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ZIMBABWE is actively investing in infrastructure development, focusing on key sectors such as energy, transport, water and sanitation as well as Information and Communication Technology (ICT), with a goal of achieving Vision 2030, whose import is on fostering economic growth and social transformation.
The country’s infrastructure development agenda continues to gain traction, with public-private partnerships (PPPs) adopted to accelerate the construction and fulfilment of major infrastructure projects.
The provision of good infrastructure is a prerequisite for achieving economic growth and development as well as enabling other sectors of the economy to function properly.
Investment potential exists in the expansion and modernisation of the existing infrastructure as well as the construction of new infrastructure such as modern highways and associated tollgates linking key cities, power generation, dam construction, water reticulation and budget hotel chains in the tourism industry, among others.
As critical players in infrastructure development, the Zimbabwe Institution of Engineers (ZIE) has called for collaboration between the Government and the private sector towards infrastructure development.
Our Business Reporter, Judith Phiri (JP) spoke to ZIE chief executive officer Dr Sanzan Diarra (SD) to get more on infrastructure investment and development in Zimbabwe.
JP: There are growing calls for more investment in infrastructure development in Zimbabwe. As ZIE ,what do you think needs to be done?
SD: For the development of infrastructure in Zimbabwe, there is a statement I always make that engineers have the know-how and ideas on how to conceive, design and help construct the infrastructure. Engineers do not have the money, but they go to school to learn how to make our natural resources profitable to the nation. It is true, engineers do not necessarily have the money. So, when you look at it, you find that many engineers have the skills and at the same time, the country needs infrastructure development such as roads and provision of water and power, among other things. Where the existence of infrastructure comes to be, it has to be initiated by policies and investment. We are led by a Government and it has to come up with policies that will guide national infrastructure development and also to be the champion of the investment into infrastructure development. Let’s say today, people here in Zimbabwe are talking about the road from Beitbridge through Bulawayo to Victoria Falls, how do we get that road done? First of all, the Government has to take the initiative to rehabilitate the road. Once that decision is taken, the responsible Ministry (Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development) will see what can be done within its means because it has its own engineers but these cannot do it alone. So, the Government has to formulate a way to bring in private investors and engineers as well as contractors. This will then ensure the road is redesigned and reconstructed once the investment is in place. This is valid for roads, building hospitals, clinics, delivering water and power, you name it. The financing has to be either from Government, the private sector or from combined efforts, these are the sources of investment. Without that investment, nothing will happen. You can have a million engineers and architects but without investment, nothing will happen. The investment has to be secured first.
JP: Skills enhancement among built environment professionals has also been viewed as critical for infrastructure investment and development. What’s your take on this?
SD: As engineers, our main task is to attend to infrastructure development in the country. Our profession is varied. We have various types of professionals like civil engineers, mechanical engineers, chemical engineers, agricultural engineers, mining engineers, etc. We have all of them under ZIE. Engineering is about infrastructure development, that’s something I have always said and I will always stand with that. In conjunction with our colleagues in the built environment, some who are not necessarily engineers but are architects, contractors, quantity surveyors, environmentalists, geometrics and so forth, we come together to deliver the infrastructure development the country needs. Whatever that infrastructure is, be it roads, water, energy, buildings, airports and mining infrastructure, among other things. These are subjected and first conceived by engineers. Engineers have ideas and the know-how on bringing about the existence of infrastructure from the conception, the design and the building. That is imparted to what we call the built environment professionals and it is very wide. To sustain that clearly, the country needs to have a group of engineers that are well qualified for the job. Again, it is the role of our institution to ensure that those specialists are educated first from the various higher and tertiary education institutions, then trained and employed.
We then follow up on their growth as professionals and make sure that they do not remain stagnant. In most cases, when engineers come out of university, they would need to have in-house training for knowledge and expertise in the field chosen for them to work in. Well qualified engineers are then able to positively contribute to infrastructure development of the country.
JP: What are some of the solutions to addressing challenges being faced in planning, funding, developing and implementing infrastructure projects?
SD: As you know, investment, whether it’s from a private person or from a corporation or from country to country, for one to take money out of their pocket to put in a project, you have to have confidence that you will have a return on your investment. If there is no return, I do not think there are many people who are ready to put in money just like that, unless if it is a donation.
That confidence and guarantee needs to be there. It should be a cause for concern if a country is not having enough investment both from Government and the private sector for infrastructure development.
Our job as engineers is to conceive infrastructure ideas, design it and to lead the construction of the infrastructure, to make it a reality under the sun, to make it a building, which will stand. So, collaboration between the Government, us engineers and the private sector is critical in addressing challenges that can hinder implementation of infrastructure projects. As ZIE, we have always been there at the disposal of policy and decision makers to lead the infrastructure development of the country. For instance, we had a conference last year on infrastructure development.
This year, we are going to have another one again in Victoria Falls, sometime towards the end of the year. So, the purpose of these conferences is to get stakeholders including Government, private sector and investors together to give each other ideas, ways and means on how to come up with solutions on the infrastructure development challenges and deficit in Zimbabwe.
JP: How important are these engagements in finding solutions for infrastructure development and investment?
SD: When we get to these conferences, we make presentations. At last year’s conference, there were no theoretical academic papers, it was all practical from potential investors, private companies, consultants and contracting companies as well as all those who are involved in the infrastructure development and Government was there.
Full article on www.chronicle.co.zw
The conference comes up with resolutions which are submitted to relevant Government departments. When they see value in our recommendations and proposals, they then implement them. We are ready at any time to come and offer the services of our members who are about 13 000. It’s not a small number. Out of those 13 000, qualified engineers are over 3 000 in Zimbabwe, South Africa, England and Europe. We can mobilise them whenever the Government requires us to. We can group them in a very short period of time and get them on the job that needs to be done. The right policies and adequate funding are critical to putting the engineers to work. In terms of engagements, we do have a conference coming up in two or three weeks. All the institutions that belong to the built environment have conferences.
In terms of education, we have about nine engineering faculties in the country. We need rightly qualified engineers who can do the job and for us to sustain that, we need to continue to have qualified professionals who can do the jobs which are of high quality and durable. For that to happen, we need to make sure that our engineering schools are well set up, with the right curricula and the right set of academic professors and technicians. We need to have good laboratories so that students who take up engineering are well prepared to tackle the various engineering problems currently there and those to come in the future. We need to be up to date with new technologies. We are trying our best here at ZIE to get that effort from our universities. We have organised competitions between our engineering students so that they come up with project proposals that can meet certain difficulties we are having in the country in any given infrastructure sector. This helps our education institutions up their game and meet global standards so that they do not lag behind in new technology developments.
Bongani Moyo