The Sunday Mail
THE people of Zimbabwe — through their collective voice, as expressed by the August 23-24 harmonised elections — overwhelmingly gave ZANU PF another five-year mandate.
Inasmuch as this is an honour, it also comes with an onerous responsibility to meet people’s expectations.
Thus, the ruling party’s just-ended 20th Annual National People’s Conference — which came two months after the consequential polls — was critical insofar as it provided invaluable insights into priority policies, projects and programmes that will be pursued by the Government in the near to medium term.
The theme of this year’s conference — “Towards Vision 2030 through Devolution, Industrialisation and Modernisation” — indicates that the ZANU PF Government’s overarching goal is to leapfrog development through harnessing science, technology and innovation to drive production, create jobs, achieve food security and deliver quality services, among other people-centred objectives.
Although challenging, this is achievable.
As highlighted by President Mnangagwa in Gweru last week, the milestones achieved in the past five years have shown us what can be attained through focused resolve, determination and hard work.
We have managed to refurbish the Beitbridge Border Post into a modern and world-class port of exit and entry that compares with any other in the world.
We have also spruced up the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport and built two new units (7 and 8) at the Hwange Power Station, among critical infrastructure projects envisaged to modernise Zimbabwe.
Access to civic documents, particularly passports, has significantly improved through the decentralisation of the Registrar-General’s Office, itself part of the devolution programme that has been set in motion by the Second Republic.
The progressive installation of solar-powered boreholes — which will facilitate the provision of safe drinking water, and support nutritional gardens and fish ponds in the 35 000 villages dotted across the country — will radically transform the standard of living in rural communities and boost incomes.
More services are being brought closer to the people.
The Judicial Service Commission, for example, continues to construct courts near communities, thereby literally bringing justice to the people.
And at a time when climate change is threatening global food security, the new political administration has moved mountains in the past five years by achieving food security.
Today, Zimbabwe stands tall and proud as one of the few countries on the continent that are food-secure.
But more still needs to be done.
This is why President Mnangagwa has since exhorted the ruling party to quicken the pace in implementing programmes meant to achieve the set target of creating a modern and prosperous nation within the next seven years, or even earlier.
“As such, this conference is not business as usual. We must re-examine ourselves, build on our party’s strength, address our weaknesses and sharpen strategies to accelerate the implementation of our people-centred development policies, projects and programmes,” said the President, who is also ZANU PF’s First Secretary, while addressing party delegates in Gweru on Friday.
He added: “As Zimbabweans, we cannot afford to undertake our national development programme at a snail’s pace. Our country has already been robbed of time for development due to 23 years of sanctions. We must never bury our heads in sand.”
He emphasised the need to expeditiously complete outstanding projects, as well as leverage on domestic resources for accelerated development.
Notwithstanding the giant strides in agriculture, the Government will now be focusing on increasing production per unit area and developing agro value chains, which also serve to add impetus to the country’s reindustrialisation drive.
And within the broader context of both modernising and improving service delivery in urban areas, it would have been remiss for ZANU PF to ignore the glaring decay of urban areas — bad roads, poor street lighting, uncollected garbage and disorderly settlements, among others — which is not only denting the country’s image, but grossly shortchanging residents.
It is, therefore, comforting that President Mnangagwa was emphatic on the need to ensure that local authorities toe the line.
“I challenge the party, through this conference, to take keen interest in the development and promotion of orderly urbanisation,” he reiterated.
“Water and waste management challenges in our cities must be conclusively addressed. We must not shy away from making bold decisions to protect our people from social and health time bombs.”
But for us to achieve our ambitious goals, the overriding message from the ruling party was clear: We all need to roll up our sleeves and work hard to deliver.
