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Ivan Zhakata, Herald Correspondent

ZIMBABWE’s infrastructural development drive is expected to inspire SADC member States who will be in the country from tomorrow for the 44th SADC Summit where President Mnangagwa will assume the regional bloc’s Chairmanship, a development expert has said.

A Zambian Pan-Africanist and development activist, Mr Edgar Silwimba who is already in Harare for the summit, said he hopes that other countries from the region will take a leaf from the good work going on in Zimbabwe.

“When I arrived at Robert (Gabriel) Mugabe International Airport, I was welcomed by a beautiful airport to begin with, and this is what we want to see,” he said.

“We want to see countries moving from developing countries and from being called poor countries to huge industrialised countries.

“We see the trajectory that the Zimbabwean Government is taking, which is commendable because infrastructure development culminates into serious development.”

Mr Silwimba said having busy airports like RGM indicates a rise in regional trade on the back of improved road and air connectivity.

“Infrastructure development is very key and I have been following developments in Zimbabwe,” he said.

“There are a lot of activities and recently I saw President Mnangagwa commissioning a dam and that is commendable because we need to invest in all forms of development.

“We are talking about the agricultural sector, energy and we share the Kariba Dam and I feel these are the areas that countries should invest in because we are all faced with the energy crisis and infrastructure is one of the key areas.”

Given what is being done by President Mnangagwa in respect of infrastructure development, Mr Silwimba expects to see more across the region.

“We have a lot in common to do as a region and as I always say, our problems are symbiotic; we have problems which are similar.

“What we have in Zambia and what you do not have here, they are basically the same issues so this is a good trajectory and we know that a lot will learn from you and it will impact a lot on the SADC region,” he said.

Zimbabwe has transformed in the last few years that President Mnangagwa has been in charge, with new roads, rehabilitated roads, airports, border posts, a new parliament building, among others, now the order of the day.