Online Reporter
Obey Musiwa and Takunda Gambiza
Herald Reporters
ZIMBABWE stands to benefit from China’s experiences in uplifting rural communities from poverty as it pursues its own developmental drive towards Vision 2030.
This came out of the 2nd Harare Forum for Africa held in the capital yesterday, where Government officials, scholars, and business leaders explored rural development and modernisation under the theme, “Rural Development and Modernisation”.
Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Mr Zhou Ding, noted that over the past 40 years, China has lifted 800 million people out of poverty, largely through rural development initiatives, and such experiences could be invaluable to Zimbabwe.
“We believe that China’s path to rural development; China’s experiences and lessons can benefit Zimbabwe’s own development drive in the rural areas,” said Amb Zhou.
“In the past years, we supported different kinds of cooperation and assistance programmes to facilitate Zimbabwe’s rural infrastructure development to address food security.”
The forum underscored the importance of technology and institutional support in transforming rural agriculture, aligning Zimbabwe’s development agenda with China’s model of rural revitalisation.
Amb Zhou added that Beijing is working closely with UN agencies and Government bodies to support these initiatives.
“As Zimbabwe advances its Vision 2030 and Rural Development 8.0 Initiative, China remains committed to supporting the country in achieving these ambitions.”
Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Minister, Senator Monica Mutsvangwa, said Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are central to reshaping rural economies.
“More than just businesses, SMEs are engines of transformation, turning primary production into value-added goods such as dried fruits, peanut butter, and arts and crafts among others in the rural communities.
“By creating jobs, retaining wealth within communities, stimulating local markets and exports and reducing reliance on external supply chains, SMEs can shift rural economies from resource extraction to vibrant, self-sustaining industrial hubs,” she said.
Senator Mutsvangwa underscored the central role of women in this transformation, noting that they make up 52.1 percent of Zimbabwe’s 4.8 million full-time employees.
“This ensures that previously marginalised groups, especially women play a leading role in shaping the prosperity of our nation, in line with His Excellency, the President, Dr ED Mnangagwa’s mantra of leaving no one and no place behind,” she said.
National Arts Council of Zimbabwe chief executive, Mr Napoleon Nyanhi, said the arts sector must also contribute to rural and national development by empowering young people to thrive in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
“We also remain rooted in our values of nyika inovakwa nevene vayo/ilizwe lakhiwa ngabanikazi balo” — our nation is built by its own people.
“I encourage all participants to engage in meaningful hands-on work that will lead to concrete outcomes, empowering young people in shaping Africa’s modernisation journey,” he added.
