WATCH: ‘Education is key to economic development’

When Zanu-PF’s aspiring Member of Parliament for Cowdray Park constituency in Bulawayo, Professor Mthuli Ncube announced his candidature to contest in the upcoming harmonised elections, most residents took it as a tall tale.

But, over the past few months, Prof Ncube has extensively implemented a cocktail of transformative projects that have seen the constituency firmly replicating tenets of higher income suburbs that boast of high-end medical facilities, state-of-the-art roads, and high-speed wireless networking technology set to transform Cowdray Park into what he termed a “silicon city.”

A silicon city is identified as a hub for technological innovation. It is also known for being a centre for innovation, entrepreneurial spirit, and a lifestyle founded on technologically based wealth.

Prof Ncube, a holder of many degrees, including a doctorate, believes that for Cowdray Park to be adorned with a city status, it needs residents to adopt a pro-education temperament, which will catapult it into a smart city.

“Education in every sense is one of the fundamental factors of development. No country can achieve sustainable economic development without substantial investment in human capital,” he said.

“Education enriches people’s understanding of themselves and the world. It improves the quality of their lives and leads to broad social benefits to individuals and society.”

Prof Ncube said education raises people’s productivity and creativity and promotes entrepreneurship and technological advances, while also playing a very crucial role in securing economic and social progress and improving income distribution.

As such, Prof Ncube yesterday donated 35 laptops to Vulindlela Primary School, installed a Wi-Fi system and also commissioned a borehole for the school and community.

“Many economists believe education is the key to economic development. With this gesture to the school, I want to see pupils achieve their dreams and goals,” said Prof Ncube.

Upon arrival at the school, Prof Ncube was welcomed by a poem renditioned by six-year-old Alenthia Mbaya, a Grade 1 pupil at the school. So inspirational and touching was the poem that Prof Ncube immediately paid for the little lass’s school fees for the whole year.

The child’s mother, Mrs Simelumusa Mbaya, said she was humbled by Prof Ncube’s gesture.

“I have not paid fees for my daughter this year and this really is humbling. I am very grateful for this and may the Lord continue to bless Prof Ncube,” she said.

Prof Ncube said he was pleased the school was constructed using devolution funds that were allocated to the Bulawayo City Council in 2018.

“This project came from the City of Bulawayo. Every year I set aside five percent of the national budget towards devolution and we consider three things including the quality of infrastructure. So, the shoddier the infrastructure, the more funds we allocate. The second is the population size. In this part of Cowdray Park we have 15 000 households and they need school infrastructure. The third point we consider is the level of income or poverty. And in that light, we saw it fit to establish a school here to enhance the quality of the neighbourhood and our pupils,” said Prof Ncube.

He said council was mandated to request for funds in order to develop their schools adding that he would make sure more funds are allocated for the construction of more classroom blocks.

“There are a few schools in this neighbourhood and more are needed. We need to have an education-based economy. Over the next five years we will ensure that there are more schools that are built to feed the populace.

“We can’t do without digitalisation in this era and I’m very passionate about digitalisation. I spoke about this some years ago saying I want to implement that in Bulawayo but I will do it here in Cowdray Park. So far, I have installed more than 10 Wi-Fi hot spots. This is a serious educational platform that can transform a whole society and economy. With this tech I want parents to have real time information on the performance of their children and school. Let us demonstrate that through our silicon Cowdray Park,” said Prof Ncube.

He said he had tasked a team to educate residents on entrepreneurship skills using the Wi-Fi platforms.

The school’s headmistress Mrs Tshidzani Ngwenya said the donation had already propelled the school to produce computer literate pupils.

“We will produce engineers and technicians of the 21st century from this noble donation. On the other hand, the borehole is taking us to education with production as per ministry’s requirements supported by the Competency-Based Curriculum,” said Mrs Ngwenya.

Zanu-PF Cowdray Park Councillor Cde Kidwell Mujuru who was also present at the ceremony thanked Prof Ncube for the gesture, which he said would positively impact the constituency.

“The name of the school suggests that this initiative will not end here. This is only the beginning and we as Vulindlela have set the pace,” said Cde Mujuru.