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Monica Mutsvangwa

Rumbidzayi Zinyuke Manicaland Bureau
Government has urged the private sector to actively participate in initiatives aimed at increasing the productivity of Manicaland Province and revive industry, which has been in limbo for more than a decade,

Speaking at a Manicaland branding workshop in Mutare yesterday, Provincial Affairs Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said Government was committed to creating a new economic order, but needed the private sector for it to be a reality.

“We cannot continue to do the same things we did in the past and expect results,” she said. “We all know where we have come from and we can’t continue. We need to work together to move out of these doldrums. We are talking about all stakeholders.

“Manicaland Province remains focused on playing its part and meeting provincial set targets and to realise the vision set out by President Emmerson Mnangagwa. We have to all work together to ensure Zimbabwe prospers again.”

Minister Mutsvangwa expressed dismay that most companies in the province had closed, thereby putting thousands of people out of jobs. She said she would work closely with the private sector to increase production and processing capabilities of the companies and ensure they received capital injection to get them back on track.

“People in Manicaland are eating bread baked in Harare, we continue to drink milk processed in Harare,” she said. “But we have everything we need to make sure that we not only consume our own products but also send to other provinces and maybe even export,”

Minister Mutsvangwa said there was need to bring in expertise into the farms to ensure that the production end of the value chain was capable of supplying the processors, who would then create more jobs for locals.

“There is need to ensure that there is stability in the farms,” she said. “Land is a business, it needs to be treated as such. If we used to have so much coffee, tea and timber in this country and we need to look at what can be done to make sure that those people on the farms are capacitated so that they produce.”

Minister Mutsvangwa said there were former commercial farmers who were interested in sharing their expertise with local farmers to ensure industry started functioning.

“We have a lot of people from Manicaland who are seeking jobs elsewhere, but we cannot continue to export jobs,” she said. “If we work together to make the industry work, we can make sure these people are back in jobs.”