Chronicle Editor
Midlands Bureau Chief
MIDLANDS province says it is in sync with President Mnangagwa’s vision to establish a cotton to textiles industry in Gokwe.
About 52 percent of cotton produced in the country is farmed in Gokwe North and Gokwe South districts.
The Midlands province has a keen interest in turning Gokwe into a third largest city in the country because of its potential as a cotton farming district under the Provincial Development Strategy anchored on National Development Strategy 1 (NDS-1).
Speaking at Chief Njelele’s homestead last Friday, President Mnangagwa called on provincial and district structures to step to the plate and lead the development of their respective communities towards the attainment of Vision 2030 to make Zimbabwe an upper middle income economy by that year.
“I challenge the provincial and district leaderships in cotton growing areas such as Gokwe South and Gokwe North to make deliberate decisions for the establishment of rural industry systems with regard to cotton and textiles. I exhort the various private sector players in the cotton to textile and clothing value chain to consider establishing ginneries, spinning and weaving plants as we industrialise our rural areas,” he said.
Midlands Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Larry Mavima, said under the ambitious Midlands Provincial Development Strategy, which aims to empower and incentivise about 400 000 cotton farmers- Gokwe was set for a major overhaul.
Most farmers in Gokwe are sponsored by the Government under the Presidential Cotton Inputs Scheme, a programme being administered by the Cotton Company of Zimbabwe, which saw farmers receiving inputs on time. Private companies have also joined in financing farmers.
“We are in sync with President Mnangagwa’s vision to develop communities and we have a dream to make Gokwe a third largest city riding on cotton production and downstream industries.
“There is a National Development Strategy 1 and we are busy right now mapping our own Provincial Development Strategy so it can feed into the NDS1. We have keen interest in turning Gokwe into the third largest city in the country because of its potential as a cotton farming district,” he said.
Zanu-PF Midlands provincial chairperson Engineer Daniel Mackenzie Ncube said Vision 2030 was possible if the party and Government worked hand in glove.
“We have started with coming up with the Provincial Development Strategy which is under the NDS1. We have a duty to make sure that we work on empowering the communities by making sure there are tangible and community-based projects as we move to the districts and the province at large. Community engagement is ongoing as we work on modalities to kick start the development of communities in line with Vision 2030,” said Eng Mackenzie Ncube.
Guided by the Provincial Development Strategy, the Midlands province was also looking at improving rural service centres so they can become employment hubs.
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