adminRichard Muponde-Zimpapers Politics Hub
ZIMBABWE is hosting the 44th SADC Heads of State and Government Summit in August at a time regional countries are championing industrialisation through infrastructure development as well as initiating strategies to mitigate the effects of the El Nino-induced drought.
President Mnangagwa will assume the chairmanship of SADC, a very significant regional body that has since its formation in 1980 been pushing for economic development, integration, fostering regional peace and good governance.
Zimbabwe got the deputy chairmanship in August last year when the current SADC chairperson, President Joao Lourenco of Angola, assumed the chairmanship replacing his predecessor, the past immediate chair, DRC President Félix Tshisekedi.
The SADC Summit is responsible for the overall policy direction and control of functions of the community, ultimately making it the policy-making institution of SADC.
The ordinary SADC Summit is held every year and is attended by Heads of State and Government from the 16 SADC Member States, namely, Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
It is also attended by heads of continental and regional bodies as observers.
As the chair, President Mnangagwa will oversee the highest level of the governance structure of the regional body that provides policy direction.
His other mandate includes interacting with the SADC Secretariat staff, providing guidance and signing SADC legal instruments during their tenure.
However, given the huge numbers of delegates that are expected to attend the summit and the obvious dividends to be accrued from hosting such a summit, Harare is undergoing massive infrastructure development ranging from road rehabilitation, sprucing up of hotels and building of new luxury and executive accommodation and a conference centre in Mt Hampden close to the New Parliament, the venue of the summit.
This massive infrastructural development has seen huge capital projects taking shape at the venue of the Summit.
The infrastructure boon in Mt Hampden spurred by the hosting of the SADC Summit has also catapulted the development of a new city.
Mt Hampden already hosts the New Parliament and the expansion of Nemakonde Way, formerly Lomagundi Road, which links the august House to the Harare CBD, is going to improve traffic flow.
Projects have been accelerated to ensure that visiting Heads of State and Governments and their delegations have easy access to the venue from their various places of residence.
Eighteen state-of-the-art presidential villas are currently under construction and contractors say they will be able to meet the July deadline ahead of the opening of the summit.
Speaking to journalists after touring the Mt Hampden Conference Centre, which is under construction, President Mnangagwa expressed confidence in Zimbabwe’s capacity to host a memorable and successful summit.
“I am satisfied that they are going to complete the construction of villas, which are meant to facilitate accommodation for the Heads of State.
“I am told that by the end of July, early August, everything will have been completed and I have no doubt that we will accomplish the task. Yes, I am very happy that my vision is actualising slowly. I am so happy,” President Mnangagwa said.
He said Zimbabwe was working flat out to host the regional bloc’s Heads of State in an “environment never seen before”.
“Zimbabwe is a member of SADC and summits are held by member states so there’s nothing that’s exceptional for hosting the SADC Summit, but we are privileged that this year Zimbabwe has been chosen to host the summit.
“This is why we are working 24 hours a day to make sure we host SADC, here, in an environment never seen before and I believe that,” the President said.
At least 40 roads in and around the city are currently undergoing massive construction and refurbishment ahead of the 2024 SADC Summit.
Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister, Felix Mhona, says some of the new roads linking Harare and the new Parliament Building in Mount Hampden, currently under construction, will be completed by end of June.
The road infrastructure where the ministry was applying asphaltic concrete overlay includes Samora Machel (Jaggers to Kuwadzana Roundabout), Dieppe Roundabout – Glenara/Samora Junction – Glenara/ED Mnangagwa Road, Dieppe Roundabout – Chiremba (through Braeside), Robert Mugabe/Rotten Row-Josiah Tongogara, Harare Drive Roundabout Jaggers-Lomagundi Road ( selected sections), 4th Street (Simon Muzenda Street)/Robert Mugabe Junction to Tongogara Road, 4th Street (Simon Muzenda Street)/Robert Mugabe Junction to Tongogara Roads.
The sprucing up of the general infrastructure of the capital by the host nation is always the standard practise in the region and beyond for any country expecting a sizeable number of foreign dignitaries.
In August 2012, the 32th SADC Summit hosted by Mozambique during former President Armando Guebuza’s tenure saw the coastal capital of Maputo receiving a major facelift of roads, hotels and other infrastructural developments.
The hosting of such an event left the capital Maputo in a completely new state that remained beneficial to local residents.
It was at the Maputo summit that the Heads of State and Government came up with a SADC Infrastructure Development Master Plan.
The Maputo summit had been preceded by the SADC’s Infrastructure Vision 2027, which was conceived at the 2007 Lusaka Summit in Lusaka, Zambia, with the objective of establishing a strategic framework to guide the development of seamless, cost-effective trans-boundary infrastructure.
The vision is anchored on six pillars – energy, transport, information and communication technologies (ICT), meteorology, trans-boundary water resources and tourism (trans-frontier conservation areas), which constitute the SADC Regional Infrastructure Development Programme.
The SADC 2027 infrastructure vision is the one that also informs Zimbabwe’s nationwide infrastructure boom.
Despite being under sanctions for over two decades, Zimbabwe has managed to ensure that it has the critical infrastructure needed to attain its vision of becoming an upper middle income economy by 2030.
Critics of the Government’s focus on infrastructure might be missing the broader and longer economic benefits to be accrued from having modern infrastructure facilities.
Analysts who spoke to Zimpapers Politics Hub said there was nothing amiss with Zimbabwe accelerating its infrastructure development to host the SADC summit because it’s the country which is benefiting from the developments not visitors.
Global Economics 2020 Consultancy Group executive director, Mr Paurosi Naboth Dzivaguru, said the current aggressive and massive infrastructural developments have nudged citizens’ attention.
“The New Dispensation has brought novel approach in doing things,” Mr Dzivaguru said
“For the past two decades, Harare’s infrastructure had deteriorated. The roads were whittling thin at an alarming rate. This has resulted in Zimbabwe being ranked number 127 of 138 countries in the infrastructure Index under the 2017-18 World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report. That was a discouraging ranking.”
He said President Mnangagwa’s economic stoicism has excited private investments in the capital Harare.
“The beauty of physical capital is that it benefits the city’s businesses, its citizens and the entire nation and the world. Infrastructure once erected and established remains in situ for use and benefit by the citizens when visitors have long gone. So Zimbabweans have a reason to celebrate this infrastructural foray,” he said.
Mr Dzivaguru said Zimbabwe has a unique way of doing things and said the infrastructural swoop or sortie that has characterised not only Harare but the entire country has taken the world by storm.
“SADC Summit preparation is just an incidental phenomenon that has come amidst the country’s infrastructural development incursion. Infrastructural development is a long-term solution to fortuitous phenomena such as droughts.
“President Mnangagwa as the economic stalwart is mindful that a well-established infrastructure in the form of dams, roads, irrigation structures among others is the ad infinitum answer to vis major. And that’s being visionary,” Mr Dzivaguru said.
“And that separates President Mnangagwa from ordinary politicians in the politics’ streets who have congested opposition politics. The ED Plan spearheaded by the President himself has excited private capital investments in and around the globe.
“Our mantra – Zimbabwe is open for business, and Zimbabwe, friend to all and enemy to none, has seen a lot of investors rushing to invest in the country.”
He said the Nyika Inovakwa Nevene Vayo philosophy has opened the eyes of the doubtful in the country.
“A significant amount of capital for infrastructure development is coming from tax revenues paid by our citizens. So paying tax is now both a moral and legal duty. It’s a citizenry duty to build Zimbabwe. So give Caesar what belongs to Caesar,” he said.
Veteran journalist, Mr Methuseli Moyo, said there was nothing amiss in Zimbabwe refurbishing its infrastructure ahead of the summit.
“But well, criticism has become part of our daily rituals. Ultimately the country and the people. The infrastructure will be there for all of us to use and benefit long after the summit is gone and forgotten. Every serious country will use events of such magnitude to showcase its best. Why should Zimbabwe (not) do the same?” Mr Moyo asked.
“So long as the Government has capacity to balance all these priorities I see no problem. We have been assured food is being procured and is being availed to those in need. Clearly there is a commendable, sustained programme of infrastructural development under the Second Republic. Hopefully this continues to gather momentum.”
Speaking after meeting Vice President Constantino Chiwenga who is in charge of the summit preparations, SADC Executive Secretary, Mr Elias Magosi recently said the summit promises to be a success and regional leaders will have an opportunity to tour the country’s infrastructure projects.
“He was giving us an update of progress that has been made with regards to the preparations leading to the summit itself. And this is consistent with the team that has been coming from the Secretariat to come and work with the government,” Mr Magosi said.
“The other thing that we spoke about is how we make SADC leaders visible when they come into a country like Zimbabwe. We feel that there must be an opportunity for them to interact with the citizens, to appreciate projects that are there that citizens are working on or doing. The Government has made some plans for the second day, which is the 18th, for other activities that President Mnangagwa will be leading for the other heads of state to appreciate about Zimbabwe. And we know that this summit will be successful.”
The SADC Secretariat is in the country to check progress on Zimbabwe’s preparedness to host the SADC Heads of State and Government Summit on 17 August.
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