‘Social inclusion, equality pay off’ . . . Zim promoting entrepreneurship, innovation: President

Fungi Kwaramba in DOHA, Qatar

SOCIAL inclusion and equality are constitutional and moral imperatives that the Government is implementing through the National Social Protection, Disability and Gender policies to achieve sustainable empowerment of communities to ensure no one and no place is left behind, President Mnangagwa has said.

In his contribution to a roundtable indaba held under the topic, “Strengthening the three pillars of social development, poverty eradication, full and productive employment and decent work for all and social inclusion” on Tuesday, the President said despite being constrained by punitive economic sanctions and the devastating effects of climate change, Zimbabwe has been uplifting its people towards Vision 2030 of becoming an upper middle-income economy.

“Through our Heritage-Based Education 5.0 Model, we are promoting innovation and entrepreneurship, while the Women’s Bank and Youth Empowerment Bank provide concessional finance,” he said.

“Women now hold leadership roles in every sector of society, reflecting progress towards gender parity.

“Our development philosophy, which entrenches the belief that the duty to build, modernise and industrialise our country is the responsibility of all citizens, continues to inspire national unity and stewardship, a shared vision, hard work and collective responsibility.”

The National Social Protection Policy Framework (NSPPF) is a strategy to create a unified system for social protection to reduce poverty and vulnerability, aiming to address weaknesses like fragmentation and poor coordination, by creating a more consistent, transparent and accountable system.

The framework guides Government programmes and is aligned with the Constitution, the Sustainable Development Goals, acting as an accelerator to the realisation of Vision 2030.

In 2021, President Mnangagwa launched the National Disability Policy, yet another pillar blueprint in addressing challenges faced by persons with disabilities.

The policy aims to promote equal opportunities, accessibility and empowerment for persons with disabilities across all sectors of society.

President Mnangagwa shakes hands with Delta Green Global founder Mr Mahalanobis Shubhojit in Doha, Qatar, yesterday.

Building on this initiative, the Government established the Technical National Coordination Committee in 2022 to oversee and guide the implementation of the policy.

Crucially, the committee plays a vital role in ensuring that the objectives outlined in the policy translate into tangible improvements in the lives of persons with disabilities.

“On social inclusion, Zimbabwe is strengthening legal and institutional frameworks that promote equality, non-discrimination and participation. We are ensuring the inclusion of persons with disabilities, the elderly, rural communities and other marginalised groups.

“Traditional leadership structures are also being engaged to promote community-led development and uphold our shared values of Ubuntu,” said the President.

He added that although Zimbabwe has been impeded by unjust economic sanctions and climate change, it views the obstacles as opportunities.

“We are ready to work with all stakeholders to scale up employment-intensive infrastructure, green jobs and resilient and adaptive social protection systems that safeguard livelihoods in the face of economic and environmental shocks,” he said.

The President’s delegation included Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Minister Monica Mutsvangwa, who told reporters that the Second World Summit for Social Development provided a platform for Zimbabwe to showcase how it is empowering women and cooperatives.

Cooperatives have been identified as vital to poverty eradication, with the United Nations declaring 2025 as the year of cooperatives.

“Cooperatives are playing a critical role in eradicating poverty because when we look at women in the rural areas, for example, they are thriving through those cooperatives. The cooperatives in our country are very viable, that is why we were invited here to speak on cooperatives,” she said.

On his part, Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister, Edgar Moyo, outlined how programmes like the Basic Education Assistance Model have kept thousands of children in school, socially protecting the vulnerable group.

“We have about 1,5 million people who are under BEAM; the impact is huge, otherwise quite a high percentage of children will be out of school.

“At one time, a lot of children were out of school and the Government took them up,” he said.

President Mnangagwa talks to Delta Green Global founder Mr Mahalanobis Shubhojit in Doha, Qatar, yesterday.

Special Advisor to the President on Disability Issues, Rose Mpofu, was also part of the delegation.

In an interview, she said Zimbabwe was ahead of its peers in implementing inclusive policies that improve the livelihoods of people with disabilities.

“When I was listening during the session, I realised that as a country, we are doing well in terms of taking care of people with disabilities.

“People like me are here today in Qatar to attend this summit. The President is also making key appointments, picking from among people with disabilities and we are grateful for that,” she said.

Against a backdrop of escalating geopolitical tensions and widening social divides, global leaders at the Second World Summit for Social Development have adopted the Doha Political Declaration, signalling renewed resolve to advance justice and inclusion worldwide.

The Doha Political Declaration renews leaders’ commitment to the 1995 Copenhagen Declaration and the 2030 Agenda, placing social development on three mutually reinforcing pillars: poverty eradication, full and productive employment and decent work for all, and social inclusion.

It links social justice to peace, security and human rights, vows to leave no one behind, and urges urgent climate action under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Paris Agreement.

Yesterday, the President courted investors, holding several engagements, including with the founder of Delta Green Global, Mr Mahalanobis Shubhojit, who expressed willingness to set up shop in Zimbabwe, focusing on green energy, tourism and transport infrastructure.

“We are exploring good opportunities to bring in technology related to green energy to Zimbabwe, plus a lot of other infrastructure development projects. It was a very productive meeting and hopefully we will meet again after a week or 10 days to substantiate whatever we have discussed,” he said.

Mr Shubhojit, who met the President yesterday, said he was also interested in the country’s tourism sector, particularly after Zimbabwe was voted the Best Tourism Destination by Forbes magazine, .

“We are planning to have some hospitality interests there, then some solar farms we are planning to invest in and some other projects related to infrastructure and development,” he said.