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Africa Moyo-Deputy News Editor
President Mnangagwa’s new Government will focus on further improving the investment climate to attract investors mainly in mining, entrenching food security through irrigation agriculture and ensuring that development reaches every part of the country.
The President said this at State House in Harare yesterday while responding to questions from journalists after presenting his address following the announcement of presidential election results.
President Mnangagwa landed a second term after garnering 2 350 711 votes or 52,6 percent of all votes cast, while CCC leader Mr Nelson Chamisa came second with 1 967 343 or 44 percent of the vote.
Zimbabweans trooped in their millions to cast votes on August 23 and 24, to elect a President, and National Assembly and local authority representatives, with 4 468 730 people participating.
The elections were commended by foreign and local observers for being peaceful, transparent and fair, allowing voters to elect their leaders without any undue influence.
With the elections now behind him, President Mnangagwa said his attention would be on continuing to develop the country, brick by brick, and ensuring food security.
“The thrust of my new Government is towards the consolidation of our food security in Zimbabwe; that is the primary objective,” said President Mnangagwa.
“We want to continue to remain food secure, both in terms of corn and grain as well as wheat production.
“As a matter of fact, currently, we believe we have excess of both maize and wheat in the country, but I am informed that we are likely to have El Nino climate attack this summer season (and) because of that, we shall continue to pursue the increasing of irrigation in country so that we more hectarage under irrigation.”
Zimbabwe, said President Mnangagwa, was blessed to have abundant water bodies, but the Government will continue to establish more dams and have more hectares under irrigation.
He added that Zimbabwe was lucky to be “endowed with vast minerals”, and his Government shall continue to create a conducive investment climate in the country to “attract more and more investments”.
Proceeds from the mining sector will then be used to modernise and industrialise the economy, he said.
“As you are aware, we are still under sanctions and our economic growth depends on our domestic resources,” said President Mnangagwa.
Zimbabwe has been deploying internally generated funds towards funding its signature infrastructure development projects such as the expansion of the Harare-Masvingo-Beitbridge highway, since 2018.
A number of foreign contractors had expressed interest in rehabilitating the Harare-Masvingo-Beitbridge highway, and had put the cost at between US$2,7 billion and US$3,5 billion, citing higher costs of borrowing to invest in a country under sanctions.
The contractors said interest rates were anything between 5 percent and 7,5 percent, but President Mnangagwa, sitting with his Government, resolved to explore ways of mobilising domestic resources to rehabilitate the key highway, together with the including the Mbudzi interchange, which is expected to transform Harare’s road network and travel experience on completion.
In terms of development, the President: “. . . we shall make sure that we spread development across the entire spectrum of our country and that every single household should be food secure, and have access to both health and education.
“All these matters are very critical and are primary to my approach to helping my motherland.”
The Second Republic is credited for transforming the country in the last five years, delivering development at a pace never seen since 1980, including in areas that least expected the Government to put up decent infrastructure such as schools and clinics for them.
Binga has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the President Mnangagwa-led Government’s infrastructure development revolution.
From just having the Binga Centre and a few Government buildings, Binga now has a vocational training centre, and a modern aerodrome refurbished recently by the Rural Infrastructure Development Agency (RIDA), formerly DDF.
There is also a decent border post to enable people to cross the Zambezi River using boats, while the Central Registry building is almost complete, a mortuary at Binga District Hospital expanded to accommodate more bodies and a new Nursing School has been proposed and the land identified.
Binga Hospital itself got two ambulances from President Mnangagwa. He had initially promised one, but ended up over delivering.
One of the ambulances is extremely modern, and boasts an Intensive Care Unit where nurses can attend to a patient on the go.
Online Reporter