Chronicle Editor
Harare Bureau
THE Revolutionary Zanu-PF party, which has so far fulfilled 80 percent of its 2018 party manifesto pledges, remains the political party of choice in the country and will lead Zimbabwe into prosperity, President Mnangagwa said.
Officially opening the Zanu-PF 19th National Annual People’s Conference in Bindura yesterday, President Mnangagwa implored the party leadership to take the message of development across the whole country.
“As we deliberate during this Conference, let us individually and collectively recommit ourselves to the Party Mission of ensuring that as the people of Zimbabwe, we forever remain masters of our own destiny. Zanu-PF and all its structures must keep alive its revolutionary ethos, principles and values.
“Patriotism, loyalty, discipline, hard honest work, unity, peace and development must remain key tenets of all our policies, now and into the future. Zanu-PF is indeed the only Party with a rich history which brought about independence and democracy, through a protracted liberation struggle.
“It is also the only Party which has plans and programmes for the present growth and prosperity of our country. We are the only Party with a solid Vision for the future. This should galvanise and embolden all cadres to work concertedly to guarantee that Zanu-PF remains the Party of choice, which serves the people wholeheartedly.
“This 19th National People’s Conference must, therefore, allow us to make known the extent to which we have achieved that which we envisioned in previous Congress and Conference Resolutions, as well as the 2018 People’s Manifesto,” the President said.
This year’s conference, which is being held under a hybrid format as part of a cocktail of preventive measures against the scourge of Covid-19, saw provinces following proceedings virtually, itself a demonstration of the critical role that the revolutionary party has harnessed ICT for inclusive development.
A minute of silence was observed in memory of party members who succumbed to the deadly Covid-19 pandemic.
“My Government remains committed to providing high quality health services for all citizens. Efforts have been intensified to increase domestic funding for health so that critical services remain accessible and affordable to the general citizenry.
“The manner in which our Government handled the Covid-19 pandemic demonstrates that we are indeed a caring Government that values the lives of the people of our great mother country.
“As it was with our Liberation Struggle and is evident in the present development epoch, Zanu-PF is the shield of our Nation. We have the necessary resolve and resourcefulness to confront dangers that threaten our Nation and our People.
“In the wake of the pandemic, we confounded the sinister predictions and bizarre expectations of our detractors. Our National Vaccination Programme is ongoing. However, we still have some way to go to reach herd immunity. I pay tribute to our friends and allies who stood by us as we battled the global pandemic,” President Mnangagwa said.
The President added that the revamping of the country’s health facilities from the provincial level, cascading to rural health centres is still ongoing.
“The availability of drugs and medicines is set to ease through deliberate strategies to resuscitate and grow our local pharmaceutical industry. The National Bio technology Authority is congratulated for developing the “made in Zimbabwe” cough syrup, COFSOL.
“With regards to education, my Government is constructing more schools, especially for our rural and farming communities to ensure that no child walks more than 5 km to school. The focus of our education sector will continue to prioritise the development of a scientific mind from an early stage”.
“Efforts have been intensified to increase domestic funding for health so that critical services remain accessible and affordable to the general citizenry.”
The Conference is being held under the theme “Growing and modernizing the economy towards Vision 2030”.
It is being held on the backdrop of economic transformation, with projections pointing to an upper 7 percent growth of the economy despite the Covid-19 pandemic and the burden of illegal economic sanctions.
This year alone, President Mnangagwa has launched game-changing projects such as dams for irrigation to combat the effects of climate change, cattle ranching, commissioned new mines, built new and modern courts and led a revolution in the tertiary education sector where students are now making inventions that are transforming communities thanks to the innovation hubs.
The manufacturing sector is on the rebound and leveraging on the vast natural resource endowments the country is also accelerating the creation of new industries towards economic diversification.
The ruling party’s conference is being held on the backdrop of great strides in infrastructural development and just a few days after the country marked the SADC Anti-Sanctions Day, which was held under the theme “Friend to All,
Enemy to None: Forging Ahead and Enhancing Innovation and Productivity in the Adversity of Sanctions”.
“The illegal economic sanctions and all forms of coercive measures are unjustified and a violation of the human rights of the people of our great country. We call for their immediate and unconditional removal. However, despite the adversity of these illegal sanctions, our country under a Zanu-PF led Government, continues to forge ahead in unity to attain the status of a Prosperous and Empowered Upper Middle-Income country.
“We have taken deliberate and unapologetic steps towards improving the lives of all Zimbabweans, and rebuilding our country brick by brick, stone upon stone, informed by the mantra “Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo”.
“As we convene at this momentous Conference, I urge the Party to remain united, resilient, focused and hardworking as we continue on our path towards sustainable development, economic growth and prosperity.
The land is now permanently re-united with the people. There is no going back; the Land Reform Programme is irreversible and indeed behind us. All of us have the sacred responsibility to fully and sustainably utilise the land, that which is on it and under it, to improve the quality of life of our people and to build a prosperous economy, for present and future generations,” said the President.
The sound economic policies of the Second Republic have seen the realization of national food security underpinned by people-oriented programmes such as Pfumvudza/Intwasa programme.
“This has resulted in the food security we are celebrating today and the increased incomes of those in the agriculture value chain, especially in rural communities. Agritex officers and other officials involved in distribution of inputs are instructed to stop all forms of corruption and misinformation that disadvantage our people. No number of Pfumvudza plots will be regarded as too few or too many. The People’s Party and its people centred Government will continue supporting the sector through the various programmes under the Agriculture Recovery Growth,” the President said.
Zimbabwe is aiming to become an upper-middle economy by 2030 with the National Development Strategy 1, being both the map and campus that guides the implementation of policies that will be driven by the private sector for economic growth.
In Bundura yesterday, scores of people adorned in the ruling party colours, who included First Lady Amai Auxillia Mnangagwa, Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, Zanu PF Vice President Kembo Mohadi, Politburo and Central Committee members were a spectacle to behold as the Party heads held up celebrated milestone after milestone that have been made by President Mnangagwa in little over three years.
Foreign Direct Investment has shot-up , fiscal stability is obtaining, jobs have been created and people’s lives have been transformed. Rural urbanization is becoming a reality while there is also stability of prices.
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