In an effort to facilitate trade, Government has adopted the Border Efficiency Management System whose aim is to promote trade facilitation and reduce congestion at the country’s border authorities. Following the establishment and operationalisation of the Chirundu One-Stop Border Post in 2009, efforts are now at an advanced stage to transform the Beitbridge Border Post into a one-stop border post.
To increase international trade, Zimbabwe has also been making parallel efforts to boost exports by consolidating and expanding existing markets whilst also exploring new markets with the strategic focus on the regional markets. In the context of deeper regional integration, we are pursuing trade development through the Southern African Development Community.
Fellow Zimbabweans, Comrades and Friends,
In the sphere of foreign policy, Zimbabwe successfully chaired the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the African Union (AU). This historic feat accorded the country the rare opportunity to serve the people of Southern Africa, and Africa at large, in pushing forward the sub-region’s and the continent’s priorities. Our leadership of these two organisations greatly enhanced Zimbabwe’s image and influence in Africa and beyond. The country’s Look East policy also received a major boost with the State visit of the President of the People’s Republic of China, His Excellency Xi Jinping, in December 2015.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Comrades and Friends,
My Government is determined to translate political independence into meaningfulness, by attending to the socio-economic needs of our people. Progress has also been made in the development of social infrastructure in health, education and housing. This also includes the capacitating of our education sector with ICT as well as the implementation of e-Government in order to enhance efficiency and quality of service delivery to the public.
In the health sector, Government continues to prioritise attention to communicable diseases such as HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. To this end, various strategies are being implemented, aimed at strengthening the health sector in order to improve service delivery.
The development of our rural communities, where the majority of our people reside, remains under constant focus and indeed a “raison d’etre” of Government.
To this end, Government now has the Ministry of Rural Development, Preservation and Promotion of Natural Heritage. This re-arrangement of Government functions resulted in the creation of the Ministry of Sport and Recreation which will, on its part, concentrate on the development of sporting and recreational activities in the country.
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