adminBusiness Correspondent
THE Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development, Cde Oppah Muchinguri, has challenged students in tertiary institutions across the country to become critical thinkers and find innovative ways to help resuscitate the country’s economy.
She said this while addressing people at a field day held at Chief Mutasa’s residence recently.
Cde Muchinguri said the issue of food security in Zimbabwe was of paramount importance and tertiary institutions’ students should use their knowledge to enrich the country than to opt to go to the Diaspora after graduation.
“The education we offer in Zimbabwe should be for this country’s benefit not for the betterment of other countries. Students in universities should involve themselves in critical thinking so that the country’s economy can be improved. I recently engaged the Harare Institute of Technology (HIT) to embark on a diamond cutting and polishing project and I am sure it will be up and running in September.
“As a nation, we should strive to get to a position of exporting finished products. If anyone here is against development and insists on playing blame games on the Government, then you are in the wrong place and country. Everyone should find something to do to contribute towards the country’s development. Instead of waiting for others to work for you or blaming the President for your own laziness and lack of innovative ideas, women and the youth should rise up and work,” she said.
Apart from working with HIT, Cde Muchinguri also said that she was collaborating with other universities across the country to figure out ways on how to add value to the country’s available resources and making Zimbabwe more of an exporter rather than an importer of goods from other countries.
She also said Zimbabweans should fully utilise the peace prevailing in the country to develop it.
“Attaining independence was no joke. People died for us to enjoy everything we have. Instead of taking that for granted, people should work hard to develop Zimbabwe.
“I was recently in India and I figured out that people are making various beauty products from baobab seeds. We have lots of these in our country and so we should focus on value addition of these natural resources so that we may be counted by the rest of the world for the intelligent people we really are,” she added.
Speaking to some of the communal farmers who were at the field day, Cde Muchinguri said they should have an ownership attitude over the inputs they get from Government to avoid vandalism of machinery that would have cost the country a fortune to purchase.
Said Cde Muchinguri: “We have set up eight community tractors in different centres for the benefit of communal farmers in Manicaland. As they will be communally owned, everyone should take ownership of this machinery so that it will not be vandalised as they would have been purchased with a lot of money. Farmers should also not be negligent of these machines. They should get the proper service at the right time so that they remain in top notch condition, something which will make them last longer.”
As a gift to Chief Mutasa for being the best farmer in the area, Cde Muchinguri donated two pigs (male and female) to him saying it was a way of challenging him to start a piggery at his farm.
Online Reporter