Online Reporter
Tongai Mashonga [email protected]
MIDLANDS Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Owen Ncube, has called upon business, the church and the community to rally behind the construction of a new “Vision 2030 compliant” Mbizo Police Station, saying Public-Private Partnerships are key to modernising security infrastructure.
Addressing a recent fundraising event at Mbizo Police Station in Kwekwe, he said the initiative resonates well with His President Mnangagwa’s policy thrust of driving modernisation and industrialisation through PPPs as Zimbabwe moves towards an upper-middle income society by 2030.
“Today’s event resonates with the Second Republic under the visionary leadership of His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Cde Dr. E. D. Mnangagwa’s bold and strategic policy decision to adopt Public Private Sector Partnerships in advancing resource based and knowledge driven innovation, modernisation and industrialisation of the economy,” he said.
Ncube described Midlands Province as the “pinnacle, heartbeat and resource centre of Zimbabwe” and commended it for successful mobilisation drives, citing the ZRP Umguza High School Golf Tournament, SV Muzenda Golf Tournament, ZPCS Commissioner-General’s Goodwill Trust Fund Charity Golf Tournament and Midlands 2026 Propol’s Sports Gala.
“This attests to our growing status as a leading pragmatic local resource mobilisation Province,” he said.
Minister Ncube applauded President Mnangagwa for transforming the Zimbabwe Republic Police into a “professional and responsive people-oriented force” since 2017, through provision of service vehicles, training and improved conditions of service.
He also commended Commissioner-Genera Stephen Mutamba for rolling out training to capacitate officers with contemporary policing standards under the “back-to-basics model”.
The minister singled out Kwekwe District’s Chief Superintendent Ison Chapeta and Officer-in-Charge Mbizo, Chief Inspector Chikuni and their teams for “a job well done in dismantling drug bases and accounting for notorious criminals” in the province.
Minister Ncube noted that the current Mbizo Police Station was established in 1978 during the colonial era and upgraded in 1981, but now has outdated infrastructure ill-equipped to handle contemporary crime including murder, rape and armed robbery cases.
He urged patriotic stakeholders from the business community, mining, manufacturing, wholesale, financial institutions and the church fraternity to contribute in cash and kind towards a modern, state-of-the-art facility that will guarantee safety and prosperity for Mbizo residents.
“Every contribution is an investment in the establishment and sustenance of safety, peace and tranquility, as well as the prosperity of Mbizo community in particular and our beloved motherland, Zimbabwe,” he said.
