zealously, and let us labour together so that, in the fullness of time, history will record that ZANU-PF and FRELIMO remained faithful custodians of the revolutionary mission entrusted to us."