The Office of the President and Cabinet has paid glowing tribute to President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa as he celebrates his 84th birthday today, describing his life as one of struggle, sacrifice and transformative leadership that has redefined Zimbabwe’s development trajectory.
In a congratulatory message issued this morning, Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Dr. Martin Rushwaya said the President’s two Vice Presidents, the Chief Secretary, Deputy Chief Secretaries, Advisors, Permanent Secretaries, Chief Directors, Directors and all officers in the OPC had joined the First Lady, Dr. Auxillia Mnangagwa, and the Mnangagwa family in wishing the Head of State many more years of good health and visionary leadership.
Dr. Rushwaya said the nation was celebrating not just a birthday, but a life that exemplifies courage and resilience, from humble beginnings in rural colonial Southern Rhodesia to surviving imprisonment and the threat of execution by the colonial regime, to rising to lead the nation.
The OPC said under President Mnangagwa’s stewardship, Zimbabwe has moved from a period of arrested growth caused by illegal sanctions to become a confident and forward-looking nation firmly on course to achieve an Upper Middle-Income Economy by 2030.
The transformation, the statement noted, is anchored in the President’s pragmatic leadership and his philosophy of self-reliance encapsulated in the mantra “Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo / Ilizwe lakhiwa ngabanikazi balo”, which has galvanised Zimbabweans to build the country using their own endowments and effort.
Dr. Rushwaya pointed to what he termed unprecedented achievements across all sectors under the Second Republic. Through the National Development Strategy 1 and now NDS2, which are the building blocks of Vision 2030, the President has championed massive infrastructure modernisation.
These include the expansion and modernisation of the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport, the extensive rehabilitation and dualisation of major highways, the construction of strategic dams such as Lake Gwayi-Shangani, Marovanyati and Chivhu, and the landmark Hwange Units 7 and 8 expansion that has significantly stabilised the national power supply.
In agriculture, the climate-proofed Pfumvudza/Intwasa programme, coupled with enhanced irrigation development and mechanisation, has restored food security and transformed rural livelihoods, while in mining, the push for value addition and beneficiation has positioned Zimbabwe as a key player in the global lithium and gold value chains.
The OPC further credited President Mnangagwa for entrenching devolution, ensuring inclusive development that leaves no one and no place behind, and for charting a novel model of self-driven growth that defies the continent’s history of dependent development.
As he enters another year of his eventful life, the Office said it remains staunchly behind the President’s efforts and initiatives geared towards the full attainment of Vision 2030.
“Happy Birthday Cde President, Shumba Murambwi,” Dr. Rushwaya said.
