President Emmerson Mnangagwa State of the Nation Address- 22 October 2020

Mr. Speaker Sir, Madam President; Energy is an essential enabler for the realization of our modernisation and industrialisation agenda.  The current stability in power supplies owing to improved hydro-power generation at Kariba Dam and increased energy output at the thermal power plants has had a positive impact on productivity across all sectors of the economy.  Independent Power Producers are equally poised to feed additional power onto the national grid, by the second quarter of 2021.

The ongoing coal mining projects in Hwange District, will ultimately translate into an increased national generation capacity of over 6 000 megawatts by 2025.

This will see Zimbabwe becoming a net exporter of energy.  Works on the Hwange 7 and 8 Expansion Project will be expedited following delays as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since my previous address to this august House, fuel supplies have stabilized.  We shall continue to strengthen competitiveness in the fuel sub-sector and energy sector as a whole, through innovations coming out of institutions of higher learning such as the Harare Institute of Technology.

Road construction, modernization and rehabilitation are ongoing throughout all provinces of our country.  These will enhance connectivity and facilitate greater economic trade within our country as well as the region as a whole.  The use of local financial resources, skills and companies is yielding impressive results and the model will be vigorously pursued going forward in other infrastructure projects.

Mr. Speaker, Madame President; my Government, through its people-centered policies and vibrant social protection interventions, has ensured timely and appropriate interventions for the vulnerable and food insecure households.  Currently, over 700 000 households receive grain per month while others are benefiting from the cash-for-grain programme under the Urban Feeding Programme. The Schools Feeding Programme is being resourced and over one million children will be assisted under the Basic Education Assistance Module.

The ongoing reforms in the health service sector will improve accessibility and affordability of health and medicines for all our people.  in our quest to facilitate housing delivery, the National Housing Fund and Housing Guarantee Fund will be recapitalised.

Consultations in the Tripartite Negotiations Forum are progressing well with regards to the establishment of an Unemployment Benefit Fund.  The fund will cover workers in case of retrenchment or natural disasters which cause work stoppages.

Related to this, I have directed the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare to set up a robust Labour Market Information System to facilitate the provision of timeous, reliable labour market information and associated policies.

Government takes note of the legitimate calls for better working conditions by our teachers, health workers and public service in general.  We will do our best to ameliorate their concerns and improve their plight.

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