The Sunday Mail
Dubai is a world-renowned city in the Middle East that has achieved so much in a fairly short space of time.
Editor’s Brief
Victoria Ruzvidzo
From being a mere fish village in the 19th century to becoming one of the fastest growing cities in the world is something to behold.
Statistics released early August show that its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by about 3 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of this year to US$30,3 billion, buoyed by growth in the transport and storage sector, which contributed 48 percent.
The financial and insurance sector and trade were also big contributors at 10 percent and 15 percent, respectively.
The city and emirate of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which seeks to double the size of its economy under its D33 economic plan, has broken records left, right and centre.
The 7 200-acre Dubai airport (the size of 297 football fields) has been a game changer in propelling the country’s economic growth
It is a to-go-to city.
All roads lead there.
It has become the centre of international trade, with its ports and air-freight operations always busy.
The Dubai airport, the world’s busiest, had annual passenger traffic of 661,1 million last year.
It handled 201 800 flights in the first half, a 30 percent increase.
The airport processes 15 000 bags an hour, reflecting how busy it is.
To think that it started as a refuelling facility with a runway that could only handle an aircraft with a capacity of a maximum of 32 passengers to being able to now connect 260 destinations globally.
The 7 200-acre airport (the size of 297 football fields) has been a game changer in propelling Dubai’s economic growth.
Largely famed for luxury shopping, ultra-modern architecture and a lively night life, Dubai’s economy has leveraged on transport and logistics, the growing tourism industry, banking and finance, wholesale and retail, trade, real estate, manufacturing and a few more activities.
The emirate is on a roll and will stop at nothing. The recent launch of its economic blueprint, the D33, has added more impetus to its drive to achieve more.
Dubai, which attracted US$23 billion in foreign investment last year, accounts for at least 60 percent of all investment into the Gulf Corporation Council.
It has emerged a leader in the region and beyond. It is difficult to fathom how a mere desert 50 years ago could become the big enterprise it is now.
This illustrates that it can be done elsewhere, like here in Zimbabwe.
I do not know much about the culture and norms of the Dubai nationals, but the results show that they are a determined people who could not be dissuaded by the emirate’s topography but, instead, they saw possibilities and solutions to challenges. That is why they have achieved so much.
They are quite intentional about progress and yielding results.
And their city is a demonstration of what a determined people can achieve.
They are made of flesh, bones and blood, and so are we. They are strategically located in their region, and so are we.
Simply put, Zimbabwe can grow its economy in leaps and bounds over the next few years and achieve feats that only dreams are made of. We all just need to be a bit more positive, a bit more determined and a bit more intentional in our actions.
Now is the time we move into the top gear to drive the economy to the lands we aspire to reach. Dubai has proved that it can be done. Dubai has shown the way. We may have different cultures and beliefs and coming from different regions, but the principles for economic success are the same.
A few years ago, oil contributed 50 percent of Dubai’s GDP, but it now accounts for only 1 percent. This means the economy is diversified and has moved with times. It means the economy is on a sound footing.
The D33 economic plan may not read the same as the National Development Strategy 1 that Zimbabwe is implementing, but it means the country has its goals and aspirations clearly enunciated and these can be implemented effectively to achieve results.
Dubai must emerge as an inspirational story that should give Zimbabwe the energy to move.
President Mnangagwa’s inauguration speech last Monday was instructive.
“My new Government will deliver on the promise we have made to you. The transformation of the living standards of our people, especially those in rural communities, will be accelerated, while the concerns of those in urban areas will not be neglected.
“Responsive policies, projects and programmes which began during the first term of my presidency are on course to lift many more people out of poverty and into prosperity.
“The hurdles such as the illegal, heinous sanctions and machinations of our detractors must be knocked out of our way through unity of purpose, hard honest work, innovativeness, resilience, focus and determination. Together as a united people, all challenges can be overcome: brick by brick, stone upon stone and step by step,” he said.
He said projects in all sectors of the economy and social needs such as health, education and water would be catered for. NDS 1 would receive renewed impetus to take the economy to a whole new level.
So, focus should now be entirely on the work at hand. Zimbabwe has demonstrated that it can achieve what it sets itself to. We need to maintain that gear.
Reading on Dubai and its history, one gets the sense that its leaders and nationals never looked back once they purposed to materialise their dreams.
Of course, once or twice, they were shaken by global developments. However, the two steps backwards were replaced with huge leaps forward for the emirate to be what it is today.
The city itself presents immense opportunities for this country. Trade has been growing. In 2020, Zimbabwe exported US$1,4 billion worth of products, up from US$200 million five years earlier.
The 2020 expo hosted in that emirate gave Zimbabwe an opportunity to explore more possibilities and this is bearing fruit. We have seen trade and investment delegations from that part of the world over the last three years.
Increased trade and investment volumes are bound to induce more energy in achieving the upper middle-income status by 2030.
Opportunities abound in the food sector. Dubai is a net importer of food.
“This offers a lucrative opportunity for Zimbabwean exporters to penetrate more the UAE and Dubai markets,” the Dubai International Chamber’s director, Mr Omar Khan, advised during the 2020 expo.
Zimbabwe can, in the process, draw lessons on how it can grow its economy further.
The Government is determined, industry looks set to achieve the best it can from now into the future.
We can do the Dubai thing too.
In God I trust!
Twitter handle: @VictoriaRuzvid2; Email: [email protected]; [email protected]; WhatsApp number: 0772 129 972.
