Sifiso Sibanda
President Emmerson Mnangagwa says harnessing local resources is the panacea to economic development.
He was speaking at the official opening of the Lupane State University Dry Land Agro-Innovation Hub and Industrial Park in Lupane this Saturday.
With sanctions having battered the national economy for 22 years, it has since dawned on the Second Republic that harnessing local resources will be critical in championing Zimbabwe’s economic development.
President Mnangagwa said the Lupane State University Dry Land Agro-Innovation Hub and Industrial Park resonates well with the Second Republic’s devolution agenda which is harnessing local resources to develop communities.
He said national projects including the construction of the Gwayi- Shangani Lake, Zinqunywa dam and a number of irrigation projects are key to sustaining livelihoods.
“Riding on the present development philosophy, Nyika Inovakwa Nevene Vayo, Ilizwe Lakhiwa Ngabanikazi Balo, here in Mat North province, the construction of the Gwayi-Shangani Lake and the Gwayi-Shangani-Bulawayo Water Pipeline, as well as the rehabilitation of roads among other projects including Bubi-Lupane Irrigation Project, are supporting livelihoods so this confirms that we cannot develop our country using resources from other countries. This has not happened in Germany, Britain and other nations. So, I say to Zimbabweans, we ourselves will build our own country with our own resources and that is the new approach we have and it’s working.”
President Mnangagwa praised the innovative approach to development which has seen lucrative agro-projects mushrooming in traditionally dry regions through the use of locally available resources.
“I was happy when I was told that this institution in its innovative hub wants to use goat skin to produce shoes and I said now people are thinking and taking advantage of all resources around them to build our economy,” he said.
Since its inception, the Second Republic has embarked on accelerated infrastructure development across the country, including dam and road construction, using locally available resources.
