Zvamaida Murwira, Senior Reporter
Zimbabwe values human capital development, knowledge and innovation as key ingredients in building a prosperous nation that improves the lives of ordinary people, President Mnangagwa has said.
The President made the remarks today while delivering a keynote address at the third edition of African Skills Week in Harare.
“Our country treasures the honour accorded to us by the African Union to host this flagship programme. We are a nation that strongly believes that human capital development and the power of practical knowledge are key ingredients in building our respective countries and realising the Africa we all want,” said President Mnangagwa.
He said this year’s theme, “Skills for Resilient and Competitive African Industries: From Training to Value Creation”, is a timely clarion call to action for Member States of the African Union.
“A decisive paradigm shift is urgently needed so that we move away from the culture of merely acquiring theoretical education. We all have a duty to embrace a bold new era in which skills and appropriate capabilities propel value creation, industrial transformation and economic sovereignty,” said President Mnangagwa.
“The Africa Skills Week thus marks a critical point in our discourse, reflecting our shared determination to ensure that policy aspirations are translated into actionable results. It is vital to close the gap between continental strategies and their implementation at national level.”
He said the conference should help establish skills development as the bedrock of industrialisation, modernisation, broad-based empowerment, employment creation and structural transformation on the continent.
“I urge us to redouble our efforts to operationalise the Continental Education Strategy for Africa, the African Continental Technical and Vocational Education and Training Strategy, and the Fourth Industrial Development Decade for Africa,” he said.
The conference is being attended by representatives of the United Nations and the African Union, diplomats accredited to Zimbabwe and academics, among others.
