Mnangagwa says ordinary citizens are better at promoting the country than the government

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Several citizen-centred developments, all of them positive, have registered on my mind this year.

In July, a group of young Zimbabwean girls and boys brought gold to our country after beating all nations of the world to become champions at the 2022 Moot Court Competition.

This world competition took place in the Netherlands.

More recently, in this month of October, another team of Zimbabwean youngsters, this time from Tynwald High School, Prince Edward School and Bernard Mizeki College, made history in Geneva, Switzerland, by grabbing the gold prize on innovation.

They beat 183 nations, again drawn from the world community.

As I write, I am enraptured by the performance of our cricket team, the Chevrons, which has won over Scotland in the ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup.

They have more games ahead; still, this does not bedim their spectacular performance so far, or the joy it brings to us all.

I am also aware that our own Chief Charumbira prevailed as the President of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP). Barely a few weeks later, Zimbabwe’s Dr Cosmas Zavazava was chosen to head the strategic International Telecommunications Union (ITU). He shrugged off several challengers drawn from many countries of the world, including those backed by powerful nations.

Barely two months ago, I was in Kigali, Rwanda, to attend a summit on Africa’s Green Revolution in the current season of global food crisis. Zimbabwe became the model country at the summit, thanks to our hard-working farmers who break the clod, thus translating our agricultural policies into real food for the stomach.

Our influence grows from our example.

Only last week, over 150 Zimbabwean teachers left for Rwanda, under a bilateral agreement between us and the sister Republic of Rwanda. These Zimbabwean professionals will share their skills with their counterparts in that friendly African country.

This will benefit children of that African country. In fact, I will host President Paul Kagame in our country in a week.

Through his government’s effort, our power utility, ZESA, has secured a US$800 million loan for our rural electrification.

This would not have been possible for Zimbabwe to do, given the punitive sanctions against us.

There are many other headline achievements of global scope which our citizens registered this year, including in areas of competitive sport, and that of culture.

Indeed, 2022 has been a landmark year for our country.

At its inauguration, the Second Republic unveiled a two-pronged policy of Engagement and Re-Engagement. Through the policy of Engagement, the Second Republic extends the scope and its hand for global friendships and partnerships.

It seeks to break into new frontiers: beyond limitations of geography, of politics, of ideology, economic ties and of cultural differences.

This is assisted by our firmly held persuasion that Zimbabwe must be a friend to all, and an enemy to none.

Through the policy of Re-Engagement, the Second Republic seeks to repair relations with any nation, relations which might have been broken or might have suffered in the past, for whatever reasons.

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