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Columbus Mabika Herald Reporter
Zimbabweans from all walks of life will on Sunday celebrate the 32nd anniversary of the Unity Day in honour of the Unity Accord signed between liberation movement leaders, the late President Robert Mugabe and his deputy Dr Joshua Nkomo in 1987.

The agreement united the people of Zimbabwe.
Zanu-PF Secretary for Information and Publicity Cde Simon Khaya Moyo in a statement said the Unity Accord remained the cornerstone of the country’s national development.
He said the Unity Accord could not be wished away.

“Unity is the glue to any stability to development, stability and prosperity in both economic, political and social terms,” said Cde Khaya Moyo.

“The Unity Accord of 22 December, 1987 which brought together erstwhile liberation movements, Zanu-PF and PF-Zapu into Zanu PF and whose respective armies before independence were Zanla and Zipra, cannot be wished away.”
Cde Khaya Moyo said unity should be the heartbeat of Zimbabwe’s body politic.

“It is not a day for leisure, but for reflection underscored by the fact that thousands perished, hundreds were maimed and displaced, homes destroyed, livestock looted for us to gain freedom and independence,” he said.

He denounced those who downplayed the importance of the Unity Accord, saying it did not have room for factionalism.
“Efforts to minimise and derail the significance of this day must be discouraged and eliminated,” said Cde Khaya Moyo.
“The Unity Accord has no provisions for factionalism, no one should lead or belong to a faction.

“A principled cadre can only belong to the party with one leader. In Zanu-PF President Mnangagwa is the leader and no one else.”

Cde Khaya Moyo urged Zanu-PF members to shun factionalism saying: “Those who entertain factions are free to form their own party and leave Zanu-PF alone. It is, therefore, incumbent upon all of us to commemorate Unity Day by reflecting and stock taking our actions as we endeavour to fully subscribe to our party’s motto of unity, peace and development. There must be no lip service to Unity Day.”

Cde Khaya Moyo said it was disheartening that there were no visible activities to mark this year’s commemorations.
He said the party’s commissariat department should consider organising rallies and other activities to commemorate the day.
Parties that are taking part in the Political Actors Dialogue also stressed the importance of commemorating the Unity Day.

“Thumbs up for the late founding leaders of this country who spearheaded this miracle,” said MDC-T vice president Mr Obert Gutu.

“Whilst Unity Day basically commemorates and celebrates the signing of the unity agreement between the old Zanu (PF) and the old PF-Zapu to form the new Zanu PF, we denote unity to mean not just an amalgamation of the two liberation movements, but also a celebration of unity in political diversity in this country.

“In POLAD, we consist of various political parties, but we are all of us in agreement that we can compete without being toxic and unpatriotic. In this vein we are referring to national interests as opposed to narrow and parochial political party interests.”