NDS1 translation the real deal

Editor’s Brief
Victoria Ruzvidzo

The Second Republic has ushered in a new way of doing business that has not been experienced in this country as far as many can remember. The formulation of transformative policies such as the National Development Strategy 1 is a major stride that Zimbabweans and other external stakeholders have welcomed as giving impetus to restoring the country’s glitter.

And there is more in the Government’s bag of tricks. This week’s launch of 14 translations of NDS1 is a game-changer set to produce unprecedented results in this country’s development process.

Zimbabwe is blessed with high literacy levels, with at least 90 percent of its people able to read and write. This means that all these people will now be able to understand the Government’s economic thrust, the challenges that confront us and how best they can be addressed through the language they are most conversant with.

We hope the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development has feedback channels for those that may want to communicate with them directly now that they will be on the same page with those that got a head start (in English).

The beauty of it all is that the Permanent Secretary Mr George Guvamatanga confirmed on Friday that the document is a culmination of extensive consultation with stakeholders from grassroots level going up and that they reached all corners of this country in formulating NDS1. So many were not left it in the formulation and the ensuing language barrier has now been addressed.

It certainly will not be a surprise that some in remote areas or even in major towns, will now be able to identify their contributions in the document for the first time, now that the economic policy is in a language they readily understand. English is not our mother tongue and the “Greek” therein can be confusing if not traumatising.

We are not worried about the few points that may have been lost in translation, but the gist of NDS1 is well-captured in the translated versions. In fact, our local languages are quite rich in articulating an issue hence some aspects are easier to grasp in the vernacular.

It is common knowledge that for any programme or project to succeed, it needs real stakeholder buy-in. Even at family level, a mother or father requires total buy-in from the family if their idea is to yield better results. Where there is no common understanding, chances of sabotage are quite high.

While the sabotage may be deliberate in some quarters with vested interests in the collapse of Zimbabwe, there are instances where some stakeholders do not come to the party simply because they do not understand what is going on. They then unintentionally do things that pull back progress or do not apply themselves fully simply because they have no appreciation of issues. And that spells disaster for any project.

For instance where NDS1 may bring temporary pain as circumstances are corrected, the uninformed may not see the light and may actually become counter-productive when they should be making sacrifices together with everyone’s else to achieve intended results.

Although grassroots levels do not have a strong voice in developing countries, their participation and full appreciation of issues can make or break a project.

Therefore, we do not view the translation as a mere obligation for the Government to appease the masses, but it’s a real strategy indicative of the inclusive growth that the Second Republic has stressed on countless occasions.

Ignorance is no defence, but lack of understanding can be regressive. It is in this regard that we applaud the Government for ensuring that most Zimbabweans will now be able to read and understand NDS1.

Among other advantages, this will elicit rich debate, even in Parliament as representatives will now communicate feedback from their respective constituencies which they can then bring forward for deliberation in the august house.

Furthermore, access to NDS1 objective and roadmap by the majority will bring with it a sense of ownership critical for the success of five-year economic policy.

A key component of NDS1 is the devolution programme through which the Government has empowered provinces, districts and local authorities to take control of development. This concept will gain traction from the translated documents as the main actors and beneficiaries of devolution will now be more informed about what needs to be done and the benefits there-from.

Finance Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube was clear on this one when he launched the translated version on Thursday.

“The attainment of Vision 2030 is partly premised on the devolution and decentralisation agenda, which empowers provinces, districts and communities to implement development strategies which are informed by their respective resource endowments and competitive advantages.

“This must see greater innovation, modernisation, industrialisation and increased investment across all provinces and districts of our country,” he said.

NDS1 is set to transform the economy in a big way.

Inherent in the translated documents is the opportunity for Zimbabweans to familiarise with and understand projects of national interest and importance that the Government is running with, and those that are specific to their areas of residence or origin.

For instance, in his foreword in the NDS1 document, President Mnangagwa made it clear that Zimbabwe’s economic journey would be anchored on an all-inclusive approach.

“Consistent with the collective aspirations and determination of the people of Zimbabwe to achieve an Empowered and Prosperous Upper Middle-Income Society by 2030, the Second Republic launched Vision 2030 to chart a new transformative and inclusive development agenda. It is the pursuit of this vision which will deliver broad based transformation, new wealth creation and expanding horizons of economic opportunities for all Zimbabweans, with no one left behind.

” . . . The next steps towards attaining the objectives of Vision 2030 will be guided by the interventions that the Second Republic is going to undertake through the National Development Strategy 1: 2021-2025 (NDS1), as we march towards achieving an upper middle-income society by 2030. The NDS1 is our first 5-year Medium Term Plan aimed at realising the country’s Vision 2030, while simultaneously addressing the global aspirations of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Africa Agenda 2063,” he said.

The NDS1 is premised on four critical guiding principles that Zimbabweans from all walks of life need to have an appreciation of as we march towards the envisioned goal of economic prosperity.

Firstly, the state of the economy demands that bold and transformative measures underpin the drive towards the attainment of Vision 2030. This cannot be left in the Government’s hands alone, but requires all stakeholders to adopt bold measures that may not be initially palatable in some instances, but seek to bring out a better Zimbabwe.

Secondly, President Mnangagwa made it clear that while the country continues to make headway with the international re-engagement efforts, the country needed to intensify efforts to generate growth through intentional mobilisation of domestic growth vectors.

This requires all hands on deck.

To this end, the NDS1 is expected to attend to the development and capacitation of key national institutions, which will create the enabling environment critical for transformative economic growth. Zimbabwe is thus open for business not just to foreign investors but domestic ones too to fester home-grown solutions on which FDI is premised.

“Thirdly, the NDS1 must deliberately leverage Zimbabwe’s competitive advantages particularly with regards to the configuration of our natural resource endowment, our excellent ecological endowment and our skills base.”

The fourth guiding principle is for transformative and inclusive growth to bring benefits to all Zimbabweans in “a fair, transparent and just manner”. This demands commitment to the tenets of good corporate governance as enunciated in the Vision 2030 document.

These factors illustrate the dire need for all Zimbabweans to participate actively in the country’s economy.

The Government has done its part in clearly enunciating the economic thrust. It remains for Zimbabweans from all walks of life to make use of the document not just for information’s sake but to reshape their thoughts and actions as key players in the economy.

In God I trust!

Twitter handle: @VictoriaRuzvid2; Email: [email protected]; [email protected]; WhatsApp number: 0772 129 992