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The Herald, 18 April, 1980

ZIMBABWE will not subject its sovereignty to that of any other state, and will remain its own master, fully capable of determining its destiny, the Prime Minister, Cde Mugabe, said last night.

In an independence eve address to the nation, Cde Mugabe said Zimbabwe, as an independent sovereign state and declared non-aligned country, had chosen to follow an independent foreign policy taking an independent stand in international forums.

“And if in doing so we have offended others, it is because we would rather be true to ourselves and uphold our basic principles than please others and offend those principles. In short, we refuse completely Zimbabwe’s to subject sovereignty to the sovereignty of any other state, friend or foe, donor or non-donor.

“We have accordingly viewed any interference by outsiders in our domestic affairs as repugnant to our nationhood”.

The Prime Minister said other parties in Zimbabwe had failed dismally over the last four years to reciprocate positively the policy of reconciliation and national unity.

The Government had taken steps to encourage friendship and cooperation with these parties but had been met with ingratitude and subversion, sabotage, dissidence and banditry.

Cde Mugabe quoted a Ndebele saying a beast will lick another that licks it and said: “Our relations with other parties have failed completely to attract that meaning. We have had, all along the way, to do all the licking, and, in some cases of really dirty and filthy wounds only to be met with not only downright ingratitude, but with such hostile acts as subversion, sabotage, dissidence and banditry”.

No Zimbabwean was allowed to organise gangs of politically motivated dissidents or bandits that went on the rampage to kill, maim, rob, rape, assault and harass innocent souls. All Zimbabweans were directed under the Constitution and legal system to be peace-loving and law-abiding.

The Prime Minister said the situation in Matabeleland had been brought under control and co-operation existed between security forces and the local community.

He urged the security forces to ignore the disparagement of their work by the country’s enemies and continue with determination and firmness to bring peace to the disturbed areas.

It would be necessary, after the Zanu (PF) national congress in August, he said, to get the voters to express themselves on a one-party state. The white minority would also be fully consulted on the subject.

He trusted some way would be found, after a popular verdict had been given in favour of a one-party state, to translate the people’s wish into a constitutional reality.

A start had been made in creating a socialist base in all sectors with the creation of cooperatives, and the establishment of State enterprises.

Private enterprise had a substantial role to play in the country’s economy and should take full advantage of the recognition given to this by Government.

Saying no enterprise had a perfectly smooth development path, Cde Mugabe commended the bold courage and zeal demonstrated by commercial and communal farmers in spite of successive droughts, crop diseases, the world recession, the shortage of foreign currency and difficult markets.

LESSONS FOR TODAY

• A sovereign state according to international law is a country having a permanent population, defined territory, a government not under another, and has the capacity to interact with other states. It is commonly understood that a sovereign state is independent.
• Zimbabwe became a sovereign state when it gained its independence from the British Government on April 18, 1980 and was reintegrated into the international community.
• Zimbabweans should guard the country’s sovereignty jealously since it came at a great cost in terms of the lives of the sons and daughters of the soil that were lost during the liberation struggle. Happy 44th independence anniversary Zimbabwe!