Our wish list for 2020s decade

03 Jan, 2020 - 00:01 0 Views

The ManicaPost

On Tuesday, December 31, we bade farewell to the year 2019, the end of the second decade of the new millennium, during which we saw a new world ruled by the disruptive social media foisted on us by information and computer technology.

And in a wave sweeping across time zones, the world counted down to the beginning of another new decade on Wednesday.

January 1 is indeed an odd holiday no  great landmark in the course of human events. It can best be described as an anniversary of no remarkable battle, birth or                                     death.

One editorial noted: “It is a date pulled out of a hat, an utterly arbitrary starting line for an eternal, repetitive race.”

True, humankind has always had a tough time with the new year. This is the reason why it is celebrated differently around the world. Other major holidays — Christmas and Easter are based upon matters of deep spirituality and solemnity. But New Year is about nothing but making noise and staying up late.

 And we have all put in order the nuts and bolts of preparing a new year together. In our typical human way, we load New Year up with false promises to reform ourselves, to change our ways, to stop behaving like this and to start behaving like that. So January 1 becomes, in effect, the guaranteed departure date for a new lease of life.

As a nation, we have manys  aspiration for the 2020s after the tumultuous 2010s. In no particular order, here’s our priority wish list for how things might be improved during the decade ahead, if we resolve to change  them.

A radical transformation in the way we produce and consume electricity, along with an end to our reliance on fossil fuels should be a priority for 2020s. We need to drastically shift and focus on solar  energy.

The need to look at a number of factors key to transforming our agriculture. Resolving the land tenure security issues, securing agriculture finance and developing irrigation farming are critical fo 2020s.

We also need a complete global shift away from disposable plastic to packaging that’s fully recyclable. The need for a clean environment for the 2020s cannot be                                   overemphasised.

Access to affordable healthcare in Zimbabwe is of paramount importance.

A well co-ordinated effort by policymakers, educators, industry and labour to prepare Zimbabweans for widespread technological advances in the workplace for the 2020s is critical.

Schools, colleges and universities in Zimbabwe that are funded at a level that allows them to produce students ready for the next generation of work is part of our wish list for           the 2020s.

A housing building boom, riding on the Urban Renewal Programme with lots of new homes in all shapes and sizes and prices so Zimbabweans of all income levels can find and afford to put a reliable roof over their heads. Political leaders at all levels of Government need to rally behind real housing solutions through the devolution                                      agenda.

And finally in line with Vision 2030 espoused by President Mnangagwa, we need a new determination to lift more people out of poverty in Zimbabwe, this land of plenty. This means finding and funding programmes that                                                                                     work.

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