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Lovemore Chikova Development Dialogue

Zimbabwe’s development has taken an upward trajectory since the coming in of the New Dispensation led by President Mnangagwa in 2017.

President Mnangagwa has been rallying the nation around developmental issues and does not miss an opportunity to remind the people that Zimbabwe can make it, and will make it no matter what.

The President has a clear and constant vision of what he envisages the country to become.

This has been backed by the philosophy behind his thinking on development, which everyone agrees has been at the forefront of transforming the country.

This philosophy has been translated into tangible action that has become the bedrock for guiding the fruitful developmental trajectory the country has taken.

The President has managed to elevate mere words into the guiding principles and action for Zimbabwe’s development.

Here are some of the slogans that are helping in the transformation of Zimbabwe.

“Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo/Ilizwe Lakhiwa Ngabanikazi Balo”

This is a rallying philosophy calling upon every Zimbabwean to regain confidence that Zimbabwe is indeed free and it is everyone’s duty to ensure it is prosperous.

The country is a sovereign nation that should have its people determining their destination in everything, including development.

This philosophy has helped transform the thinking and attitude of Zimbabweans towards development.

It has been a wake up to everyone that the country can do it, with them playing a part in ensuring that there is progress.

It is an acknowledgement that, yes, foreigners can partner Zimbabweans in ensuring there is development in the country, but locals should always lead the way.

This is because foreigners do not always have Zimbabwe at heart — they come for various reasons and with various agendas, some of which may be disguised as development.

The call by President Mnangagwa through “Nyika Inovakwa Nevane Vayo/Ilizwe Lakhiwa Ngabanikazi Balo” is for every Zimbabwean, wherever they are, to ensure that they embrace development and fully take part in making sure it takes effect in their localities.

It is the locals who are fully aware of the kind of development they would want to have in their areas, and it is them who should lead in the quest to institute such development.

This topic has become an issue for examination in the field of development studies where questions are constantly asked on why some foreign developmental agencies fail in their bid to implement developmental projects in communities.

The reason is because most of these agencies do not think it proper to involve locals in their planning and management of developmental projects.

The result is that the foreign developmental agencies always fail because they do not take time to empower locals with decision making on development.

Nyika Inovakwa Nevene Vayo/Ilizwe Lakhiwa Ngabanikazi Balo has become the guiding principle for the New Dispensation and has been widely embraced by the people because of its relevance to modern development.

Zimbabwe is open for business

This statement has been one of the top reasons why Zimbabwe now stands tall in its developmental path, bringing renewed confidence.

It is a call by President Mnangagwa to all those who would want to take part and partner Zimbabweans in their developmental path.

This includes investors, traders and any business entity, who are being told they are free to work in the country because of its business friendly policies and approach.

Anyone is welcome to Zimbabwe, and this has resulted in the rise in investments coming into the country.

It is a saying that has appealed to investors not only because the saying is beautiful on its own, but mainly because it has been accompanied by ease of doing business reforms.

The ease of doing business has seen various strategies being put in place to ensure capital feels comfortable in Zimbabwe.

Laws that used to inhibit business and scare away potential investors have either been repealed or amended to ensure they conform to the country’s vision.

One of the masterstrokes in that endeavour has been the setting up of the Zimbabwe Investment Development Authority (ZIDA).

ZIDA ensures that investors feel comfortable, drastically reducing the time when one would wait to start a business in Zimbabwe.

The one-stop shop set up at ZIDA ensures that bureaucracy has been removed and an investor can get all the information, and all the papers, from one entity to start a business in Zimbabwe.

Leaving no one and no place behind

The philosophy is meant to eliminate the marginalisation of communities and certain groups of people who had been on the periphery of development.

President Mnangagwa rarely finishes his speeches without reminding the people that the developmental trajectory he is pushing is all-inclusive — leaving no one and no place behind.

Driven by the devolution and decentralisation policy, the country has been witnessing President Mnangagwa’s words being transformed to reality.

Under the devolution concept, development has been spread to areas where many thought no one would care about.

Formally marginalised areas are being put on the frontline of development through devolution, whereby services and projects are being implemented in their localities.

There have been many schools, clinics, hospitals, roads, bridges, irrigation schemes, water bodies and many other development projects being implemented in far flung areas.

Where there was food insecurity, people are now able to grow their own food due to the availability of water brought by various dams constructed by the New Dispensation.

Many more high-impact dams are being constructed, with a number of them expected to be complete this year.

Leaving no one and no place behind has emerged as one of the major principles behind President Mnangagwa’s approach to development.

This brings the true meaning of independence and sovereignty to the people who are now realising they too can take part and benefit from development.

Reform and opening up

Reforms being carried out by President Mnangagwa’s administration have been given approval by various international bodies.

These have been important steps being undertaken to ensure there is economic progress.

These reforms resulted in Zimbabwe being elevated by the World Bank from a low income economy to a lower middle income economy in 2019.

From then on, President Mnangagwa announced the country was now moving towards Vision 2030 of attaining an upper middle income economy.

Judging by the speed at which the country is making progress in various sectors, Vision 2030 is attainable, and, in fact, some pundits posit that the vision may even be attained before 2030.

There have been reforms in various sectors already, including in agriculture where the transformation has resulted in national food security.

The reform and opening up is also taking place in the economic sector, where the establishment of special economic zones and industrial parks adds value to increased business.

This is a deliberate way to open up Zimbabwe to the world, ensuring the country takes its rightful place in international economic affairs.

Brick-by-brick

Someone has defined brick by brick as meaning doing something steadily and continuously in a step-by-step manner, just like how people build a house.

On this one, President Mnangagwa has been constant, telling Zimbabweans that indeed the country is being developed brick-by-brick.

And everyone has witnessed the truth in this mantra, considering that developmental projects that have been implemented in various sectors of the economy.

Brick-by-brick also implies meticulous planning and deliberate execution of projects for the benefit of the people.

It is envisaged that through developing brick-by-brick, Zimbabwe is marching towards a prosperous future notwithstanding the challenges it might be facing.

Engagement and re-engagement policy

This has been the anchor of the New Dispensation’s foreign policy, and it has been a huge success through bringing Zimbabwe back to the international table.

Countries that have shunned Zimbabwe in the past have been warming up to this new approach and it can safely be said that President Mnangagwa has won many battles on this front.

Zimbabwe is now being invited by countries that used to give it a colder shoulder over certain perceptions that they held.

But President Mnangagwa has managed to clear most of these perceptions and many countries are now viewing Zimbabwe correctly.

Innovation, modernisation and industrialisation 

These have become common words under President Mnangagwa, signifying his intentions to transform the country.

Innovation has been identified as a key driver to the economic and human development agenda under the New Dispensation.

The setting up of innovation and industrial hubs at State universities attests to this quest to innovate the way to development.

This is linked to the quest to modernise and industrialise the country to help extricate citizens from poverty.

President Mnangagwa has often stressed that due importance should be accorded to the development of trade as well as the fields of science and technology, industry, transport, education, human resources and Information Communication Technology.

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