WHEN President Mnangagwa gave his opening address at the 23rd ZANU PF National People’s Conference in Mashonaland West province, he did not simply deliver a speech.
He presented a ledger — a record of struggle, sacrifice and, most importantly, results.
The numbers tell a compelling story: Inflation has tumbled to a remarkable 2,8 percent, a single-digit figure that stabilises prices and restores dignity to household budgets.
Gross domestic product (GDP) has jumped from US$16 billion in 2017 to US$66 billion today.
These are the sweat, tears and toil of a people who refused to be broken by nearly three decades of debilitating sanctions.
The secret to this success is neither mysterious nor accidental.
It is the scrupulous and aggressive implementation of party resolutions.
From the fertile fields of Mashonaland West to the mineral-rich seams of the Great Dyke, from the bustling construction sites of new dams and roads to the quiet determination of village agro-business units, the ZANU PF-led Government has demonstrated that when resolutions are treated as sacred contracts with the people, transformation follows.
The theme of this year’s conference — “From Resolutions to Results: Consolidating Economic Development and Deepening Empowerment towards Vision 2030” — is, therefore, a clarion call, a command to action and a warning to those who would slouch.
This makes yesterday’s outcome of the 23rd National People’s Conference critical.
Zimbabwe now stands at a pivotal juncture.
Focus has shifted decisively to value addition, beneficiation and industrialisation — including the industrialisation of rural areas — as the critical hallmarks of the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2).
In essence, NDS2 is the last-mile blueprint that will deliver Vision 2030, the promised land of an upper middle-income economy.
Every resolution adopted at this conference, whether new or outstanding, must, therefore, be implemented with expedition and without excuse.
There is no room for either procrastination or prevarication.
Our lofty ambitions and our children’s future depend on it.
The mining sector offers a glimpse into what is possible.
The Government’s insistence on the export of processed minerals, rather than raw ore, has already started yielding dividends.
For instance, Zimbabwe now boasts one of the largest steel industries in Sub-Saharan Africa and has become an exporter of lithium sulphate.
Despite geopolitical tensions and the spectre of a looming super El Niño, export earnings are expected to rise to a remarkable US$20 billion this year.
Zimbabwe is on a roll.
The stability of the currency, the discipline of monetary policy, the engagement and re-engagement drive that has brought international institutions back to the table — all of these have given us the tailwinds we need.
But tailwinds alone do not fly an aircraft.
It is the engine of implementation that matters.
And that engine is powered by resolutions, by discipline and by a united people pulling in one direction.
There were instructive developments ahead of the closing ceremony yesterday when President Mnangagwa commissioned the US$26,1 million, 1 271-bed student accommodation facility in Chinhoyi — built by the Mining Industry Pension Fund — alongside the solar and oxygen plants at Chinhoyi Provincial Hospital.
A student from a remote village can now study in dignity, secure in modern housing, while a mother in Mashonaland West can now receive oxygen therapy at a hospital powered by clean, reliable solar energy.
These are concrete, life-changing interventions delivered where the people are.
These projects betray President Mnangagwa’s signature governance style: a relentless champion of projects that make a tangible impact on the lives of ordinary Zimbabweans, regardless of where they live.
This is also the hallmark of the Second Republic.
It is a governance philosophy that does not measure success in speeches or summits, but in the warmth of a dormitory bed, the steady hum of a solar-powered oxygen plant and the quiet confidence of a family that knows its clinic will not go dark.
It is a philosophy that understands that national development is not an abstraction to be negotiated in distant capitals, but a lived reality that must be felt in Chinhoyi, in Plumtree, in Mutare and in every ward and village across this land.
Under President Mnangagwa, the Second Republic has made it abundantly clear: No one and no place will be left behind.
The resolutions of this conference, therefore, must carry that same spirit forward — from the boardroom to the bedside, from the mine to the classroom, from the policy document to the lives of the people.
That is the promise. That is the test. And that is the victory that is certain.
Now is the time to run the last mile with purpose, with unity and with unwavering resolve.
