Online Reporter
Richard Runyararo Mahomva
Patriotic zeal produces an involuntary instinct to defend national resources, conceptualisation and implementation of initiatives which drive economic reforms and good governance promotion.
Patriotic action is premised on the question: What can I do for my country? Rather that: What can my country do for me? This means that a nation’s greatest asset is its patriotic citizens.
Without patriots, a nation’s resources and aspirations became subject to endless plunder and destruction. The struggle for independence was that apex of patriotic expression, reclaiming the country and defending it from perils of recolonisation.
Today, we are compelled by new and evolving national aspirations to defend and uphold our national interest in the face of changing global benchmarks to leadership, ethical standards to eradicate poverty and building innovations which create efficiencies for service delivery and building foundations for shared prosperity. It is pleasing to note that Zimbabweans across the world are a collective and top-notch currency for this imperative mission to humanity.
The recently held Zim Achievers Awards reaffirmed this point. With an influx of more than 200 Zimbabwean-born captains of industry and innovators based abroad, the first ever edition of the Zim Achievers Awards was held in Harare. For the past 15 years, the Zim Achievers Awards has honoured thousands of Zimbabweans occupying crucial decision-making designations across the world.
However, the first ever Harare edition of the awards also honoured local trailblazers in the economic and national political space. This follows the enabling policy environment by the Second Republic which has enhanced political and corporate sector innovations to relevantly fit into daily goods and service needs of the ordinary Zimbabweans.
Guided by this common position, recognition was accorded to some notable political and industry players namely:
Senator Monica Mutsvangwa
An insider in Zimbabwe’s protracted war of national independence and pioneer diplomat in post-independent Zimbabwe, she was recognised for her distinguished role in National Brand Building and SMEs Growth Promotion.
No doubt, she raised the bar of Zimbabwe’s media diplomacy. The plenty bilateral agreements of cooperation in the media sphere make this point irrefutable. This was expected following her foreign mission experience dating back to early post-independence Zimbabwe.
During that period, she served in key diplomatic stations namely New York, Brussels and China. In China, she was the President of the Diplomatic Spouses Association. In her assignment as the First Minister of Information Publicity and Broadcasting Services in the Second Republic, Mutsvangwa extensively championed Zimbabwe’s global visibility. It will be recalled that during her tenure, Zimbabwe’s cyber digital footprint was upscaled through top-billing initiatives such as the national brand campaign which was done through Wode Maya – a leading YouTube National Brand Promotion Content Creator.
This campaign set out a very novel millennial appealing brand visibility for Zimbabwe. The numbers are there on YouTube and X formerly Twitter to show. She set out a strategic messaging direction which is in sync with global trends to contemporary government messaging.
That way, Government milestones found presence in the algorithm reach of the Zimbabwean diaspora and the would-be investors in Zimbabwe.
During this remarkable stint of Minister Mutsvangwa’s resolute service to the nation, she marshalled His Excellency, President Mnangagwa’s vision to increase information access to Zimbabweans home and abroad through the launch of community radio stations, increased licensing of television broadcasting players and campus radio stations.
In reinforcing the political culture change of the Second Republic, she was instrumental in advocating for the historic repeal of AIPPA and POSA. She was also the face of the then newly-introduced Post-Cabinet Briefings.
To date, Post-Cabinet Briefings symbolise the executive’s transparency to the people of Zimbabwe. The weekly enunciation of Cabinet decisions is an indicator of a culture of openness by the Government to the people it serves.
In 2023, Senator Mutsvangwa was instrumental in resource mobilisation for the True Zim Tour which gave international media support for President Mnangagwa’s candidature in the 2023 Harmonised Elections. In her current role as Minister of Women Affairs, Community, Small to Medium Enterprises Development, the Zim Achievers Awards conveners honoured the extent she has implemented transformative policies that have advanced competitiveness and sustainability of local brands.
Her tireless efforts in facilitating access to markets, financing and capacity building for SMEs have led to significant strides in employment creation, innovation and economic resilience, especially among women-led enterprises.
Hon Tatenda Mavetera
She is the Member of Parliament for Chikomba West Constituency and Minister of Information Communication and Technology Postal and Courier Services in Cabinet. Mavetera is the first ever female minister of ICT since the standalone designation of this arm of the Government. She was awarded for her Outstanding Advancement of Women and Youth Leadership in Zimbabwe.
Hon Mavetera
The award specifically cements the visionary role which Hon Mavetera has played in the formation of the Young Women for Economic Development (ED). Following the birth of this “4ED” trailblazer front, Zimbabwe now has more 70 “4ED” socio-economic organisations which give solidarity to His Excellency the President’s transformation-driven leadership for Zimbabwe’s endless prosperity, peace and unity.
Young Women for ED prides itself for producing 79 Councillors and 9 Members of Parliament. Therefore, demonstrating the organisation’s outstanding leadership grooming competence.
The Young Women for ED nationwide structures have been prominent in grassroots mobilisation of youth and women’s participation in economic empowerment initiatives championed by President Mnangagwa. Minister Mavetera’s landmark leadership milestone as the Vice President of the Pan-African Parliament Youth Caucus in 2022, a role which demonstrated her continental leadership strength also underpins this award.
This was after her unprecedented transition as the only Female Propositional Representation MP to substantive Member of Parliament for Chikomba West.
Symbolically, this award is an honour all the people of Chikomba West for raising a national leadership trailblazer who initiated the Youth Caucus in the 9th Parliament, while serving as Assistant Speaker in the Last Parliament, a position she led diligently for five solid years.
Engineer Raphael Mushanawani
The chief executive of NetOne clinched the Achievers Award for Outstanding Excellence in Smart Technologies and Enhanced Broadband Services. The accolade is a recognition of his exceptional leadership, innovative vision, and transformative contributions to the advancement of digital technologies in Zimbabwe and beyond.
Eng Mushanawani
As CEO of NetOne, Eng Mushanawani was hailed for playing a pivotal role in driving the successful rollout of cutting-edge smart technologies and significantly enhancing broadband connectivity across urban and rural communities.
He was awarded for his commitment to bridging the digital divide which has empowered millions with greater access to mobile financial services, e-learning platforms, digital healthcare solutions, and e-government initiatives.
In a sister paper to this publication, he stated that, this is a milestone he attributed to his organisation’s commitment to ubiquitous connectivity to every inch of Zimbabwe. “At NetOne, we are not chasing profit alone; we are driving purpose. We are positioning technology as the equaliser – bridging the digital divide, empowering the farmer in Tsholotsho, the student in Mutoko and the entrepreneur in Mbare with the same tools as their counterparts in Harare or New York.
“That is the spirit of inclusivity and that is why this recognition resonates so deeply. We understand that internet is the fuel for digital financial inclusivity, it is the bloodline for broadband and broadcast convergence. We know that data is a catalyst for growing a modern economy.”
In buttressing the point, the NetOne CEO is also on record that, corporates must not compete on price alone, but should compete on delivering solutions.
Doreen Sibanda
Alongside luminaries like Dr Tafataona Mahoso, Albert Nyathi, Dr Rebecca Chisamba, the Zimpapers Board Chair received a Lifetime Award for Championing Arts and Culture Sector Growth.
This award is a modest, but special recognition of Mrs Sibanda’s decades of dedication in promoting national memory preservation and creative sector growth. As an arts and culture governance expert, her passion for positioning Zimbabwean visual art to international markets was celebrated. During her tenure as the Executive Director of the National Gallery in Zimbabwe, Sibanda left an indelible footprint for nurturing and promoting Zimbabwe’s heritage-based artistic epistemologies at the global stage.
Doreen Sibanda
Beyond all awards, we must be able to give our best in serving our country for no material reward. It brings so much delight to know that such an initiative has been running for the past 15 years. This means that over the years our nation has produced more than a thousand goodwill ambassadors.
These are men and women whose invaluable and yet less celebrated roles keeps flying Zimbabwe’s flag very high. Other notable recipients at last week’s show include Professor Paul Mapfumo, the Vice Chancellor, University of Zimbabwe, Professor Albert Chawanda, the Vice Chancellor, Manicaland University of Science and Technology, Dr Edson Badarai, the chief executive of the Grain Marketing Board. May their collective work of these and other Zim Achievers Awards recipients inspire every leader in private and public sector to be a Zim Achiever.
Pamberi neZimbabwe.
Richard Runyararo Mahomva is Director (International Communication Services) in the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services.
