A refreshing cabinet reshuffle

Muchadura Dube
The appointment of new ministers on September 11 2015 by President Mugabe has given new impetus to the Government’s execution of its mandate.

Yes, new faces with a vigor which will only add value to the already solid momentum existing in the Zanu PF led government.

President Mugabe also created a Rural Development, Preservation and Promotion of Culture ministry which will be headed by Abdenico Ncube, formerly the Matebeleland South Provincial Affairs Minister, a veteran politician with a firm comprehension of the cultural ethos and the country’s rural architecture. The new ministry will have organisations such as the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe, the National Gallery, the National Museums and Monuments under its arm bit and the welfare of traditional chiefs.

The creation of the new ministry of Macro-Economic Planning and Investment Promotion is a testimony of the great and immense vision which the leadership of the country has for the people and indeed posterity. The new ministry will have Dr Obert Mpofu as the minister. The new ministry of Policy Coordination and Promotion of Socio-Economic Ventures in the President’s Office becomes the centre of strategic direction of the entire economic matrix of the nation.

The new minister of that portfolio is Simon Khaya Moyo, a veteran diplomat who will do justice to his latest appointment. President Mugabe continues to be the leading light to the nation as we navigate the volatile economic trajectory, in which Zimbabwe’s case remains the battle ground with the nation’s detractors always ready to spoil its revival given their preoccupation with their regime change politics.

The new cabinet team has characters who have experience and other youthful characters who have the energy and zeal to ensure the economic turnaround which the nation is pursuing. President Mugabe appointed Patrick Zhuwawo to the Youth and Indigenization portfolio, a key portfolio to the change of fortunes in the economic arena. Zhuwao is an intellectual who has served in the government prior to his latest appointment. He is also a technocrat in his own right.

Zhuwawo also understands the problems bedeviling the youth, who by the end of this decade will constitute the majority of the voting population. The youth are such a key component in driving the economy and in the destination of the country as a whole. The youth are the leaders and the workforce of tomorrow. Therefore, giving them the right orientation will only be beneficial to the country.

Recently, the government initiated a National Youth Service (NYS) which has a predominantly economic stance, which is the only way the economy will grow. In that initiative, the government accepted that political orientation will continue whilst the thrust and emphasis at the current moment and in the future will be economic. This stance by government is in tandem and in pursuit of the ‘catch them young’ adage.

Once the youth understands the journey which needs to be travelled, their efforts will complement the whole citizenry’s efforts and ingenuity. Then there is the indigenization aspect which also constitutes an important fulcrum in the economy of the nation. Of course as expected, the nation’s detractors want the world to believe that the indigenization crusade is a grabbing exercise, what pure idiocy and stupidity?.

It is retrogressive politics for any government to fail to empower its citizens legally just because of the fear of a certain silly white man. True, as espoused by the Zanu PF government, the population wants economic growth which takes into account the welfare of the people into consideration. The government has to avoid a scenario where the nation’s economic index is projected as growing when only a few citizens are wealthy.

The nation should have equally distributed wealthy where the – poor’s lives are enhanced. This can only be achieved when the nation’s natural resources extracted from an area benefits the populace whilst taking care of the investor’s financial interests. Such a win-win scenario promotes peace, stability and national cohesion. President Mugabe chose a sober and stable character in the mould of Patrick Zhuwawo. Anyone who reads the Sunday Mail will confess that the man has concrete and piercing views if his articles in that weekly are to be dissected.

The appointment of Makhosini Hlongwane, a fellow journalist into a cabinet minister by President Mugabe is only testimony that the country’s first citizen rewards hard work. For those with a short memory need to be reminded that Hlongwane ably managed to dispel the notion that Zimbabwe was not governable to the joint sitting of African–Caribbean caucus with the European Union.

Hlongwane’s eloquence managed to expose the rabid British politicians who had wanted the world to believe that Zimbabwe is a pariah state yet all that the British want is to monopolize Zimbabwe’s resources. He managed to expose the usual British hypocrisy of double standards which are meant to further that country’s interests to the detriment of the Zimbabweans.

As a veteran journalist, Minister Hlongwane will also naturally address any plight bedeviling the Fourth Estate, an important national asset which needs to be adequately catered for. The journalistic fraternity is thrilled that one of them has been recognized by the country’s highest office.

The new Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services, Christopher Mushohwe is a tried and tested cadre who has seen it all in the country’s body politic. The new minister has a solid intellectual base which will also be a vital commodity in the discharge of his given mandate. Minister Mushohwe will certainly give a refreshing dimension to the way the media industry is operating. His experience and flexibility will give a new impetus in the industry.

The cabinet reshuffle should also be a signal to the ministers that there are there at President Mugabe’s pleasure. This should spur them to be industrious in the discharge of their duties for them to be constantly retained in the cabinet. It is time to work for those who have been given the opportunity to serve their country to do so with honour.

May the Lord bless Zimbabwe.