adminMORE than two years after the launch of the latest economic blueprint – the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation – unfortunately there are still some people and quarters who are failing to comprehend what this document is all about.
The main problem of course might be pure ignorance as many critics of the economic blueprint have never bothered to read even half of it.
They have tended to jump to conclusions from hearsays and the negativity some people have become experts in spreading.
In some cases, it is genuinely true that people are not aware of what Zim Asset is intended to achieve simply because they feel they were never adequately made part of the document.
Of course on paper Zim Asset was a Government plan which was crafted to provide directions and guidelines on how the country needed to move forward between October 2013 and December 2018.
Government by its role was supposed to lay the foundation mainly through ensuring the groundwork was clear for takeoff to anyone who had to contribute to the successful implementation of the blueprint.
However, it seems in many people’s minds almost every dot and comma of what is written in the document must be implemented not by anyone else except Government.
But seriously this thinking even worldwide is impossible. No Government can single-handedly implement every project while its citizens and all the other partners sit on the terraces waiting to evaluate progress.
Such lazy or rather wait-and-see attitude has somehow contributed to the sluggish progress of the economic blueprint.
In the eyes of many, Zim Asset is seen an isolated document whose programmes must all come or be initiated by the Government.
Its success and failure is always blamed on the Government. Well to some extent some of these critiques might be true but the biggest problem has been this idea of trying to separate Zim Asset from the other day to day programmes we are doing in the different spheres of our influence.
How do we separate those programmes we are embarking on daily to improve our lives from the broader development of the nation.
It is just a matter of taking pride and then tell yourself that if Zimbabwe is involved in a project then as a Zimbabwean I should actively be part of it.
Worldwide the secret for the success of any programme is to ensure that those people who are supposed to benefit or be affected feel that they are part of the whole process.
Take, for example, under the Social Services and Poverty Eradication cluster the country is collectively expected to deliver 125 000 housing units against the estimated housing backlog of 1,25 million.
To some critics all what they want to see is Government building the 125 000 housing units and parcel them to the people.
But this is not the case and certainly not the idea behind such targets. More so this is impossible if left in the hands of Government only.
These targets are supposed to be guidelines but their achievement must be a concerted effort right from individuals to Government.
It is not like there are parallel projects where individuals, or private players are running their own house constructing projects while Government has to also run its own in ensuring that the 125 000 units are met.
The only problem like I alluded to is that while the individual or the private player is doing something on the ground, maybe not enough has been done to ensure that these people take pride that whatever they are doing they are also contributing to the success of Zim Asset.
We are witnessing a lot of houses being built in urban centres and outlying areas by individuals and co-operatives. This is Zim Asset in progress.
However, do those people or co-operatives know that they are contributing to the target of 125 000 units. The honest answer might be no. They do not know and they do not even want to think about that.
These individuals and co-operatives need to be educated to take pride that the small steps they are doing are part of a bigger picture which is Zim Asset.
An individual, who has built one house, has obviously contributed his part to the 125 000 units and statistics would record that.
The same applies to many other sectors. There is a lot going on the ground but the only problem is that people do not want to associate that with Zim Asset.
If Zim Asset’s objective is to ensure that the country is self-sustaining in terms of food then the communal farmer who is producing just to make his family have enough food must be made to feel proud that he/she is contributing to the economic blueprint cause.
The private sector is doing a number of projects. In the energy industry a lot of companies are now into producing power through solar or mini hydro stations.
Doesn’t the power produced get used in Zimbabwe. Doesn’t it add to what is already there? So why can’t such people or companies also feel being part of the process to contributing to the success of Zim Asset.
In fact Zim Asset, being a guideline of what the Government expected, must have been a good document for industry as it would have provided them with hints on what sort of programmes or projects have been prioritised and are ready to be taken.
If for example the Government aims to have 125 000 units in the five years, surely a financial institution which is into mortgages must exploit such an opportunity. The same applies to many different companies whose sectors are related to what the document seeks to achieve.
Government too can do more not in terms of just seeking to ensure that it carries some of the projects but to ensure that the buy-in sinks among the people.
It can take a leaf from how non-governmental organisations work.
The first thing NGOs do is to try and make sure that the targeted communities they want to work in buy their concepts.
They want the communities to ensure that they will feel being part of the projects. Once this is achieved then results can flow.
More importantly therefore every Zimbabwean has a duty to ensure Zim Asset works.
Its success depends on everyone and therefore its failure must be because the whole nation did not pull in the same direction.
Online Reporter