Sikhumbuzo Moyo [email protected]
A SECURE nation is better positioned to achieve development, while no strategy can be implemented in an environment of disorder, Bulawayo Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution Judith Ncube has said.
Minister Ncube said this in her welcome remarks at the Ministry of Defence’s 2026 Strategic Review and 2027 Annual Planning Workshop being held at a Bulawayo hotel today Friday.
She was represented by the director of coordination in her office, Mrs Boetsoarelo Noko.
Minister Ncube said the annual strategic planning workshop was critical in assessing the ministry’s performance, measuring progress against set targets and aligning future plans with the country’s development priorities under the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2).
“These are not ceremonial gatherings. They are the discipline mechanism through which Government turns policy into performance, guided by the National Development Strategy 2, as we accelerate economic development and build a prosperous and empowered African society,” she said.
She said the workshop provided an opportunity to review the implementation of previous strategies, assess the ministry’s 2026 performance against set targets and honestly examine the extent to which its objectives had been achieved.
Minister Ncube commended the Ministry of Defence for embracing strategic planning and acknowledged the facilitators from the Public Service Commission for their role in sharpening the review process and improving planning outcomes.
She said the value of strategic planning lay not merely in producing documents but in ensuring that all directorates, departments and officers worked towards a common purpose, with resources directed towards tangible results.
“The value of strategic planning lies not in the document we produce, but in the clarity it creates, which aligns every directorate, every service and every officer to a common purpose. It streams resources to results,” she said.
Minister Ncube said Government planning should translate into tangible improvements in the lives of citizens, adding that the Ministry of Defence’s work was an integral part of broader national efforts to achieve the country’s development objectives.
“For a nation that is secure cannot fail to develop, and a nation that develops is better able to secure itself. No strategy, however well conceived, can be implemented in an environment of disorder,” she said.
She said the Ministry of Defence was entrusted with safeguarding Zimbabwe’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, assisting the nation during disasters and emergencies, and contributing to regional and international peace and security.
Minister Ncube said peace should be understood beyond the absence of conflict, encompassing trust between citizens and institutions, order in communities and confidence in a better future.
She said these conditions created an enabling environment for Government to implement development programmes, attract investment and sustain economic progress.
“Peace in its fullest sense is the presence of trust between citizens and institutions, of order in our streets and communities, and of a shared belief that tomorrow will be better,” she said.
Minister Ncube pledged the province’s commitment to working with the Ministry of Defence, the wider security sector, provincial and local authorities, the business community, churches and communities to preserve peace and unity.
She said cooperation among stakeholders was essential to ensuring that Zimbabwe remained peaceful and conducive to development
