The Sunday News
ON 1 July 1999, the nation was plunged into mourning, a day very few will hardly forget for generations to come, a day when the nation lost a revered leader, a visionary, a unifier and a development guru.
This was the day when a “mountain fell”, a day when Father Zimbabwe Dr Joshua Mqabuko Nyongolo Nkomo joined our ancestors.
However, even though Dr Nkomo passed on 16 years ago his legacy still remains intact mainly because his legacy extends beyond politics. While most of the younger generation know him for his heroism in the liberation struggle, the signing of the Unity Accord and as a Vice-President, he was a man with a vision, whose goal was always unity and development.
Sixteen years on, Dr Nkomo’s works remain a great feature in our lives and his contributions towards the growth of the nation forever remain very evident. His towering legacy still lives on today, in various domains and it is up to today’s generation to treasure his sacrifices in order to bequeath his rich legacy to future generations.
So ambitious was Dr Joshua Nkomo, whose vision was to empower ordinary people, that he went on to help set up the Development Trust of Zimbabwe (DTZ), a developmental initiative with subsidiaries in mining, horticulture, and coffee and tea production as well as tomato canning, in a bid to promote self-sufficiency among Zimbabweans.
It is, however, unfortunate that a number of the late Vice-President’s projects have lagged behind in terms of implementation and one such project that comes to mind is the Ekusileni Medical Centre in Bulawayo, which on a number of occasions has experienced a false start.
The medical institution operated for just three months in 2004 before closing after it was discovered the equipment acquired by the institute was obsolete and dangerous to patients.
However, on a positive move, last month the new operating partner, Phodiso Holdings Private Limited from South Africa, announced plans to reopen the institute by the end of July.
According to the hospital management from Phodiso Holdings Private Limited, what was left was equipping the hospital after the completion of infrastructural development.
Just last week the nation woke up to more good news regarding one of the late Vice-President’s projects where it was reported that multi-million dollar tomato processing equipment that has been lying idle at the Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (Arda) Balu Estates in Umguza District, Matabeleland North Province for over two decades would be installed soon at Esigodini in Matabeleland South Province.
To add on to the projects inspired by the late Father Zimbabwe are a number of projects in the country meant to honour his status these including the Joshua Mqabuko statue in Bulawayo, renaming of the Bulawayo Airport to Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport and the renaming of Bulawayo’s Main Street to Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Street.
It is now dawning on many that Government is serious about preserving Dr Nkomo’s revered name in the psyche of every Zimbabwean.
However, while one might believe Dr Nkomo’s developmental trajectory was on the bigger projects he was also heavily involved in grassroots development.
A short drive along the dusty Old Gwanda road reveals another side of Dr Nkomo’s works. This is at the small village of Ntunjambili, under Chief Malachi Masuku in Matopo, where the secret of survival of the villagers was influenced greatly by Dr Nkomo.
The villagers are practising market gardening, specialising in collard greens.
The villagers supply markets as far as neighbouring Botswana, Zambia and the resort town of Victoria Falls.
This is a project that also got the blessings of the late Dr Nkomo, who according to villagers at one point offered advice on the best type of collard to cultivate in the area, which also experiences water shortages.
“We used to concentrate on rape but the problem is that within two months it would have outlived its lifespan and during winter it would be affected by frost but he came with the type of collard that we call chomolia viscose, which grows right through the year and doesn’t need much water.
“Some of us don’t know any other means of surviving outside this, we were educated through this green gold and right now we are educating our own children through the same means. We no longer waste our time planting maize or other crops because we get no yields at all but with our mbhida we are assured of riches,” said 34-year-old Mr Nkosilathi Ndlovu.
However, concern has been raised over the slow pace it has taken to honour Dr Nkomo and further complete some of the projects which he pioneered.
Speaking during a recent tour of the idle multi-million dollar tomato canning plant at Arda Balu Estate in Umguza district, Vice-President Cde Phelekezela Mphoko castigated the slow pace it was taking to implement projects honouring Dr Nkomo.
VP Mphoko said what was unfair was that those responsible for implementing the projects had shown that they undermined the legacy of revolutionaries such as the late Father Zimbabwe and President Mugabe.
According to war veteran Cde George Mlala, the late Vice-President sourced the equipment which was meant to be for a tomato and fruit juice canning project soon after independence.
“VP Nkomo started this project just after 1980 and his vision was to can tomatoes and other juices so that these could be sold to both local and outside markets but unfortunately it never took off and very few people have tried to get it to function over the years, to no avail,” he said.
“His intention was to have local farmers grow the tomatoes on the estate and then process them there as there is a large dam that is there that was going to supply water to the project.”
Dr Nkomo’s dream was to also build a factory which would do all the processing and canning of fruit, with the factory housing machinery which he had sourced from Italy.
Machinery that is still to be used include electric motors, storage tanks, piping material, steamers, mixers and various farming implements like tractors, harvesters and sorting machines.
Mr Jabulani Hadebe, the chief executive officer of the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo National Foundation, which is responsible for nurturing and preserving the legacy of Dr Nkomo through various projects in the country, said while they were working round the clock to honour the late Vice-President there was still need for more to be done to honour his legacy.
The foundation runs projects which include Joshua Nkomo Museum, Umdala Wethu Music Festival, Joshua Nkomo Golf Classic and the Umdala Wethu Soccer Charity Cup.
Mr Hadebe said there was more commitment required in the implementation of projects dedicated to the national hero, noting the contribution Dr Nkomo made to the nation.
“There are still a number of projects hanging which is rather disappointing considering the way he fought for this nation, at one point he even sold his favourite shoes at the airport to raise money for his plane ticket, that is how dedicated he was.
“This is the reason that as a foundation we feel more has to be done to honour his legacy and even ensure that the projects that he started be completed since most of them were meant to foster development not only in the Matabeleland region but the country as a whole,” said Mr Hadebe.
He said it was, however, laudable that there was progress in the implementation of a number of projects including Ekusileni hospital.
“There is no denying that Dr Nkomo was a great leader, a true father to the whole nation, which is why I believe more has to be done to honour this great man; even declaring either 1 July or 19 June, his birth date to be a national holiday.
“A lot has to be done in all honesty. Right now we all say Dr Nkomo was born in Kezi but did you know that his family’s homestead was destroyed by the whites during the liberation struggle. Nothing has been done to probably revive the homestead save for the Nkomo shrine which the family used as their burial site. Some people don’t even know where the homestead was,” said Mr Hadebe.
On the projects they were embarking on this year in honour of Dr Nkomo, Mr Hadebe revealed that on top of the tours to the museum, which used to be the late Vice-President’s residence, they would also have a golf classic and legacy dinner on 16 July where Vice-President Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa would be the guest of honour.
“It is unfortunate that we cannot as yet confirm the Joshua Nkomo legacy cup, which is set to pit Highlanders against Dynamos, because we are still waiting for Zifa and PSL to give us a date, but we had hoped that they would give us a date during their mid-season break.
“It also goes to show you that some people really take Dr Nkomo’s legacy lightly. Honestly, they can’t just break for one week in honour of Dr Nkomo. We would however, like to thank the Bulawayo City Council as they have already granted us the free use of Barbourfields Stadium, we are just awaiting that we get indications from Zifa and PSL on the way forward,” said Mr Hadebe.
Matabeleland North Provincial Affairs Minister Cde Cain Mathema said regardless of the problem of funds the Government was fully committed to the full implementation of projects that were dedicated to Dr Nkomo.
“It is fortunate that there are indications that Ekusileni Hospital will be opened soon and further there is now progress on the canning project. There is no denying that Dr Nkomo was a man of the people and a visionary leader hence the best honour we can give him is ensuring that those projects which he dreamt of be implemented.
“We are fully aware of Dr Nkomo’s contributions to the struggle and after independence hence the Government is fully committed to ensuring that he gets the necessary honour which he deserves. If we don’t work at implementing these projects, Dr Nkomo will surely turn in his grave,” said Minister Mathema.
