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Joseph Madzimure, Harare Bureau
The Second Republic has adopted a deliberate strategy to channel more resources towards speeding up key infrastructural development projects such as dam construction in order to ensure food security, President Mnangagwa has said.

President Mnangagwa said the revolutionary Zanu-PF party had zero tolerance to name-dropping to camouflage criminal behaviour and all other nefarious activities as this was against the drive to spur economic growth and development.

Speaking at the 346 session of the politburo at the party headquarters in Harare yesterday, President Mnangagwa said Zanu-PF, under the Second Republic, will not allow the party to be a sanctuary of malcontents but will rather focus on improving the lives of ordinary people.

“I recently had the privilege to commission the completed Marovanyati Dam in Buhera District, Manicaland Province, which will go a long way to ensure food and nutrition security.

“Under the 2021 National Budget, which will be announced tomorrow (today), more dams such as Causeway, Chivhu, Gwayi-Shangani, Silverstream, among others will receive resources to enable speedy completion,” he said.

On infrastructural transformation and industrialisation, with the ultimate aim of turning the country into an upper middle class economy by 2030, the President commended universities for being innovative by coming up with solutions to some of the country’s needs.

“As Chancellor of State Universities, I have witnessed commendable ground breaking innovations, inventions and the production of goods to meet our national needs.

“The onus is now on the various sectors of the economy and us at the party level to adopt these solutions to resolve our day to day needs, while creating wealth and employment for our communities”.

In 2019 President Mnangagwa released more than US$20 million towards universities’ innovation hubs that have since come up with various innovations vital to national development.

The President said the heritage-based Education 5:0 model which is a result of the reorganisation of the Higher and Tertiary Education sector, implemented since the advent of the Second Republic, is delivering tangible results.

Unity of purpose and the culture of dialogue that was birthed by the Second Republic has resulted in unprecedented infrastructure development as demonstrated by road constructions around the country as well as the transformation of agriculture towards increased production and productivity.

“On the agriculture front, we have recorded a threefold increase in the production and subsequent delivery of wheat which is projected to cover about 9 months of our national wheat requirements. Land preparations, input distribution and extension support is equally pleasing.

“Let us continue to rally our communities to produce during this promising 2020/2021 agriculture season”.

The Second Republic has also pursued robust dialogue both internally and with foreign nations, a decisive policy that has seen once strained relations with some Western countries improving while cases that were once beyond discussion such as Gukurahundi are being tackled with the involvement of communities.

“We are one people in a unitary state. The progress recorded at meetings with chiefs from Matabeleland provinces in relation to the Gukurahundi issue and other development programmes is commendable and serves to enhance national cohesion,” he said.

On the diplomatic front, the President said, “a number of countries are extending a hand of friendship and cooperation most recently from France and the Gulf nations”, something that testifies the success of the Government’s reengagement thrust.

To date, he said, the Second Republic continues to experience the development of new and exciting international relations with immense prospects on the horizon.

The President commended the party for standing up against the illegal sanctions imposed on the country by some foreign nations as punishment for the land reform programme.

In his address he warned party officials from name-dropping and dabbling in corruption saying such practices have no place in Zanu-PF.

“Our revolutionary nature and the ongoing national development agenda demands that we engender a corrupt free Zimbabwe. Let us therefore shame, shun and expose all forms of corruption.

“To this end, name-dropping to camouflage criminal and corrupt behaviour is unacceptable. Those using such retrogressive and counter-revolutionary tactics must stop forthwith. Varikuita izvi, cherai chikomba musvipe mate,” said the President

In his address the President also condemned the gruesome murders of innocent and vulnerable children and appealed to Zimbabweans to work together to address these social ills and restore the values of Ubuntu/Hunhu.

Following his attendance at the Mashonaland East Provincial Coordinating Committee (PCC) meeting recently, President Mnangagwa said all provinces should convene economic development and political meetings in alternating sessions to keep track of national development.

“We must sustain and entrench the action-oriented culture of hard work and productivity. 2023 is just around the corner. Let us therefore keep implementing projects that will transform the quality of life of our people. The structures of the party must also be constantly organised and mobilised as if elections are on tomorrow,” he said.

Turning to the resounding victory of Chama Cha Mapinduzi in Tanzania, which won 262 of 264 parliamentary seats, President Mnangagwa said it must inspire Zanu-PF to vanquish the opposition in the forthcoming by-elections and subsequent 2023 harmonised general elections.