Why Zimbabweans are poor- Khupe

Zimbabweans are poor because of the policies of their government and the institutions it has created.

This was said by Movement for Democratic Change vice-president Thokozani Khupe in Parliament yesterday when she presented a motion calling on the government to resuscitate the country’s economy through domestic resource mobilisation but focused on the Lupane methane gas deposits.

She said that though the project was given national project status in 2007 nothing had been down 14 years down the line.

It was because of this NATO, No Action but Talk Only, that Zimbabweans were poor, she said.

“There is not even a single person who was born poor. Every person was born with their own potential but people are poor because of institutions that are built by Government,” she said.

“People are poor because of systems that are created by Government. People are poor because of policies that are formulated by Government.

“Mr. Speaker Sir, if Government was to build good institutions, create good systems and formulate good policies, every person will be able to explore their potential and have capacity to cultivate personal growth and the growth of their countries towards the developmental path.”

Below is her full contribution.

RESUSCITATION OF THE ECONOMY THROUGH DOMESTIC RESOURCE MOBILISATION

HON. DR. KHUPE:  Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.  I would like to move the motion standing in my name that this House;

MINDFUL that domestic resource mobilisation is essential in ameliorating the burden of repayment of overdue debts and bringing about normalcy in the resuscitation of the economic sector in the country;

ACKNOWLEDGING the inalienable rights of the people to better living conditions through the utilisation of their country’s diverse mineral resources such as the untapped lucrative coal bed methane gas which still lies untapped in Lupane yet it can generate millions of revenue to the State;

COGNISANT that the natural methane gas reserves in Lupane which were discovered several decades ago have the potential to strengthen the economy of the country in a very short time by boosting the energy generation capacity;

FURTHER COGNISANT that Zimbabwe is not a party to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), a global standard for the good governance of mineral resources which seeks to address the key governance issues in the extractive sector;

NOW, THEREFORE, CALLS upon the Executive to;

1. a) Expeditiously find a reliable investor to convene operation on the methane gas resources on a Build-Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis.
2. b) Prioritise the engagement of locals in this project in view of their background knowledge of the prevailing conditions in the area.
3. c) Consider joining the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) as a matter of urgency in view of the benefits that can be accrued along the value chain starting from the point of extraction right up to where government generates revenue.

HON. GABBUZA:  I second.

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