Security sector vital for attainment of upper- middle-income economy

THE security sector is poised to play a vital role in the country’s pursuit of a thriving upper-middle-income economy by 2030.

Addressing the Ministry of Defence’s five-day 2025 Strategic Planning Workshop in Bulawayo on Monday, the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Mr Aaron Nhepera, expressed the sector’s readiness to support this goal.

The meeting is part of a broader effort by Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA) to hasten economic growth through the National Development Strategy 1 by assessing past performances and preparing for the coming year.

This blueprint will soon shift to NDS2, in keeping with the Government’s commitment to collective progress.

“Under the astute leadership of His Excellency, the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, Cde Dr ED Mnangagwa, the nation has a vision that seeks to attain an empowered and prosperous upper-middle-income society by 2030,” said Mr Nhepera.

“In line with NDSI and its soon-to-be successor, every MDA must devise appropriate strategies and set high-value targets that optimise their contribution to the realisation of this national vision.

“The Ministry of Defence is no exception, hence our meeting today. The workshop enables us to review the implementation of the previously set strategies and targets and to examine the extent to which they were realised.”

Mr Nhepera said the process should culminate in new strategies and new targets for the upcoming period, adding that guidance will be provided by facilitators from the Public Service Commission, Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC), the Treasury and chairman of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Defence, Home Affairs and Security Services.

“During the workshop, facilitators will guide us to review our performance during the year 2024, refresh us on the Integrated Results Based Management (IRBM) concept and help us through the preparation of the MDA documents, which include the long-term strategic plan and the annual plan, among various other topics,” said Mr Nhepera.

“This is necessary to enhance our understanding of the direction the Government is taking with regard to strategic planning in the Public Service. It is, therefore, incumbent upon us to pay particular attention from this initial stage as this will make the planning process much easier.”

In addition to providing a framework for the implementation of identified targets, Mr Nhepera said strategic planning facilitates efficient utilisation of limited resources while making MDAs responsive to the needs of their clients and further enhances transparency in the manner business is done.

He said the state of affairs demands that the Ministry starts thinking outside the box and the workshop provides a perfect opportunity.

“It is vividly clear that continued reliance on treasury disbursements will never satisfy our financial requirements. It’s time for us to reignite the spirit of ‘We are our own liberators’ that propelled us to victory during the armed liberation struggle.

“We must start to look inwards, self-actualise and optimise our potential. I refer here specifically, to the existing and potential assets that have been placed at our disposal as a Ministry that are not sufficiently sweated to raise funding for most of our requirements.

“We will not be the first to pursue that route as most of our contemporaries have successfully done so,” said Mr Nhepera.

He said the workshop also serves as a platform to reinforce the Ministry’s commitment to submitting statutory returns to the Treasury and Parliament within prescribed timelines.

Additionally, the workshop will emphasise the importance of monitoring and evaluating the Ministry’s programmes, projects and targets once the planning process has been completed.

The Ministry has already achieved a significant milestone in its strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation department, which should aid in the timely realisation of set objectives.

Defence Minister, Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, is expected to officially open the workshop on Friday, followed by a cocktail reception that will be overseen by the Deputy Minister of Defence, Retired Brigadier General Levy Mayihlome.