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Lovemore Chikova Development Dialogue

President Mnangagwa entrenched development in 2022, ensuring that everything he did and said was oriented towards uplifting the people’s lives.

In this instalment, we look at some of the highlights of President Mnangagwa’s diary on development in 2022.

The President started work in February after completing his annual leave in January.

February

• President Mnangagwa attended the 35th African Union Heads of State Ordinary Assembly in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where he complimented the continent for efforts to end conflicts to create a climate conducive for development.
• President Mnangagwa, together with his Botswana counterpart President Mokgweetsi Masisi presided over the signing of 20 MOUs as part of a set of 43 to cover cooperation in a swathe of sectors of the economy at the Zimbabwe-Botswana Bi-National Commission in Victoria Falls.

March

• Addressing the 65th session of the Politburo at the Revolutionary Party headquarters in Harare, President Mnangagwa said “All hands must be on the deck” to implement the Zanu PF 2018 Manifesto as well as the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1).
• Speaking at the 3rd International Renewable Energy Conference and Expo in Victoria Falls, President Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe had vast investment opportunities in the clean energy sector, which are yet to be fully exploited.
• Officially opening the Zimbabwe-Rwanda Trade and Investment Conference in Harare, President Mnangagwa challenged industrialists to enhance value addition and diversify exports.

April

• President Mnangagwa had a three-day State visit to Mozambique where he urged city fathers to put in place robust measures to ensure growing towns are responsive to accelerated urbanisation.
• Speaking at the 2022 first session of the Central Committee at the Zanu-PF headquarters in Harare, President Mnangagwa said ahead of next year’s general elections, the ruling party will not pause in implementing people centred projects, as he warned the electorate against self-serving opposition parties that have brought untold suffering to the populace.

May

• Officially opening the 7th National Conference of the Youth League, President Mnangagwa urged young people to create jobs and wealth by seizing vast opportunities availed by the Second Republic and exploiting the country’s vast endowments.
• President Mnangagwa had dinner with United Arab Emirates billionaire investor Mr Shaji Ul Mulk, who was back in the country to ensure the implementation of projects agreed during his earlier visit. Mr Mulk is constructing a Cyber City in Mt Hampden.
• President Mnangagwa handed over a state-of-the-art clinic constructed in partnership with a British company, NMS Infrastructure Limited, in Stone Ridge, Harare South.
• President Mnangagwa met a three-member delegation from one of the largest marine terminal operators in the world, DP World, owned by the government of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), who were in Zimbabwe to set up logistics projects and a dry port.
• In a pre-recorded speech to mark Africa Day, President Mnangagwa said the continent should always draw inspiration from its founding fathers who came together to forge a broader continental alliance that sought to advance the aspirations of African people and make Africa and its people, in their diversity, fend for themselves.
• Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, President Mnangagwa said the future of business, development and wealth creation now depended on digital economies.

June

• President Mnangagwa commissioned a US$35 million gold crush and recovery plant in Makaha, Mudzi district.
• Addressing thousands of people who thronged the National Heroes Acre to witness the burial of the late Major General (RTD) Sikhulile Simpson Nyathi, President Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe was rising above trials and tribulations caused by global shifts, climate change, and effects of illegal sanctions.
• President Mnangagwa officiated at the ground breaking ceremony of the US$200 million Bikita Minerals Spodumene, a project that will result in increased production of lithium with a projected annual income of US$500 million for the next 10 years.

July

• President Mnangagwa opened the Midlands State University National Pathology Research and Diagnostic Centre in Gweru.
• President Mnangagwa officiated at the ground-breaking ceremony for the Cyber-City development in Mount Hampden, a major investment by a group of Dubai-based investors.
• President Mnangagwa commissioned the Acetylene Gas Plant in Mutare, a product of the industrious and innovative Verify Engineering.
• Briefing journalists in Kwekwe after touring IntraChem explosives’ manufacturing plant and Dendairy, President Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe was poised to be at the apex of development given its rich pool of talented youths in various fields like engineering.
• Speaking during a high-level ministerial conference on the role of governments, regional economic communities, and regional mechanisms in promoting the youth, peace, and security agenda in Southern Africa, President Mnangagwa said solutions for African problems should come from Africans themselves, and nowhere else.

August

• In his keynote address at the burial of national hero, Brigadier General (Retired) Benjamin Mabenge at the National Heroes Acre, President Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe will attain a prosperous future and overcome the economic challenges being engineered by its detractors bent on making the economy “scream” through asymmetrical warfare targeting ordinary citizens.
• Speaking after arrival from the Democratic Republic of Congo where he attended the 42nd Sadc Summit, President Mnangagwa said ensuring that member states of SADC become food secure through industrialisation, agro-processing, and harnessing technology was key to regional development and elimination of dependency on foreign countries.
• President Mnangagwa urged the church to take part in the ongoing transformation of the country through the construction of critical infrastructure such as schools and clinics.

September

• President Mnangagwa commissioned Zimbabwe Phosphate Industries’ new fertiliser blending plant in Harare.
• Opening the second Local Authorities’ Councillors and Staff Indaba in Harare, President Mnangagwa said local authorities needed scale up their commitment to improving the quality of life.
• Addressing the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), President Mnangagwa said a just, responsive and inclusive global financial system was critical for world nations to tackle both present and future challenges.
• President Mnangagwa met with CEOs and managers of Fortune listed companies at UNGA who expressed interest in investing in the country.

October

• President Mnangagwa conducted a ground-breaking ceremony for the US$3 billion Dinson Iron and Steel company steel plant in Manhize.
• The European Union pledged that more investors will be coming as relations between the 27-member bloc and Zimbabwe continue to improve.
• President Mnangagwa officiated at the inaugural graduation of students at Manicaland State University of Applied Sciences (MSUAS).
• President Mnangagwa commissioned an innovative hub, female students hotels, and an engineering complex at Bindura University of Science Education (BUSE).
• President Mnangagwa officially opened the game-changing Simon Mazorodze School of Medical and Health Sciences in Masvingo.
• Addressing outgoing Zanu PF Central Committee members, President Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe was endowed with rich mineral resources, an indomitable spirit and hardworking people, and was unstoppable in its quest to achieve upper-middle-class status by 2030 under the competent rule of Zanu PF.

November

• Speaking during a Roundtable Question and Answer Session at the ongoing Africa Investment Forum Market Days 2022 in Cote d’Ivoire, President Mnangagwa said Africa should focus on homegrown solutions.
• President Mnangagwa hailed the launch of the country’s first space satellite, ZimSat-1.
• President Mnangagwa told the UN Climate Change Conference in Egypt that Zimbabwe’s efforts in mitigating climate change had been hampered by the illegal sanctions imposed by the West and its allies.
• President Mnangagwa hailed the commencement of construction works at the multi-million dollar Cyber City in Mt Hampden.
• Speaking at the start of Buy Zimbabwe Week, President Mnangagwa said campaigns to see more people buying more Zimbabwean-made products through expanding market access for the local brands was fully supported by Government.
• President Mnangagwa delivered the State of the Nation Address at the New Parliament Building in Harare where he emphasized on development.

December

• In his address to the 10th Summit of the OACP whose theme was “Three Oceans, Three Continents, One Common Destiney”, President Mnangagwa challenged leaders of the Organisation of African Caribbean Pacific to leap-frog the mordenisation and industrialisation of their countries to help extricate their citizens from extreme poverty.
• President Mnangagwa presided over the groundbreaking ceremony for a US$130 million lithium mine in Buhera district set to produce 300 000 tonnes of the mineral a year and employ more than 900 Zimbabweans.
• Giving his closing remarks at State House for the last Cabinet meeting for 2022, President Mnangagwa said all unfinished development projects should be quickly completed before embarking on new ones next year.