Key question every Zimbabwean community must ask itself

We have a National Vision, Vision 2030, which envisages a Zimbabwe fully transformed into an upper middle-income society by 2030. There is no magic wand towards this goal; only blood, sweat and hard, honest work by each and all. We must put all hands on deck, break the clod, turn and till the soil so its cultivated abundance nourishes us all.

We must dig beneath, bore deep so its hidden treasures become tangible riches that prosper us equitably, leaving no one and no place behind. Today, thanks to our freedom and Independence, the land continues to reveal its hidden treasures to us, its children, forever reminding us to be provident stewards. We owe this land and its riches to generations to come.

As your President, my covenant with you has been to banish hunger from our land. That goal is now well in sight, what with the massive investments we continue to commit towards weather-proofed agriculture, and, of course, the sheer hard work of all our farmers, big and small. We congregate at Mt Fura as a food-secure Nation; indeed, as an ambitious people already resetting targets towards higher agricultural ideals. These include a diversified agricultural base which is value-chain driven. I have released Minister Anxious Masuka from distractions of constituency politics so his sole focus and sole politics relate to this one goal of transforming our agriculture for a food-secure Nation for all times. He will be a non-constituency Member of Parliament, so he has enough time to live, think and dream agriculture only.

Our mining sector continues to positively unravel. New and more mineral deposits continue to be discovered, putting us into top league of mining nations. Mashonaland Central, our host province, is no exception. Our minerals are a unique heritage we must savour as Zimbabweans; indeed, one we must guard jealously so it is not stolen from us, whether through outright reconquest or through corporate wile and guile. We need to be vigilant all the time, knowing full well that the unravelling global order is not always friendly to small but richly endowed countries like our own. Zimbabwe’s subsoil assets must prosper Zimbabweans and generations of Zimbabweans yet to come. We are already reviewing our mining policies, including policies governing royalties, so Zimbabwe benefits the most from its subsoil, finite endowments.

The second term of the Second Republic will see far-reaching decisions in the mining sector. Any partnerships we enter into on our finite, non-renewable resources, must put Zimbabwe and Zimbabweans first. Above all, our commitment to providing for generations to come must go beyond mere pronouncements and platitudes; we must walk the talk, indeed show through stockpiles of strategic minerals and assets that we plan to provide for generations yet to come. Improvident policies have no place under the Second Republic.

I am quite pleased that our whole economy is moving beyond little, unconnected enclave sectors, towards greater integration through cross-sector value addition and chains.

Going forward, sectors must talk to each other so we have a Whole-of-Economy approach to economic development for a Whole-of-Society approach towards Vision 2030. Value chain approach to economic planning and development is the panacea to little enclaves and isolated prosperity in pockets of the economy, amidst omnipresent backwardness in many other sectors. No economic sector must lag behind, or run away un- or dis-connected from the rest. An upper middle-income economy for an upper middle society imply greater integration across sectors. I am very happy that this imperative is beginning to guide our Industry, and to inform our quest for and selection of Foreign Direct Investments, FDIs. We must go tertiary, but on the strength of a strong agriculture and a strong mining base. Our continued emphasis on agriculture, and the recent ban on raw mineral exports, must be seen from this philosophy and perspective of rejecting a baneful primary economy status we were designed to be under the Western colonial dispensation. We must become a modern, fully developed economy.

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