Innovation: Sure route to success

IN his State of the Nation Address on September 18, 2018, President Mnangagwa rightly described waterborne diseases such as cholera and typhoid as “medieval diseases” that needed to be permanently eradicated.

Fourteen African countries are presently plagued by a cholera outbreak.

That our societies continue to grapple with such pestilences shows the extent to which we continue to lag behind in providing basic services more than 54 years since human ingenuity landed man on the moon.

Most of the challenges we face today can be directly traced to centuries-old legacy issues that undermine the capacity of our institutions to adequately serve the people.

Unfortunately, basic service provision remains woefully unsatisfactory at a time when our societies are demanding more, which means we have to trot where others crawled; we have to sprint where others trotted; and we have to fly where others sprinted.

Put simply, we have to leapfrog and catch up with the rest of the world, and this can only be possible through the application of science, technology and innovation.

Deliberations at last week’s sixth edition of the Transform Africa Summit in Victoria Falls — a multi-sectoral platform to explore new ways of shaping, accelerating and sustaining Africa’s ongoing digital revolution for sustainable development — could, therefore, not have come at the most opportune time, especially for Zimbabwe.

Science, technology and innovation will not only help boost production and productivity, but will also ensure affordable services and modern-day conveniences for communities.

Climate change presents probably the biggest existential challenge of our times.

So, it means we have to intimately understand the elements, plan accordingly and deploy appropriate technologies to improve our harvests.

Developing climate-smart technologies will also assist in dealing with energy poverty, particularly when power generation from formerly reliable hydropower stations has precipitously plummeted owing to unseasonably low rain patterns.

President Mnangagwa, whose administration has been spearheading the increased adoption of science and technology, emphatically put this point across at last week’s indaba.

“Our young boys and girls should also be encouraged to use ICTs (information and communications technologies) from elementary, right up to higher education level,” he said.

“In view of the ravishing impact of climate change to the peoples of Africa, it is integral for us all to give due attention to innovations related to clean energy and green technologies.”

Over the past five years, Government has encouragingly been walking the talk by pivoting on new technologies to grow the economy and enhance service provision.

Our education has since been repurposed through the adoption of the Education 5.0 model, which represents a transition from rote learning to problem-solving and solutions-based learning.

The launch of the Zimbabwe National Geospatial and Space Agency (ZINGSA) on July 10, 2018, as well as innovation hubs at the country’s State universities, speaks to the lofty ideals and ambition of the current Government.

Perhaps, the major highlight of this thrust is the launch of Zimbabwe’s first satellite — ZimSat-1 — into space last year.

The utilitarian value of these investments is beginning to benefit ordinary people.

A week ago, Epworth residents began receiving their title deeds after Government managed to expeditiously map the area through ZINGSA’s efforts.

A lot of other exciting projects are in the pipeline.

For example, Midlands State University’s US$11 million modified coal tar plant in Zvishavane, expected to create 2 500 jobs and save the country 40 percent of the money it uses to import bitumen, is nearing completion.

This is likely to spur Government’s ongoing road rehabilitation drive through the production of affordable road surfacing materials.

The country is currently producing tar from bitumen that is imported from South Africa.

Separately, the University of Zimbabwe expects to open its specialist hospital this year, all things being equal.

It is largely expected to offer the highest specialist health care.

Zimbabweans are reportedly spending more than US$400 million per annum seeking specialist services abroad.

So, the cost savings from such an initiative are quite apparent.

However, in the larger scheme of things, what is critically important is not the utility or value of these separate projects, but the zeitgeist of tapping the ingenuity and creativity of our people to create solutions to our everyday challenges. If we can achieve all these milestones within just five years of cajoling and supporting our creatives, imagine what we could achieve in the medium to long term.

As a nation, we are showing that it is possible and it can be done.