daniel chigunwe
Nqobile Bhebhe in VICTORIA FALLS
ZIMBABWEANS must not be weighed down by the two decades-long illegal sanctions imposed on the country by Western allies but capitalise on maximum usage of internal resources to accelerate domestic economic growth.
President Mnangagwa said this yesterday as he expressed confidence that through collective effort Zimbabwe is able to achieve higher levels of industrialisation, employment creation and sustained economic growth and development.
Despite the debilitating impact of sanctions, Zimbabweans have remained resilient and became masters of their own destiny, anchored on the philosophy that as a people, indigenous citizens have the duty and responsibility of developing their own country, using own domestic resources.
Officially opening of the second edition of the Zimbabwe Economic Development Conference (ZEDCON 2023) in Victoria Falls yesterday, President Mnangagwa urged locals to harness domestic resources to build the country, and assured stakeholders that Zimbabwe is still open for business.
“The theme for this year’s conference: ‘Public and Private Resource Mobilisation for Sustainable Development’, underscores the need for all of us to explore and expand avenues for accessing resources for sustainable socio-economic development,” he said.
“As a country under sanctions, we must not bury our heads in the sand but must grow the economy faster than those countries not under sanctions.
“This further calls on us to generate and indeed accelerate growth through the utilisation of our vast human and natural resource endowments,” said the President.
“We must meet this obligation in spite of the fact that our country remains under the yoke of illegal sanctions. Our philosophy, that says ‘Nyika inovakwa, inotongwa, inonamatigwa nevene vayo/Ilizwe lakhiwa, libuswe, likhulekelwe ngabanikazi balo’, should embolden us in all respective sectors.”
As a country under sanctions, President Mnangagwa said Zimbabweans must be proactive and stand their ground as they fight to grow the economy faster than those countries not under sanctions. To that end, he said the last five years have seen the Second Republic registering significant progress in the implementation of measures targeted at improving the lives of ordinary Zimbabweans.
The President reiterated the call that Zimbabwe is a friend to all and an enemy to none.
“As such, our country remains open for business to all investors, both foreign and domestic including Zimbabweans in the diaspora. My administration is collaborating with both domestic and external partners to explore multiple initiatives to harness resources needed for the realisation of Vision 2030,” he said.
“I, therefore, invite all the people of Zimbabwe, including the private sector, civic society, foreign investors, cooperating partners, think-tanks and researchers to work together for increased production and productivity in our economy.
“We must think about how to build our country, leaving no person and place behind. Those who would want to assist us should come and assist us on our own programme, which we have crafted ourselves,” said the President.
“In that way we will blame no body but ourselves at the pace at which we develop our country.”
As a sovereign country, President Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe would not seek to imitate foreign models of development but was developing itself on the bases of the concrete facts that exist in its unique conditions.
Through the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (Zidera) passed in 2001, the United States of America has sought to frustrate the country’s economy by blocking all lines of credit to Zimbabwe from multilateral lending institutions.
Zidera, among other provisions, forbids American banks from processing transactions on behalf of Zimbabwean companies and at times individuals who are not even on the sanctions list.
The sanctions, targeting both the economy and individual Zimbabweans are central to decision-making in Government — being estimated to have cost the country up to US$100 billion in lost economic opportunities.
Meanwhile, President Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe was consolidating its food and nutrition security status as well as transforming its manufacturing sector while significant milestones and positive gains have been recorded in the mining sector.
“Further, strategic interventions by the Government have resulted in the implementation of several projects to close the infrastructure deficit.
“Significant progress was made by both Government and the private sector to enhance use of ICTs. The deployment of backbone infrastructure, including fibre optic networks and additional broadband base stations, among other aspects, is set to have a positive impact on the economy as a whole,” said the President.
In a bid to sustain milestones registered by the Second Republic to date, he noted that Government will continue to foster an environment, which gives impetus to private sector led inclusive economic growth.
“It’s critically important to also maximize on innovation strategies to improve resource mobilisation by both public and private sectors for sustainable development,” said President Mnangagwa, adding that the Government will continue strengthening mechanisms to enhance revenue collection, which he said remains the most sustainable source of public financing.
Turning to the financial sector, President Mnangagwa said a stable and innovative domestic financial system, which is well integrated with the rest of the economy is indispensable in broadening financial inter-mediation and pooling domestic savings.
“I, therefore, challenge the financial services sector to revert back to their core business of financial inter-mediation and providing incentives for savings by the general public while at the same time channelling these savings to borrowers,” he said.
“I, further, urge the banking sector to roll out financial literacy programmes to cover the unbanked and under banked members of our communities. This will serve to instil greater confidence in our banking sector and cultivate a culture of saving within households.”
The President expressed full confidence that some of the insights, evidence-based perspectives and research findings of the conference will be incorporated into decision making processes in both public and private sectors towards the realisation of Vision 2030 of an upper middle income society.
Online Reporter