Online Reporter
Judith Phiri,Zimpapers Business Hub
THE BULAWAYO Metropolitan Province has pledged to become a beacon of climate adaptation, a hub for green business and a model of sustainable urban living.
This comes at a time Zimbabwe, like any other country is facing acute climate vulnerabilities, including recurrent droughts, erratic rainfall, and biodiversity loss, which directly threaten national food security, water access and economic stability.
In a speech read on behalf of the Minister of State for Bulawayo Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Judith Ncube at the 2025 Zimbabwe Climate Change Sustainability Week (SW) and Green Business Expo has in Bulawayo on Wednesday, by Deputy Director Environmental Planning and Management, Mrs Norah Mupaza, she said the province was developing solutions to the effects of climate change.
“As Bulawayo Metropolitan Province, I can boldly declare that our province is not defined by its challenges but renowned for its solutions. We pledge to ensure that Bulawayo Metropolitan becomes a beacon of climate adaptation, a hub for green business, and a model of sustainable urban living,” she said.
“We are gathered here because we recognize a fundamental truth: climate change is no longer a distant threat, it is here, reshaping our lives and landscapes. As a nation, we are not lacking in frameworks or laws.”
She said Zimbabwe has and continues to develop robust policies to guide the nation and there was need for people to come together and act on them.
The Minister said the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2), the nation’s master plan for achieving a prosperous and empowered upper-middle-income society status by 2030, was key to tackling climate change issues.
“NDS2 has dedicated pillars on “Food Security, Climate Resilience, and Environmental Protection,” which seeks to improve food self-sufficiency, retain our regional breadbasket status, and build an economy resilient to the shocks of a changing climate.
“Therefore, this sustainability and green business expo is our launchpad. It is where the ink on our pages of climate change as well as national development strategies meets action on the ground,” she added.
“It is where we will translate our national ambitions into provincial progress and city-level solutions. This gathering is incredibly timely. It comes on the heels of key outcomes from the RAMSAR COP15 on wetlands, hosted right here in Zimbabwe in Victoria Falls just two months ago.”
Minister Ncube said the expo was a strategic opportunity as Zimbabwe prepares for the 30th Conference of Parties (COP30) in Brazil this November.
She said the outcomes from discussions in Bulawayo will provide vital input for Zimbabwe’s position, ensuring the national voice is informed by practical, on-the-ground expertise.
