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George Maponga Masvingo Bureau

People here are happy with Government interventions to cushion them from various economic challenges confronting the country, Masvingo Provincial Affairs Minister Ezra Chadzamira has said.

Cde Chadzamira, who is also Zanu-PF provincial chair, said the ruling party has been appraising the grassroots on programmes being pushed by President Mnangagwa’s administration to make Zimbabwe an upper middle income economy by 2030.

“We have been telling our people of various Government programmes that are in the offing to make sure we insulate them from the prevailing economic hardships such as the new affordable ZUPCO buses that are now plying most of our rural areas,” he said.

“We are also explaining to them about the various programmes aimed specifically at benefiting youths and women who have hitherto largely remained on the periphery of economic activities and we are very encouraged by their response.”

Cde Chadzamira said people were excited by the province’s prospects under devolution being steered by President Mnangagwa’s administration.

“There is a lot of enthusiasm on the ground as our people are happy that central Government has devolved some powers to provinces to determine their own direction in line with their socio-economic priorities,” he said.

“Our people are very aware that the current challenges are temporary and necessary to cure the economic malaise that was obtaining in the country before the advent of the Second Republic.”

Cde Chadzamira said there was high optimism among people at the grass roots that the Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP) enunciated by President Mnangagwa’s administration would bring the expected results that will entail marked improvement in the country’s economic fortunes.

He said resource-rich Masvingo was on the cusp of socio-economic transformation under devolution, thanks to huge deposits of gold, diamonds, coal, manganese, asbestos, emeralds, lithium, among other minerals found in abundance in the province.

The province’s high dam density and flat and fertile agricultural land conducive for irrigation put the icing on the cake in Masvingo’s quest to shake off the basket case tag and become the country’s breadbasket.

Government has already started making sure the majority of people, particularly women and youths in the province, start to benefit from various income-generating projects, especially in areas such as fishing, small-scale mining and agriculture.

Meanwhile, the ruling Zanu-PF has started conducting victory celebrations in all the constituencies the revolutionary party won in last year’s harmonised elections in Masvingo.

Zanu-PF won 25 National Assembly seats out of 26 that were up for grabs in Masvingo in a confirmation of the ruling party’s political dominance in the province.

The MDC-Alliance controls the odd Masvingo Urban, which the party scrapped and won narrowly in the face of a resurgent Zanu-PF.

Cde Chadzamira said celebrations had already been held in more than half of the constituencies under Zanu-PF control.

He said besides thanking supporters for voting President Mnangagwa and the ruling party in the last elections, the festivities were aimed at touching base with the sentiments of the party’s supporters.

“We have been holding victory celebrations in all the constituencies that were won by Zanu- PF in the 2018 polls basically to thank our supporters for making sure Masvingo remains a one party state,” he said.

“However, most importantly, the celebrations also afford the party leadership an opportunity to explain various Government programmes that are expected to steer the country into a new epoch of prosperity in line with President Mnangagwa’s Vision 2030.”