Moffat Mungazi
Post Reporter
SINCE the advent of the Second Republic in 2017 when President Mnangagwa assumed office, Zimbabwe has continued to witness unprecedented all-inclusive national development on several fronts that is sustaining the country’s ongoing transformation.
Thanks to President Mnangagwa’s visionary leadership and his astute administration, our nation is on a growth path hinged on the current high-impact programmes and life-changing projects being rolled out countrywide for social transformation, economic growth and overall development.
Already, a firm foundation has been put in place on which sustainability will firmly be built through the implementation of measures that improve the people’s quality of lives in urban and rural areas.
Building blocks brick by brick
There is proper planning, good organisation and method to achieving the national aspiration of Vision 2030, whose ultimate goal is to have an empowered and prosperous upper-middle income society.
To set this off, the Second Republic has applied short and mid-term policies – from the Transitional Stabilisation Programme to National Development Strategy (NDS1).
The former (October 2018-December 2020) is the predecessor to the latter, which is the first five-year medium-term plan that is being implemented since 2021.
NDS1 will run until next year as a precursor to NDS2, which will culminate in the attainment of Vision 2030.
NDS1 revolves around 14 national priority areas, that are a result of extensive, structured and across-the-board stakeholder consultations.
The 14 thematic key pillars neatly dovetail into each other for full complement and the consolidation of the policy proposals and strategies.
Key pillars stone upon stone
NDS1’s national priorities, in no particular order, are: economic growth and stability; food security and nutrition; governance; moving the economy up the value chain and structural transformation; human capital development; environmental protection; climate resilience and natural resources management; housing delivery; ICT and digital economy; health and wellbeing; transport, infrastructure and utilities; image building and international engagement and re-engagement; social protection; youth sport and culture; and devolution.
It aims to strengthen macroeconomic stability characterised by low and stable inflation as well as exchange rate stability; achieve and sustain inclusive and equitable GDP growth; promoting new enterprise development, employment and job creation; strengthen social infrastructure and social safety nets; ensure sustainable environmental protection and resilience; promote good governance and corporate social investment; and to modernise the economy through use of ICT and digital technology.
Cross-cutting issues such as gender, youth, people with disabilities, arts and creative industry, environment and information communication technology are being mainstreamed in all thematic working programmes during implementation of NDS1.
Monitoring and evaluation of NDS1 commenced at the outset of the Strategy Period to measure achievements on the deliverables through an e-enabled information management system.
This has also helped to track progress towards achieving the desired outcomes.
Thus, the Second Republic is walking the talk on development.
President Mnangagwa is captaining that ship of steering the country to national prosperity as everyone puts their shoulder to the wheel; hence his mantra: “Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo”.
For good measure, Zimbabwe’s developmental thrust is in vigorous pursuit of achieving the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that are designed to spur global prosperity for the present and future generations.
Chief among these are zero hunger (SDG 2) as well as good health and well-being (SDG 3).
Food and nutrition security
Despite the 2023/24 summer cropping season being ravaged by the El Nino-induced drought that threatened food security in the country, President Mnangagwa has assured the nation that no one will succumb to starvation as Government has put in place measures to mitigate the negative impact of the drought by securing food for the citizens.
The climate-smart agriculture model of Pfumvudza and Command Agriculture have also immensely contributed in mitigating climate vagaries and vulnerabilities to enhance food security as well as improve communal livelihoods for millions of people
Over the years, the Second Republic has been implementing programmes that promote resilience and sustainable farming through agricultural mechanisation and optimisation so as to increase food and nutrition security as well as improve self-sufficiency.
Zimbabwe’s transformation of its agricultural systems through operationalising the Agriculture Recovery Growth Plan cultivated bumper harvests of all crops, including maize, traditional grains and cereals, during the 2022/23 farming season.
The climate-smart agriculture model of Pfumvudza and Command Agriculture have also immensely contributed in mitigating climate vagaries and vulnerabilities to enhance food security as well as improve communal livelihoods for millions of people.
Accelerated agricultural production and productivity is a critical factor leading to the escalation of food self-sufficiency, which the Second Republic is working to increase from the current level to 100 percent.
In line with the Second Republic’s rural industrialisation agenda, the roll out of Village Business Units (VBUs) is already underway across the country; with some already operational.
To date, in Manicaland the VBUs have been established in Buhera, Chisuma, Temaruru, Tamburikayi, Hakwata, Chichesa, Mutema Secondary and at Chief Mutema’s homestead.
VBUs are broad-based viable enterprises envisaged to have multiple benefits to rural communities.
They comprise a one-hectare drip irrigated nutrition and horticulture garden, water storage reservoirs, fish ponds and – where possible – orchards and poultry projects.
Government is on a drive to establish at least 10 000 VBUs countrywide by the end of this year.
The areas largely targeted are in regions four and five.
Pulse on health sector
Achieving universal health coverage to give the nation a robust pulse is also at the heart of the Second Republic’s development drive.
Provision of basic and essential health services continues to improve in the province as Government revamps the sector through hefty investments that have started yielding desired results.
While at it, new health facilities have been constructed and existing ones rehabilitated.
Sinking boreholes, acquiring water treatment chemicals and connecting the health facilities to solar power has resulted in the ante being upped to improve service delivery.
Procurement and distribution of medical equipment, medicines and ambulances as part of initiatives by the Ministry of Health and Child Care to retool and capacitate hospitals is another major milestone scored in the sector.
The country has also attained oxygen sufficiency after the commissioning of Verify Engineering Oxygen Plant by President Mnangagwa at Feruka in Mutare in 2021.
This has seen a 10 000-litre medical oxygen tank being installed at Victoria Chitepo Provincial Hospital, while some with half that capacity were installed at Chipinge District and Rusape General hospitals respectively.
Construction of the NatPharm Warehouse at Victoria Chitepo Provincial Hospital in Mutare has been another huge game changer.
Once operational, it is expected to improve access to drugs and their ready availability throughout Manicaland.
The warehouse has the capacity to store around 6 000 pallets of medicine.
Promoting and maintaining quality healthcare systems is critical in preventing and managing diseases, their treatment, reducing unnecessary disability and premature death as well as achieving health equity for all Zimbabweans.
Significant reduction in morbidity and mortality due to communicable and non-communicable diseases through easy access to primary health services leads to a remarkable improvement in the quality of life and also increases life expectancy.
Government’s policy to provide health services for pregnant and lactating mothers, children under five years and those aged 60 years and above free of charge is also highly laudable.
Zimbabwe in 2023 launched the Health Resilience Fund (HRF), the National Health Strategy (2021-2025), the Investment Case for the National Health Strategy and the Coordination Framework for the Health Sector to buttress a robust and resilient healthcare system.
This ultimately provides a perfect prescription to keep the nation’s health pulse ticking over.
