adminrealisation that for this growth to be achieved at the macro level, things have to start happening at the micro level. And for things to happen there, the leadership at those levels has to take responsibility for the envisaged growth in agreement with the national leaders.
Targets have to be set for the various sectors and they have to commit themselves to achieving them.
To do so they have to change the way they think and begin to be success and growth conscious, instead of complaining about the problems they are facing.
As the CEO Roundtable convener Kenias Mafukidze argues, the economic vision is more than just a dream. “It is a call by Zimbabwean sons and daughters who are genuinely tired of mediocrity and are calling for
all of us to come together and change our fortunes and chart a different, more positive direction and legacy for our nation.”
We could not agree with him more.
Once we have a mindset that rejects mediocrity and aims for excellence; half the job is done.
Zimbabweans generally agree that they are a great nation; that where we are is not where we are supposed to be.
They now need to agree to aim for greatness and also agree on how that greatness can be attained. And that is the purpose of a vision that is supported by clear steps to be taken.
Sadly we have not done well on this score. We struggle to agree on the way forward. It is perhaps the tragedy of a society where everyone thinks they know better than the other.
Yet our collective wisdom could become an asset if we could harness and direct it towards a noble cause such as creating a bigger cake from which we could all feed.
We have debated enough the need to grow our economy. We have acknowledged enough the abundance of the natural resources at our disposal. We need to begin to take practical steps to use those resources to create wealth and grow our economy.
This year the CEO Roundtable intends to focus more on practical steps. Some of the steps are already in motion but need to be sustained if the kind of growth that is envisaged is to be achieved.
Sustaining a 10 percent Gross Domestic Product growth for the next three decades cannot happen by accident.
It has to be planned for and there has to be agreement across the board. The power of agreement is what will drive this vision.
There is need for a sincere buy-in from the political leaders who have to commit themselves to move the country away from what appears to be a permanent state of conflict to one of peace and harmony, which is the atmosphere for sustained growth.
The abundance of natural resources can be a source of constant conflict if we do not agree on how to manage and share them in a manner that is inclusive.
Throughout the African continent we have seen that it is in countries where there are too many resources where conflict is a permanent feature.
As long as the indigenous people of those countries cannot agree among themselves on how to equitably share the resources they open the door for external interference and plunder.
The awakening to resource nationalism that we are experiencing in Zimbabwe is confirmation that ownership and exploitation of resources is something that we need to take seriously and agree on if conflict is to be avoided.
The land question has, by and large, been addressed. What remains is guaranteeing its irreversibility and ensuring that agricultural production drives the GDP growth that we want.
To achieve the desired growth, Zimbabwe has to attend to its infrastructure.
The Business Council of Zimbabwe has recommended, for example, that there is need to boost power generation by an additional 1500megawatts. Obviously this will require the participation of foreign and local investors, who will most likely be attracted by our natural resources.
Tourism has already shown signs of rebounding, driven more by visionary leadership. But for this growth to be sustained, self-inflicted problems such as those being experienced at Air Zimbabwe have to be dealt with quickly and decisively.
We hope as the business leadership meets in Victoria Falls it will be able to outline the practical steps that we need to take as a country.
We must continue to believe that a US$100 billion economy is possible and that we have what it takes to achieve it.
Online Reporter