mbulelo smpofu
Zvamaida Murwira, Harare Bureau
Government has made headway in advancing a people-centred national development agenda through initiating policies and projects that had a great impact on the collective aspirations of all Zimbabweans, President Mnangagwa has said.
The Head of State and Government said this yesterday at State House while addressing the last Cabinet meeting for this year.
“Today marks the last Cabinet Meeting for the 2024 Cabinet Calendar. A synopsis of the business transacted during the year reveals that, as Government, we have made notable headway in our people-centred national development agenda. In this respect, during the course of the year, we crafted, reviewed and implemented impactful policies, programmes as well as projects in our quest to fulfil the collective aspirations of our citizens. In a nutshell, the 2024 Cabinet Calendar was a success, with its robust and frank deliberations,” said President Mnangagwa.
“These discussions were facilitated by the greatly improved quality of memoranda submitted to Cabinet. Guided by the principle of collective responsibility, it was pleasing that as Ministers, you rose above your respective sectoral interests, in favour of objectivity and the common national good, with co-ordination being more seamless. Congratulations.”
President Mnangagwa chronicled several achievements registered during the year in different sectors that include, energy, agriculture and health.
He said adequate grain continued to be distributed to citizens under the food deficit mitigation programme following the declaration of a State of Disaster for the 2023/2024 Summer Season, due to the El Nino-induced drought.
“The timely delivery of food aid as well as agriculture inputs to our people at the grassroots level must be prioritised while complaints that transport costs are sometimes passed on to our people, must be honestly addressed. I, therefore, challenge the relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies to apply themselves and device strategies that will increase transport and logistical efficiency in getting aid and support to our people,” he said.
On health, President Mnangagwa commended stakeholders in the sector for implementing multi-pronged intervention measures, which saw the country combat the cholera outbreak during the first half of the year.
He said mechanisms were in place to deploy the recently approved Multi-Hazard Contingency Plan to curtail the effects of floods and other national disaster emergencies.
“I call upon you to provide leadership and assist your communities to mitigate damage and harm to property and life in the wake of the ensuing rainfall season. On the economic front, the revision of economic growth projections, on the back of the El Nino-induced drought’s negative impact on agricultural output, was inevitable. However, we remain resolute and optimistic that the fiscal and monetary reforms introduced during the year will increasingly underpin currency stability and usher economic rebound,” he said.
Turning to the energy sector, President Mnangagwa said while there was a shortage of power owing to low generation at Kariba Hydropower Station, the improved use and exploitation of renewable energy sources in the country, particularly solar by companies and households, continued to reduce national grid power demand.
“The initiatives by Zesa through new models of Independent Power Producers are welcome moves to crowd in the private sector in power generation, specifically for their respective energy needs. More campaigns should be mounted to encourage our people, in both rural and urban areas to adopt renewable energy for domestic use,”
On housing, President Mnangagwa said the Government will continue to channel resources towards housing delivery, as well as the upgrading and rehabilitation of both residential and institutional accommodation nationwide.
“The strides made by local authorities during the course of the year are commendable. These include the conclusion of Master Plans by most local authorities. There are also glimpses of mindset change within that sector. Regrettably, cases of corruption emanating from the sector remain worrisome. The bold decision by Harare City Council to transfer waste disposal and management to private entities should be supported and replicated in other local authorities. Quality service delivery to our citizens remains the core objective,” said President Mnangagwa.
The decentralisation and devolution agenda, said President Mnangagwa, has led to an improved standard of life and living environments for people with enhanced basic social services infrastructure.
He said the Government will continue prioritising the digital economy and empowerment of youths, women and small to medium enterprises.
President Mnangagwa also called for innovative financing models to accelerate the reconstruction of the Mbare Traders Market following a fire incident that gutted the place recently.
“The digital technology revolution is the cornerstone of modernisation, industrialisation and efficient service delivery to drive sustainable economic growth,” he said.
However, the digitalisation of Government information and services was occurring at a slow pace, something he said was worrisome.
President Mnangagwa implored Ministers to ensure that Government continues to provide service to the public during the Cabinet break.
“As Cabinet takes a well-deserved break, let us take note that we are not shutting down Government business and the subsequent delivery of service. Mechanisms must be put in place to balance the demands of a family and associated festivities with serving the people of our great motherland, Zimbabwe. The service delivery demands of the people of Zimbabwe must be responded to timely. After all, we are a Government by the people and for the people,” he said.
