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Nqobile Tshili, Chronicle Correspondent
MATABELELAND North Provincial Affairs Minister Richard Moyo yesterday said devolution of power will be a springboard for economic growth in the resource rich province.
Matabeleland North is lagging behind in terms of development despite being rich in natural resources that include coal, methane gas, gold, timber and has attractive tourist destinations Hwange National Park and the Victoria Falls.
Cde Moyo, who is also Zanu-PF provincial chairman, was among the party’s provincial chairpersons who recently visited China to learn about how the country transformed its economy.
He hailed the China trip as an eye opener for the party and Government.
Cde Moyo said China’s Communist Party decided to grant autonomy to the country’s provinces leading them to compete for development.
He said the decision by Zanu-PF under President Mnangagwa’s administration to implement devolution would jump start provincial economies.
“China implemented devolution of power, which is what we are in the process of implementing in the Second Republic. Each district administrator in the Republic of China is in charge of their district, they do not need to consult every time they initiate development projects. Ministers of State run their provinces,” said Cde Moyo.
“Provinces use local resources to develop the national economy. There is a province that specialises in agriculture while another is premised on construction. Another is an industrial hub. What we observed is that all the provinces use their local resources for growth and development.”
He said Matabeleland North has a lot to learn from China so that it can utilise locally available resources to fight poverty in the province.
“In Matabeleland North we can seriously benefit from tourism, we have the Victoria Falls, we have timber and we should have furniture industries. We have the largest deposits of coal and we have gold as well as methane gas. Therefore, once devolution is rolled out, I’m confident that our economy will rise and contribute to development and national growth. Poverty will be a thing of the past in the province,” Cde Moyo said.
He said the province will hold a devolution workshop at Lupane State University tomorrow that will be addressed by Local Government, Public Works and National Housing Minister Cde July Moyo.
Cde Moyo said in China, the party’s provincial chairpersons also learnt of the supremacy of the party, saying it should not play second fiddle to Government.
“What we learnt in China is that the party is bigger than government. The party should not wait for Government to implement policies but should come up with policies that will be implemented by Government. We also learnt that China is a hard working nation, people work day and night and that is why it is developed the way it is,” he said.
—@nqotshili
Online Reporter