Hosia Mviringi
In just over 36 months into its first full term in office, the Second Republic led by President Emmerson Mnangagwa has managed to deliver on its promises to the people of Zimbabwe.
Despite the illegal sanctions laid against Zimbabwe by its adversaries in the West and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the country has recorded unprecedented victories.
#SoFar, the ZANU PF Government has done very well in delivering its manifesto, which promises to change lives of many Zimbabweans.
Despite the odds being against the country, the shrewd leadership of President Mnangagwa has made such obstacles to be inconsequential, as Zimbabwe continues to march to the proverbial promised land.
The ZANU PF government which came into power after the highly competitive general elections of July 2018, rode on a campaign theme to among other things, Unite Zimbabweans, Comprehensively fight corruption, Develop the economy, Engage and re-engage the international community to foster closer political and economic cooperation with all nations of the world, and to Create jobs for local population.
President Mnangagwa then chipped in with a personal score card against which his performance should be benchmarked.
On the scorecard, the President promised to put Job creation, fight against corruption, development of modern and affordable healthcare system, development of infrastructure worthy of the envisaged new Zimbabwe, and generation of unprecedented educational and employment opportunities for youths top of the priority list.
Soon after the watershed 2018 general elections, the government of President initiated a process to depolarise the political and social space by bringing main political actors to the table through the Political Actors Dialogue platform (POLAD).
This is a platform through which major political parties would later use to influence government policy by contributing ideas and lobbying policymakers.
This platform has contributed to the goal of uniting the country by removing suspicion and also through educating political actors who are not in government on legislative processes.
The platform continues to make immense contributions to the attainment of unity and peace through building trust and confidence.
This will undoubtedly go a long way in reducing incidences of politically motivated violence and aggresviole
Indeed it is upon these firm foundations of peaceful co-existence and unity that strong and progressive nations are built.
To further strengthen the tenets of democracy, fairness and equity, the government launched the National Peace and Reconciliation policy which is aimed at finding remedies to historical incidences and happenings that have a bearing on national cohesion.
The National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) is hard at work trying to bring closure to some contentious issues that have a potential divisive effect.
Government has in the past few years made noticeable strides in stabilising local currency and reducing inflation to the current double digit mark, a milestone which is expected to culminate in a single digit inflation level by year end 2021.
A stable local currency and a lower inflation are the two most critical components to building business confidence, which in turn attracts worthy investors into the country.
As a result of these economic interventions, business confidence has greatly improved, resulting in increased investment in such areas of the economy as agriculture, mining, hospitality and tourism, infrastructure development, energy generation, transportation and service industries.
Expansion of the agricultural sector has created immense opportunities for job creation through the supply chain system and the agro-processing industries.
Agriculture related infrastructure projects undertaken #SoFar such as dam construction and farm mechanisation through irrigation infrastructure have contributed to the current successive bumper harvests and a multiplier effect into such industries as inputs suppliers and agro-processors.
These notable economic gains have resulted in increased foreign currency earnings, employment creation and widened revenue base for government.
Government has put in place investor-friendly policies such as a realignment of the indigenisation policy, repeal of POSA and AIPPA among other policy interventions.
Energy generation infrastructure has received one of the highest considerations under the Second Republic resulting in the completion of the Kariba South expansion project.
This power station has the most reliable energy generation capacity due to its efficiency.
In the same vein, government has embarked on the landmark expansion of the Hwange Power station, with construction and engineering works on the Hwange 7 & 8 generation units which upon completion will add 600MW of power to the national grid.
The scope is to ensure that the country is energy self sufficient by 2022.
The government, in a joint initiative with the Zambia is developing the Batoka Power Plant which is set to become the trump card for the Zimbabwean government’s goal to become a net exporter of power in the SADC region and drive uninterrupted industrial growth.
American and Chinese Companies, General Electric and Power China Hydro respectively, have been contracted to build the Batoka Hydro Power Plant which is expected to benefit Zimbabwe and Zambia.
Government, in the course of the past 36 months has presided over the completion of major dams in the country which include the landmark Tugwi-Mukosi Dam which is the largest inland water reservoir in the country.
Tugwi-Mukosi environs have the potential for rapid economic growth in the Masvingo Province as it has created new economic and ecological ecosystems that have the capacity for large scale agricultural and tourism expansion.
Gwayi-Shangaani Dam is set to be completed by the end of this year, with the water pipeline to Bulawayo expected to be done by December 2022, paving way for the greening of Matebeleland regions and the complete alleviation of perennial water woes for Bulawayo Metropolitan.
These are milestone projects that seemed insurmountable before, which are becoming a reality in the Second Republic.
The government’s commitment to delivering functional and affordable healthcare systems is evident when we consider the level of investment and commitment to mitigation of the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
A massive US$100 million was committed towards efficient procurement and rollout of vaccines throughout the country, a process that has earned the country worldwide recognition.
The devolution process has seen the country building many clinics and hospitals countrywide, with the United Bulawayo Hospital’s Cure Children’s Hospital, the country’s first free orthopedic hospital, coming in as a flagship achievement in healthcare delivery.
Major referral hospitals have and continue to receive major face lifts, redevelopment, refurbishment and re-equipment.
The country has purchased a fleet of 100 specialised Ambulances which will be deployed across the country’s ten provinces to provide critical support to healthcare delivery.
In July 2020, TelOne completed a network enhancement project, the National Broadband Project, which was financed by the China Exim Bank to the tune of US$98 million.
The US$109 million Kunzvi Dam, which has been on the table since the mid-1990s is set to take off following the awarding of the tender to China Nanchang Engineering this year.
The nearly US$20 million oil mining project in Muzarabani by Australian company Invictus set to commence in 2022 with most of the equipment being already on site.
Recruitment of critical personnel has also begun.
In June 2020, the Government entered into a US$51 million deal with the American company, John Deere for the the mechanisation of the country’s agriculture.
Upgrading and refurbishment of Victoria Falls International Airport has been completed while a US$153million RGM International Airport’s expansion project is nearing completion.
The Beitbridge-Harare-Chirundu highway dualisation and rehabilitation is ongoing with several sections of the road, nearly 300km, having been opened to traffic.
Government has taken over rehabilitation and upgrading of several urban roads in major cities while grading and maintenance of rural roads through the District Development Fund is ongoing.
Government places high importance on provision of water and sanitation and as such elaborate program has been set in motion to drill 44,600 boreholes of which 35,000 will be drilled in villages countrywide while 9,600 will be drilled at institutions.
The fight against corruption is an ongoing exercise that requires the summoning of multiple institutions that include the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC), police, National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the Courts.
As such government has demonstrated its commitment to fighting corruption by establishing specialists economic crimes courts and the Special Anti-Corruption Task Force to expedite investigation and prosecution of sophisticated cases.
Enemies of the state are clutching at straws trying hard to discredit, with little luck, the progress that has been recorded by the Second Republic under President Mnangagwa.
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