The ManicaPost
Samuel Kadungure Senior Reporter —
MINISTER of State for Manicaland Provincial Affairs Cde Monica Mutsvangwa has cast a vision that hinges on unprecedented co-operation among Government departments, development partners, the private sector, academic institutions and communities in finding sustainable ways to meet social, economic and material needs that improve the quality of life in Manicaland.
Speaking during a meeting with provincial heads of Government departments, local authorities and parastatals on Monday, Cde Mutsvangwa made a bold declaration to pull the province’s developmental wagon by implementing creative strategies to enhance economic opportunity and build strong and prosperous communities.
She said she would employ an open-door policy to ensure a dynamic framework for quality growth and development of the province.
Cde Mutsvangwa singled out the poor state of the roads, hunger, moribund industries, lack of value addition and beneficiation, lackadaisical attitude towards work, drought and climate change as key issues that should be tackled head-on, while ensuring that communities have sustainable livelihood, access to basic education and health care, among others.
Cde Mutsvangwa said academic institutions should assist Government and the private sector to build strong communities, industries and markets.
“I will be on the steering wheel, and being professionals, you know what to do. I will be there to facilitate, while you release all the positive energy. My mandate is to unify the people, to make peace and ensure the development of Manicaland. The expectations are very high. This Government has 100 days to prove what it capable of. We all have to work extra hard.
“Let us be honest with each other, leave the bad behaviour of the past which made you lackadaisical because of one or two things. I shall not refer to the past because a lot of things have happened. I will not refer to my predecessor because it is a waste of my time. Where I am coming from is clean. My hands and conscience are clean. I want to start on a new slate whose objective is development,” said Cde Mutsvangwa.
She vowed to restore sanity in resettled areas. She insisted that those who were illegally settled in plantations would be evicted. Illegal setters are accused of triggering massive environmental degradation occasioned by wanton destruction of trees on nearly 5 000 hectares.
“The land issue needs to be addressed. This is the first area I will have to deal with because farming is a business. We have to correct all past mistakes. We have people illegally settled on plantations. We need to look at it because it has a negative impact on the timber industry that Manicaland is revered for. We need to look at what we can do to resuscitate forestry, coffee, macadamia and tea plantations in the province,” said Cde Mutsvangwa.
Cde Mutsvangwa also emphasised the need to introduce irrigation technology to increase crop productivity in arid and semi-arid communal known for erratic and low rainfall. Cde Mutsvangwa said irrigation was key in enhancing sustainable agriculture and development, given that Manicaland’s agriculture had remained heavily reliant on rains.
