Online Reporter
MacDenias Moyo
Correspondent
There are epochs in the life of nations when destiny ceases to whisper and begins to thunder.
Zimbabwe today stands in such a moment, a moment when Vision 2030 has ceased to be a mere slogan and has become the architecture of a new economic order.
Under the stewardship of President Mnangagwa, the Second Republic has not only declared Zimbabwe open for business, it has made that declaration flesh, stone, steel and bread.
The cynics, the career opposers, those whose vocation is to lament and whose industry is to decry, would have the nation believe that the closure of once popular industrial names is the epitaph of our economy.
Yet what they will not confess is that for every shuttered gate, multiple new gates have opened, for every silenced machine, new engines roar, for every fallen name, new banners rise.
The truth is that Zimbabwe is not dying, it is being reborn and Vision 2030 is the midwife of that rebirth.
Consider the steel and metals sector, once the pride of Ziscosteel and its allied giants. The career opposers point to Ziscosteel’s demise as if it were the death knell of our industrial soul.
Yet in Mvuma, the Dinson Iron and Steel Company rises with an investment of one-and-a-half billion dollars, promising six hundred thousand tonnes per annum of billets in its first phase.
ZimSteel, born from the restructured assets of Ziscosteel, now exports billets and iron ore, carrying forward the legacy in a new form. Steelmakers Zimbabwe, Trebor Roux, Landed Steel, each of these names testify that the steel industry has not collapsed, it has diversified, it has multiplied, it has adapted.
The narrative of decline is a false gospel, the reality is one of renaissance.
The textile sector, once dominated by David Whitehead, Merlin, National Blankets and others, has indeed seen closures. Yet closures are not graves, they are transitions. Viceroy Clothing, Edgars Manufacturing, Mutare Garment Factory, Noko Clothing and the Zimbabwe School Textile Project now clothe our children, our workers, our nation.
The looms have not fallen silent, they have changed hands, they have found new rhythms. The career opposers speak of loss, but the people wear the garments of revival.
Food sufficiency, once a dream deferred, is now a reality lived. Bakers Inn has become the nation’s largest baker, Proton Bakers and Sweet Foods feed our cities, Varun Beverages Zimbabwe fills the shelves with Pepsi and energy drinks, Cairns Foods and Blue Ribbon Foods continue their production.
Zimbabwe today is food sufficient, a nation that feeds itself, a nation that no longer bows to the spectre of hunger.
The fertiliser and agro-inputs sector, once weakened, now breathes anew. ZFC Limited operates with thirty million dollars in working capital, Sable Chemicals in Kwekwe revives ammonia production, Dorowa Minerals refurbishes its phosphate rock operations, ZimPhos restarts, Windmill Fertiliser scales up.
Agriculture, the backbone of our nation, is fortified by these revivals, ensuring that the soil yields and the granaries fill. Motor vehicle assembly, once dormant, now stirs. Quest Motors in Mutare assembles Foton buses and trucks, with electric vehicle assembly planned. WMI partners with Ashok Leyland, Beacon Auto and Nash Paints Auto Division expand into coatings and accessories.
The roads of Zimbabwe will not be barren, they will be filled with vehicles assembled by Zimbabwean hands.
Packaging, paper and print continue through Nampak Zimbabwe, PG Industries, Astra Packaging, and Metal Box Zimbabwe. Fibre cement and building materials are revitalised by Turnall Holdings, Mashonaland Holdings, Concrete and Macsteel Zimbabwe.
Shoes and leather find new life in Bata Zimbabwe, Shoe Masters and the Leather Services Centre.
Yeast and brewing inputs are sustained by Lesaffre Zimbabwe, exporting to the region. The Cold Storage Commission, once a fallen giant, now stands revived through a joint venture with Boustead Beef Zimbabwe, resuming operations in Bulawayo after twenty-two years, targeting at least 1 500 beasts per day. This is not collapse, this is resurrection.
The energy sector, once plagued by load shedding, now stands as a beacon of stability. Solar plants rise across the land, the revitalisation of the energy sector ensures that Zimbabwe has not experienced load shedding in over six months.
This is no small feat, it is the triumph of planning, investment and visionary leadership. Energy is the lifeblood of industry, and Zimbabwe’s veins now flow without interruption.
The mining sector, long the jewel of our economy, is revitalised, drawing investment, expanding production, contributing to national revenue.
The tourism sector, blessed with Victoria Falls, Hwange, Great Zimbabwe and countless other treasures, is being reimagined, marketed and revived, drawing visitors, earning foreign currency, showcasing the beauty of our land.
These sectors are not stagnant, they are dynamic, they are the flagship of Vision 2030. When President Mnangagwa declared that Zimbabwe is open for business, he did not speak in vain. He spoke a truth that has been realised in steel, in textiles, in food, in fertiliser, in vehicles, in packaging, in building materials, in shoes, in yeast, in beef, in energy, in mining, in tourism.
The declaration was not rhetoric, it was policy, it was action, it was transformation. The career opposers may sneer, but the people see, the people live, the people know.
It is for this reason that the nation rallies behind the leadership of President Mnangagwa. It is for this reason that CAB3 has received overwhelming support and endorsement from the citizens, passing through Parliament and Senate.
The people do not support failure, they support success, they support vision, they support leadership that delivers. The Second Republic has delivered and the people demand its continuation until 2030. Vision 2030 is not a dream, it is a destiny and the nation marches toward it with confidence, with pride, with unity.
The career opposers will continue their lamentations, for lamentation is their livelihood. They will continue to point to closures, for closures are their currency. Yet the nation knows that closures are not the end, they are the beginning of new chapters.
The nation knows that industries are not dying, they are evolving. The nation knows that Zimbabwe is not collapsing, it is rising. The nation knows that Vision 2030 is not a slogan, it is a reality.
The nation knows that President Mnangagwa is not a pretender, he is a leader. The nation knows that the Second Republic is not a failure, it is a triumph.
History will record that in the years leading to 2030, Zimbabwe rose from the ashes of decline to the heights of revival.
History will record that under the stewardship of President Mnangagwa, industries were revived, new industries were born, energy was stabilised, food sufficiency was achieved, mining was expanded, tourism was revitalised.
History will record that the career opposers wailed, but the nation prospered. History will record that Vision 2030 was fulfilled. And history will record that Zimbabwe, under the Second Republic, marched irreversibly toward greatness.
This is the truth, this is the reality, this is the destiny. Zimbabwe is open for business, Zimbabwe is sufficient, Zimbabwe is stable, Zimbabwe is rising. Vision 2030 is alive and the Second Republic is triumphant under the able leadership of President Mnangagwa.
