adminPatrick Chitumba Midlands Bureau Chief
Academics and businesspeople in the Midlands Province have hailed the new Cabinet that was sworn in by President Mnangagwa in Harare yesterday. President Mnangagwa appointed a leaner, but diverse and dynamic 20-member Cabinet expected to help him pursue his multi-faceted reforms aimed at realising the vision of turning Zimbabwe into a middle-income economy by 2030.
Midlands State University (MSU) Media and Society Studies department chairperson and political analyst Professor Nhamo Mhiripiri described the new Cabinet as refreshing across the political divide.
“The Cabinet is refreshing to most Zimbabweans across the political divide. Those in the opposition are begrudgingly acknowledging that a new team with dynamic potential is on the scene. Instead of thinking about what the new Ministers can do for Zimbabwe, positive attitude should actually be how best productive Zimbabweans can work with the Ministers to improve our fortunes in the different critical sectors,” he said. Prof Mhiripiri said the new Ministers need to consult broadly and harness all the human skills and talent abundant in the country and the Diaspora in order to bring positive change.
“Government should ride on the positive mood so that people mutually accept change, since most of the change requires hard decisions and selfless sacrifice. The way the Cabinet is currently perceived is in short a gigantic national opportunity which must not be lost,” he said.
Dr Jasper Maphosa, a lecturer with the Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU), said President Mnangagwa exhibited elements of servant leadership in which his personal interests do not dictate his leadership decisions.
“The composition of his Cabinet is no vain testimony of an endeavour anchored on attending to key developmental issues at stake in Zimbabwe. It’s a blend of technocrats, but also an exercise that managed to retain the old guard for continuity’s sake. He could have not totally discarded all the old faces as this paralysis ongoing programmes,” he said.
Dr Maphosa said there is need to practically inject the tenets of accountability, transparency and responsive leadership driven by the broader common good and narrow interests.
“The previous Cabinet was composed of incorrigible legacy hunters whose level of avarice resulted in the economic free fall,” he said.
Renowned businessman Dr Tinashe Manzungu of TM Group of Companies, which is into property development, health and Information Communication Technology (ICT) said the new Cabinet is lean and the appointments by President Mnangagwa are objective.
“It’s indeed a great milestone for our new Zimbabwe and we should all rally behind the Cabinet and His Excellency so that we all pull the country out of the doldrums. As business we say forward with President Mnangagwa’s ‘Zimbabwe is open for business mantra’ and we are fully behind him and the new Ministers. Greater days are coming,” he said.
Prominent Gweru businessman Mr Enos Size said: “This is fantastic and we are ready to take off.”
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