The Sunday Mail
Sunday Mail Reporters
The Brand Zimbabwe campaign is geared towards reinforcing unity and social cohesion while helping to restore national pride among Zimbabweans, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa has said.
The campaign was launched last month to refashion the country’s image by rebuilding and restoring a positive national brand within and outside the country.
Speaking during a Brand Zimbabwe private sector meeting on Friday, Minister Mutsvangwa said the initiative was part of the implementation of the National Development Strategy 1.
“We believe the branding exercise provides us with an opportunity to critically look at our strengths and weaknesses, recognise and celebrate our resilience in adversity and diversity.
“We believe that branding will strengthen the pride to share our ‘Made in Zimbabwe’ products, our arts, music and literature,” she said.
Collaboration between Government and the private sector, Minister Mutsvangwa said, was meant for national development. Branding Zimbabwe falls under the current economic blueprint’s image building, international engagement and re-engagement thematic area.
“Undoubtedly, the private sector is the engine of our growth and has produced significant brands that have placed the country in the global market and made all of us proud,” she added.
“Our desire as Government is to work with everyone in branding the country in line with His Excellency President Mnangagwa’s mantra of leaving no one and no place behind.
“Our success in this regard hinges on bringing all the sectors and everyone on board.”
Chief Secretary in the Office of the President and Cabinet, Dr Misheck Sibanda, said rebranding the country requires collaboration and collective effort.
“His Excellency, the President, loudly and clearly pronounced that in the implementation of agreed polices and action plans, we should not leave any person behind,” said Dr Sibanda.
“Today, the Brand Zimbabwe campaign should take on board the rich and poor, man and woman, employed and unemployed person, able-bodied and disabled, and all racial and ethnic groups. There should be no differentiation on the basis of gender, political and religious affiliation.”
Zimbabwe Farmers Union executive director, Mr Paul Zakariya, said rebranding will help bring business into the country.
“As the private sector, and looking at globalisation, the world is becoming smaller and smaller, and we are interconnected through the internet and so on. So, we will need to catch up with the rest of the world for us to use digital platforms to do business and to interact with the rest of the world.”
