Independence at 46: Masarira Says Freedom Rings Hollow Without Jobs, Healthcare, and Dignity

By Desire Tshuma

HARARE — For Linda Tsungirirai Masarira, April 18 is not just a date for parades and speeches. It is a mirror.

As Zimbabwe marked 46 years of independence on Friday, the Labour Economists and Afrikan Democrats (LEAD) president used the anniversary to hold that mirror up to the nation, asking what freedom means when hospitals are broken, graduates are jobless, and mothers cannot afford a clinic visit.

“Political independence without economic freedom, social justice, and human dignity is incomplete,” Masarira said in her Independence Day message. “Independence must be lived, not merely remembered.”

*A liberation debt unpaid*
Masarira began by saluting the liberation war generation. “We honour the blood that was shed, the dreams that were carried, and the vision of a free and prosperous Zimbabwe,” she said.

But the tribute quickly turned into an audit.

“What does independence mean to a young graduate without a job? What does it mean to a mother who cannot afford healthcare? What does it mean to a worker who labours tirelessly yet cannot earn a dignified wage?” she asked.

For her, the answers expose a gap between the promise of 1980 and the reality of 2026. “Millions of Zimbabweans are still trapped in cycles of poverty, inequality, and systemic injustice,” she said. “This is not the Zimbabwe our liberation heroes fought for.”

She pointed to “struggling hospitals, underfunded schools, exploited workers, and an economy suffocating under corruption, mismanagement, and policy inconsistency.”

Yet Masarira rejected the label of a failed state. “Zimbabwe is not a failed nation, it is a betrayed nation, rich in potential and abundant in human capital,” she insisted.

*From political flags to economic freedom*
The LEAD leader argued that the next phase of the struggle is economic. “We must move from political independence to economic emancipation. We must move from survival to prosperity. We must move from division to national unity.”

She laid out five benchmarks for that emancipation:
1. Free, quality healthcare for every citizen.
2. Barrier-free education for every child.
3. A fair, living wage for every worker.
4. Empowerment and protection of women, youth, and marginalized communities.
5. Natural resources that benefit the people, not a privileged few.

*‘Not by chance, but by choice’*
Masarira said the responsibility cannot sit with politicians alone. “The future of Zimbabwe lies in the courage of its people to demand better, to organize, to participate, and to reclaim their country.”

She called on Zimbabweans at home and abroad to treat the 46th anniversary as “a moment of awakening” and to ask, “What Zimbabwe are we building for the next generation?”

“We owe it to those who came before us and those yet to be born,” she said. “Zimbabwe shall rise not by chance, but by choice.”

She closed with a phrase that bridged 1980 and 2026: “Aluta continua. The struggle for true freedom continues.”

*A sobering anniversary*
Zimbabwe gained independence from Britain on 18 April 1980. Forty-six years on, the national mood is mixed. Flags flew and drums beat in stadiums on Friday, but the celebrations unfolded against a backdrop of public frustration over unemployment, service delivery, and the cost of living.

Masarira’s statement taps into that mood, turning a commemorative moment into a challenge: that the heroes of the bush war did not fight for symbolism, but for a standard of life still out of reach for many.

For her, independence will only be complete when the mother can afford the clinic, the graduate can find the job, and the worker can live on his wage. Until then, the struggle continues.