President Robert Mugabe today thanked Zimbabweans for enduring all manner of economic hardship and commended them for their resilience.
In his State of the Nation Address, Mugabe also urged Zimbabweans to cherish the peace and tranquility that continues to be the envy of many.
“Let us continue to find national pride in our core values of unity, hard work and freedom,” he said. “But lest we forget, let us pray to the Almighty to graciously open the heavens for more rain this season!”
Below is Mugabe’s address in full.
STATE OF THE NATION ADRESS BY HIS EXCELLENCY THE PRESIDENT
HIS EXCELLENCY THE PRESIDENT:
Madame President of the Senate,
Mr Speaker Sir,
Honourable Members of Parliament,
Invited Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Comrades and Friends.
Once again, it gives me great pleasure to address this august House, this time as I make this year’s State of the Nation Address.
Madame President, Mr Speaker Sir,
In line with ZIM ASSET and the Ten Point Plan, Government has introduced several measures to promote local content requirements across all the sectors of the economy, especially in agro-processing, mining, manufacturing, construction and tourism. Our major objective is to increase local capacity, create a skilled work force, and become a competitive supplier base.
The recently gazetted Statutory Instrument 64 of 2016 has already started to bear fruit by improving the efficient use of foreign exchange, and in enhancing local production, thereby reducing import dependence. A number of local companies in the plastics, packaging and food manufacturing sector, that include Tregers, Nampak, Proplastics and several others have been the immediate beneficiaries of Statutory Instrument 64 of 2016.
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