Online Reporter
Herald Reporter
A booming manufacturing sector and macroeconomic stability are not enough to secure Zimbabwe’s long-term prosperity without parallel investment in its people, Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube has said
Towards that goal, the Minister called for sustained funding for health and education, saying patient-focused healthcare reforms are critical to lifting labour productivity and anchoring the nation’s accelerated economic growth trajectory
Speaking at the International Business Conference held on the sidelines of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) in Bulawayo yesterday, Prof Ncube said the quality and productivity of the workforce are directly linked to the country’s investment in human capital.
The demographic dividend requires us to treat health and education as investments rather that social services,” said Prof Ncube.
“The growth in income in a country is driven by two things: the growth in labour productivity plus the growth in the share of productive workers in the overall population.
“So the growth in productivity depends on the productive capacity of those who are in employment. Their productive capacity is driven by investment in their skills and investment in their health. So, health and education are key ingredients in expanding labour productivity.”
In recent years, Government has rolled out a number of reforms to strengthen the health sector, including increased budget allocations towards public health, rehabilitation and upgrading of major hospitals, decentralisation of services to improve access in rural areas and the recruitment of additional health personnel.
Authorities have also intensified investment in primary healthcare, disease prevention programmes and the procurement of critical medicines and high-tech medical equipment, while also working with development partners to improve service delivery.
