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Tendai Mugabe in MASVINGO
Devolution is the panacea to provincial economic growth and Central Government should expedite its implementation if the country is to meet the target of attaining  upper middle-income status by 2030, Masvingo Provincial Minister of State Ezra Chadzamira has said.

Minister Chadzamira said everything was in place for implementation of devolution in the province.

His remarks followed the approval of the principles of the Provincial Councils and Administration (Amendment) Bill, which spells out the mechanisms of decentralisation and devolution.

Minister Chadzamira said Masvingo was one of the provinces endowed with vast natural resources with the potential of becoming an economic hub contributing significantly to the national fiscus.

“Firstly, as Masvingo province we want to pay tribute to our President, Cde ED Mnangagwa, for abiding by the provisions of the country’s Constitution which speaks to devolution,” said Cde Chadzamira.

“Secondly, I must state that as Masvingo province we are ready for devolution in the sense that we have put in place all the necessary apparatus for the implementation of this concept. In terms of economic growth in this devolved set-up, as Masvingo province we are privileged to have vast natural resources cutting across all sectors.

“If we look into the mining sector, we already have big mines which are contributing at national level and world market. For instance, if you look at Bikita Minerals they are mining lithium which is needed in the production of car batteries worldwide.

“We have also Renco Mine which is into gold and the Steel Makers which is mining coal in Chiredzi and if we beneficiate that coal we can have electricity. We also have diamonds that have been discovered around the Sese area and Murowa Diamonds is also mining on the part of Chivi which falls under our province.

“I can safely say we have a strong footing in the mining sector over and above our strong capacity in agriculture where we have abundant water bodies to do irrigation. We have Mutirikwe Dam, Tugwi-Mukosi, Manyuchi, Muzhwi and other small dams.

“As a province, we are working on resuscitating various irrigation schemes and also establishing new ones to ensure that at least in every district we have 200 hectares under irrigation. With all these projects and others that we are working on, it is evident that we are ready for devolution and I think this is a positive move from our central Government because our local people are going to benefit immensely.”

With regards to tourism, Minister Chadzamira said Great Zimbabwe and the Tugwi-Mukosi Dam project had the capacity to earn the province the much needed foreign currency.

He said while the master plan for Tugwi-Mukosi was still being developed, there were other business opportunities that could start as early as possible around the vast water body.

“Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement Minister Air Chief Marshal Perrance Shiri visited here last week and we discussed the issue of the master plan,” said Minister Chadzamira.

“We agreed that there are other projects that can start now such as construction of hotels on islands and fishing programmes for our people. With regards to fishing, what is only required is to group our people and give them                                      permits.”

He said he was confident that with the new work ethic introduced in the governance system by President Mnangagwa, devolution would be a success, and Vision 2030 was achievable.