Mat South’s key devolution targets

Thupeyo Muleya Beitbridge Bureau
Matabeleland South province is abound in farming, tourism and mining opportunities which, if properly managed and supported technically and financially, can boost the area’s economic growth under the devolution concept, an official has said.

In a recent interview, Senator Chief Nyangazonke (Vuyani Ndiweni) said the concept (devolution) should be rolled out from ward level for it to have meaningful impact in communities.

“You will note that geographically, Zimbabweans are from different areas, with different economic drivers,” said Chief Nyangazonke.

“For instance, if you look at Matabeleland South, our quick-win projects should be hinged on mining, tourism and farming.

“Let us sit down with those people in mining, farming and tourism and say what is it that you want to be able to grow your sectors.

“Inasmuch as Government is giving much support to projects like Command Livestock, it is important for it to bring that concept to mining.

“Our people need equipment and support to scale up production. We have a lot of minerals here which, if people get the necessary material, monetary and technical support, can turn around our fortunes as a province”.

The traditional leader said though much has been said about devolution in the mainstream and social media platforms, there was little action on the ground.

“Of course, we have few people who understand the devolution concept but the challenge we have is we come up with a lot of good policies which are often not implemented.

“A lot has been said about devolving the economy, but nothing much has been done on the ground. Let’s translate programmes into action on the ground,” he said.

The chief said it was critical for people to sit down in their respective communities and identify and agree on economic development or investment opportunities around them.

He said there were a lot of minerals in the province, including gold, which if properly managed would steer infrastructure and economic development for the people.

He added that proper planning and consultation was very important for projects to win community support and for people to move forward with a shared vision.

According to Chief Nyangazonke, proper mining, crop and livestock farming would address a lot of productivity issues facing the general populace.

“My view is that if we are to start rolling out the concept, since it has been a great challenge to achieve, communities must sit down from ward level and speak with one voice.

“We need adequate support for all our economic drivers, for instance we can’t kill mining for the farmer or farming for mining,” he said.

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