COMMENT: After elections, it’s back to business

THE 2023 harmonised elections are over and its back to business as we strive to build the Zimbabwe we all want. The elections afforded us the opportunity to elect men and women who will preside over our governance issues for the next five years.

Everybody should now put shoulder to the wheel as we work to attain our vision of an Upper Middle-Income Society by 2030.
What is in our favour is that the same Government which implemented a number of life-changing development projects across the country during the past five years, has been given another five-year term by the electorate.

The communities are already enjoying the fruits of the Government policy of leaving no one and no place behind when it comes to development.
We have a very solid foundation to build on as we work to ensure Zimbabwe becomes a prosperous country given its abundant resources.
Many big foreign investors have already established companies in the various sectors of the economy including mining and Government should continue working on creating an enabling business environment so that we continue attracting investors.

Government should continue availing more resources for infrastructure development such as bridge and road construction. Our major highways are in a bad state and therefore a lot needs to be done to improve our road network.

The Harare-Beitbridge and Plumtree-Mutare highways have been attended to and it is our hope that Government will continue to mobilise resources to fund the rehabilitation of more roads. It is a fact that given the competing priorities, Government might not be able to mobilise adequate resources to fund all roads that are in bad state hence the need for the private sector to come on board.

Private companies can complement Government efforts by building roads under the Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT). What is encouraging is that we already have a private company that is building the Bulawayo-Gwanda Road under a similar arrangement.

We also have companies that are rehabilitating roads in areas where they are operating which is very commendable and we urge other companies to emulate such initiatives which benefit local communities.

Government has said it wants to leapfrog the country’s modernisation and industrialisation by adopting science, technology and innovation and this is only possible with the support of the private sector.

There is a need to also push harder the programme of beneficiation and value addition so that the country derives maximum benefits from its resources.

Government has said it can no longer afford to export raw materials to benefit Western countries but companies should instead produce finished products.

The country has abundant minerals which should be processed into finished products so that the country enjoys maximum benefits while at the same time creating employment for its citizens.
We want to remind Zimbabweans that elections are behind us and now the focus is on accelerating development to improve our livelihoods.