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THE 34th Sadc summit slated for Victoria Falls from August 17-18 is an opportunity for Zimbabwe to shine and to show the region and the rest of the world that the country is resilient and on its way to socio-economic and political transformation on an unprecedented scale.
The summit comes following the successful hosting of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation summit in the resort town last year and the Routes Africa summit also in Victoria Falls this year. At both high profile events, Zimbabwe distinguished itself as a worthy host, catering to the every need of its guests and in the process cementing its status as a tourism destination of choice.
Following Zanu-PF’s resounding victory in the July 2013 harmonised elections, prophets of doom had predicted calamity with the economy set to collapse and basic services deteriorating. But the new government has acquitted itself well in the year that it has been in power and has reached out to all Zimbabweans within and outside the country’s borders and invited them to work with it to transform the economy and improve the lot of ordinary people.
It has come up with an economic blueprint — the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation – that it is implementing successfully and very soon the results will be there for everyone to see as ZimAsset bears fruit. There is an atmosphere of peace and tranquility in the country and Zimbabwe is currently clarifying its indigenisation and economic empowerment policies so that investors are assured of the security of their outlays should they decide to come into the country.
Granted, there are challenges and most of them are sanctions-induced but they are not insurmountable. The liquidity crisis bedevilling the country is largely a perception problem which can be overcome with unity of purpose with Zimbabweans all pulling together in one direction. Investors need stability and not negativity and it is time the people of this country realised that the negative vibes they send out to the world retard the growth of their nation.
In this regard, we applaud the government for reaching out to Zimbabweans in the Diaspora whose many talents can be harnessed to enhance the growth of the economy. So as we prepare to host the Sadc summit, it is imperative that we project an image of a united people working hard to extricate their country from the clutches of poverty towards prosperity.
As epitomised by 21-year-old Takunda Chingonzo, a Zimbabwean ICT entrepreneur at the US-Africa Business Forum in Washington DC on Tuesday, it is possible to convince the world that sanctions are hurting ordinary Zimbabweans and not “smart” and “targeted” at the ruling elite as the West wants the world to believe.
Chingonzo put US President Barack Obama on the spot when he forced him to admit for the first time that his country’s sanctions regime needed to be reviewed.
The young Zimbabwean’s spirit should guide others who were mistakenly led to believe that only senior government officials were being affected by the ruinous sanctions.
That is the mindset that we should have as we prepare to host the Sadc summit. The region should be satisfied that we are one people united in their quest to drive their nation forward and achieve their objectives. Addressing members of the Zanu-PF Central Committee in Harare on Wednesday, President Mugabe called on Zimbabweans to be hospitable to the visitors and guests who would be in the country during the summit.
“The people themselves as a whole should not be found wanting in expressing their joy along places where they may be visited, so that we are not a morose, sorrowing and grieved people,” he said. “At the end of the day, those who would have visited us must be able to say well they were met, that people were joyful, that people were friendly, that people were charitable and hospitable and who among themselves appeared to be united, all be it under the burden of sanctions.”
President Mugabe also said it was important that Zimbabweans exhibit their work ethic to the region and promote the Zim-Asset economic blueprint. “It is necessary to demonstrate to them that we are an industrious people, we know our way to transformation, we are indeed proceeding towards making Zim-Asset succeed and since the theme we have given to Sadc is almost similar to the Zim-Asset theme and it has to do with integration, transformation of our economies through not just production and integration, but beneficiation and value addition, which are aspects that we are addressing in Zim-Asset, we should demonstrate how we are doing it,” he said.
We hail the president’s wise counsel and urge Zimbabweans to heed his words of wisdom and work hard towards the hosting of a successful summit. It is their chance to shine.
onlinemedia
derick.khumalo