The Sunday Mail
Women & Leadership
Maggie Mzumara
The signing of a performance contracts last week, to formalise the appointment of Engineer Joy Pedzisai Makumbe to the position of Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of National Housing and Social Amenities is but one example of the Government’s latest efforts in implementing its priorities and adding muscle to the frame of its endeavour to initiate, support and promote the advancement of women to high echelons of decision-making.
The Government needs to be commended for upgrading women to key positions in line with the Vision 2030 in general and the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) in particular. Also, our Government is in sync with provisions of the Constitution. More broadly, the Government is adhering to international conventions such as the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development, the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa as well as the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal Five, which seeks to “Achieve Gender Equality and Empower all Women and Girls”. Irrefutably, the appointment of Engineer Makumbe is noteworthy on several fronts.
Putting theory into practice
Through the NDS 1 blueprint, the Government committed to ensuring that there are ‘more women in decision-making positions’, and this is but one visible example of Government putting its ‘money where its mouth is’. Secondly, the position itself is key within the context of Government’s impetus to address head-on challenges bedeviling the particular portfolio in question.
“ . . . It (confirmation of her appointment) has become urgent because the Ministry of National Housing and Social Amenities and the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works have challenges,” pointed out Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Dr Misheck Sibanda at the signing ceremony for Engineer Makumbe’s contract.
Clogging wetlands
In many new settlements that have sprouted across the width and breadth of the country, the stands are not serviced which causes its own set of water and sanitation problems, among other ills. Additionally, in some cases housing clearly has been a negative impact on the environment.
Daughter of the Soil
Thirdly, Engineer Makumbe joins the public service at time when more and more “daughters and sons of the soil” are needed to come and contribute to the national agenda of developing the country and restoring its prosperity. Our Government is at that juncture where it needs to attract its human capital to public service and such key appointments like those of Engineer Makumbe are testament that the Government can, in fact, be a source of inspiration, not demotivation as some would have others believe.
In fact, there are some exceptions, many who have dedicated themselves to public service for considerably long periods of their lives do so or have done so riding on the back of the belief that public service provides them with an opportunity to produce results for those people (the general populace) who need them to be their voice, their champions and their advocates. That said, if there was ever a time that Zimbabwe needed her “sons and daughters” to come and rebuild her, it’s now.
Value-adding appointment
Additionally, the new Perm Sec’s educational and private sector background is value-laden. Engineer Makumbe, whose appointment was effective from January 1 2021, holds undergraduate and post-graduate degrees in civil engineering and business management. She is expected to bring private sector experience, which dovetails with the Government’s vision of a private sector-led economy through the NDS 1.
With private sector infrastructure development experience garnered from Zimbabwe, Uganda and Tanzania in support of private and public-funded residential development projects, Engineer Makumbe might be just what the proverbial doctor ordered. With 20 years of experience in the design and implementation of civil engineering projects in water supply and sanitation, and roads infrastructure in various towns and cities, the new Perm Sec has her work cut out.
Housing delivery
Given the huge housing backlog and the inadequacies of attendant infrastructure, Government, through NDS1, is prioritising citizens’ access to affordable and quality settlements in urban and rural areas. Focus is on construction of new housing units and upgrading of informal settlements equipped with the necessary basic and social services infrastructure and amenities in order to improve the quality of life.
Additionally, Engineer Makumbe’s appointment, experience and expertise from past portfolios are a stellar illustration of women venturing into male-dominated fields. It is but a plus that at a time when the country and world, in general, are encouraging women to take on Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) as subjects and disciplines in their learning and advancement, the new Perm Sec joins a few other women who have dared to believe.
Women in Sciences
It is noteworthy that in its endeavour for Human Capital Development and Innovation as a pivotal thrust in the NDS1, the Government is focusing on creating a knowledge driven economy for sustained growth, innovation for industrialisation and modernisation of Zimbabwe through reconfiguration of the education system with a strong emphasis on STEAM.
You go girl, Madam Perm Sec ma’am!
◆ Maggie Mzumara is a Communication, Media and Leadership strategist with a passion for leadership for women. This article is written in her personal capacity. She can be reached on [email protected] or followed on Twitter at @magsmzumara
