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President Mnangagwa has been in Matabeleland for the third time, following up on previous initiatives to engage citizens from the region on issues of concern.
Among the issues on the agenda of the dialogue held over the past several days are the legacy from the disturbances in the western part of the country during the first decade of independence, and economic and development issues.
This is like a gravel road that is rocky and uncomfortable to travel on, but confronting the past is a key determinant in healing, unity, reconciliation and creating a pathway to the future.
The first decade of independence remains a painful chapter in the history of this country, but Zimbabwe can draw comfort from the knowledge that, difficult as it is to confront the past, there are precedents in Rwanda and South Africa and that the country can learn from how these two African nations negotiated the treacherous minefield of their extremely difficult past.
Zimbabwe can learn from the wide range of approaches employed by these nations closer to home, thus drawing lessons on how to find African solutions to African problems.
The New Dispensation has made engagement and re-engagement a key pillar of its foreign policy. The credibility and sustainability of this policy can only be underpinned by application of the same at home.
To this end, the New Dispensation has launched the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC), which among other things seeks to secure healing, reconciliation and post-conflict justice.
It is also the brief of the NPRC to develop and implement programmes to provide natural healing, unity and cohesion, and peaceful resolution of disputes, while encouraging people to tell the truth about the past and facilitate making amends and the provision of justice.
In addition, as part of its internal re-engagement, the New Dispensation has instituted the Political Actors’ Dialogue (POLAD), which is a platform where the parties that contested the 2018 general elections engage and brainstorm on issues confronting the nation and propose scenarios for the best way forward.
Thirdly, the New Dispensation established the Presidential Advisory Council, which provides ideas and suggestions on initiatives necessary for improving business and investment environment — key components of economic recovery.
It is in this context that the current search for healing, reconciliation and unity in Matabeleland is taking place as the New Dispensation and the people from Matabeleland search for a consensus in influencing policies that support healing, peace and reconciliation in that region.
The President’s visit, therefore, seeks to maintain the momentum in the search for a resolution and ultimately, recourse and closure to grievances by citizens from Matabeleland.
The engagement with traditional leaders, which forms part of the President’s itinerary, aims at sharing the Government’s vision and progress on devolution and what this portends for the region.
The dialogue is also a follow-up in exploring solutions to issues of the perennial shortages of water to the City of Bulawayo, and the erstwhile industrial hub’s economic recovery.
The Government’s response to charges of marginalisation of the region are in the efforts at recapitalisation of the National Railways of Zimbabwe; revitalisation of industries in Bulawayo, guided by the experiences of industrialised countries such as South Korea; the Gwayi-Shangani dams water pipeline, which will assure regularity of water supply to Bulawayo and the President’s recent visit to coal-mining investments and tourism products in the region.
The Gwayi-Shangani Dam, whose objective is to put an end to the perennial water shortages in the arid Matabeleland North province, was due for commissioning in the next four months, but has been affected by the global Covid-19 pandemic.
The dam will result in sustainable supply of drinking water for Bulawayo, Binga and Lupane.
Set to re-energise the socio-economic conditions of the region, the Gwayi-Shangani Dam will transform the living conditions of communities in its surrounding areas.
The dam is part of the much larger Matabeleland-Zambezi Water Project, which will be a game-changer for the region during its construction and upon completion.
Vice President Constantino Chiwenga has recently visited the region as part of the Government’s commitment to monitoring and expanding agricultural and irrigation schemes at ARDA Jotsholo and Bulawayo Kraal Irrigation Schemes in Matabeleland North province.
In Matabeleland South province, for example, 10 irrigation schemes, which are operating at 60 percent of their capacity due to old infrastructure, are set for revitalisation.
The province has 78 large irrigation schemes.
Matabeleland South has various minerals, some of which have not been explored. Five of the seven districts in the province host gold deposits.
These projects are among the critical drivers in revival of economic activities in the region and formed part of the dialogue held between the President and citizens from Matabeleland provinces.
Online Reporter