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Minister Mutsvangwa

Obert Chifamba Manicaland Bureau
NEWLY-appointed Minister of State for Manicaland Provincial Affairs Cde Monica Mutsvangwa has welcomed her appointment saying the province held a special place in her heart. In a telephone interview with The Herald yesterday, Cde Mutsvangwa said she was happy to serve a province that had a special position in the modern political history of the country.

“Manicaland holds a special position in Zimbabwe’s modern political history courtesy of the longest border stretch between Zimbabwe and Mozambique through which thousands of young people escaped into neighbouring Mozambique to join the liberation struggle.Manicaland has a history of patriotism because it bore the biggest burden of the decisive phase of the liberation struggle of the late 1970s just before the attainment of independence.

“It is also a province that holds a very strategic resource to the economy of the country — the diamond and many others. It has a unique climate that makes it ideal for the production of high value horticultural crops, macadamia nuts, coffee and more importantly, timber, which is also a foreign currency earner for the country,” she said.

Minister Mutsvangwa said her first task would be to try and harness the energies of the people of Manicaland — help them realise it by consulting them on how they want to see the province developing.

“I will engage all stakeholders and get to understand where they want the province to go. All stakeholders — traditional leaders, religious leaders and political parties should contribute to the development of the province through the serious consultations that I will hold with them,” Cde Mutsvangwa promised.

She added that the province needed to develop courtesy of the bulky mineral resources it had. She said there are a lot of minerals such as gold, diamond and phosphates that can be mined productively to generate a lot of revenue as well as create employment for the people, the majority of whom are presently jobless, said Minister Mutsvangwa.

“Manicaland, as a province, has world class mineral deposits so I will definitely push for their proper prospection so that we know the quantities we have, which will allow us to come up with long-term investment arrangements that will see the town of Mutare and all the other districts of the province taking care of thousands of jobless youths currently roaming aimlessly.

“I need to understand how companies like Cairns and Quest Motors can be resuscitated to create jobs for the people. I will also need to engage Government to see how the informal sector, which currently accounts for the majority of the people in the province and the country at large, can be productively revitalised to contribute to the economy,” said Cde Mutsvangwa.

Cde Mutsvangwa said she would not disappoint, but do her best to allow the province to perform to its best.