Online Reporter
Sikhumbuzo Moyo [email protected]
GOVERNMENT has challenged universities, industries and local authorities to strengthen collaboration with researchers and students to develop innovative solutions to Zimbabwe’s water challenges and accelerate industrialisation.
Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development Fredrick Shava said the country’s water security strategy should go beyond infrastructure development and harness science, research and innovation to address emerging challenges.
Minister Shava was represented by his deputy, Minister Simelisizwe Sibanda, at the inaugural Zimbabwe Water Indaba and WASH Joint Sector Review hosted by the National University of Science and Technology (Nust) in Bulawayo.
He said the Water Indaba should be regarded as a strategic platform for innovation, industrialisation and economic transformation.
“We regard the Water Indaba as a strategic catalyst for innovation, industrialisation and economic transformation,” he said.
Minister Shava encouraged industries, local authorities and public institutions to open their facilities to researchers and students, saying such collaboration would expose them to real-world challenges and allow emerging technologies to be tested in operational environments.
“We equally encourage industries, local authorities and public institutions to open their doors to researchers and students, provide them with real-world challenges, share data, facilitate access to operational environments and test emerging technologies,” he said.
He said innovations that demonstrate value should be supported beyond the prototype stage so they can be developed and implemented at scale.
“Where innovations demonstrate value, we must support their transition from prototypes to development at scale,” he said.
Minister Shava said some of the solutions to Zimbabwe’s water challenges could already be emerging from young innovators working in laboratories, workshops and research centres.
“The solutions Zimbabwe seeks may already be emerging from the minds of young innovators in our laboratories, workshops and research centres. Our collective responsibility is to create an ecosystem in which ideas can flourish and deliver impact,” he said.
He said water security could not be achieved through infrastructure alone, but required the integration of science, evidence-based knowledge, innovation, accountable governance and partnerships.
“The future of water security in Zimbabwe will not be secured through infrastructure alone but will be secured through infrastructure strengthened by science, through knowledge guided by evidence, through innovation driven by purpose, through governance anchored in accountability and through partnerships founded on a shared commitment to national development,” he said.
Minister Shava said the Zimbabwe Water Innovation platform should become a bridge between research, policy and practical solutions.
“May this Zimbabwe Water Innovation become a platform where knowledge inspires action, where research shapes policy, where innovation drives industrialisation and where collaboration drives lasting solutions,” he said.
He called for collective efforts to build resilient communities and sustainable ecosystems while promoting inclusive economic development.
“Together, let us build a future characterised by water security, resilient communities, sustainable ecosystems and inclusive economic prosperity for all Zimbabweans,” he said.
