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Thupeyo Muleya, Beitbridge Bureau
THE Government has moved a gear up in operationalising the principles of devolution to push economic and sustainable development from community to national level to realise Vision 2030.

The vision, as enunciated by President Mnangagwa, is to turn the country into an upper-middle-class economy by that year.

This was said by the minister responsible for Monitoring and Evaluation in the Office of the President, Dr Joram Gumbo while touring an amacimbi/madora processing plant in the Matshiloni area of Beitbridge.

He said devolution demanded that provincial authorities be empowered to spearhead economic and social development in their jurisdictions by leveraging local resources.

“In this regard, my office will work closely with the provinces to ensure that provincial flagship projects are successfully implemented through the Rapid Results Initiative.

The Government has also adopted the 100-day target-based program to expedite project implementation and to address anomalies associated with project implementation,” said Dr Gumbo.

He said the revival of the country’s economic fortunes needed everyone’s support including those in the Government and the private sector.

Dr Gumbo said in the past most Government projects’ implementation was hindered by various sector performance deficiencies hence the need for a phased work programme.

“The adoption of the 100-day target-based programme symbolises the Government’s commitment to expeditiously implement projects for the benefit of citizens. My previous visits to different projects under the programme bear testimony that Rapid Results Approach is yielding positive results and is contributing to the improvement of the livelihoods of our people,” said the Minister.

He said the Government was intent on ensuring that the 100-day target-based programme will lead to the realisation of development goals set out in the Transitional Stabilisation Programme which will be succeeded today by the National Development Strategy 1.

Dr Gumbo commended the Rovhona Raita Co-operative in Beitbridge which initiated the setting up of the amacimbi and multi-purpose processing plant.

He said the project fitted well into the devolution concept which promotes the economic growth of local economies driven by resources within different communities.

“Zimbabwe has the potential to earn significant revenue from the export of mopane worms (amacimbi) to Europe, Japan, and other countries in the region where they are highly sought after.
“These (amacimbi) are rich in various nutrients, according to food experts and these are areas therefore where we have a comparative advantage but we are not making use of it,” said the Minister.

He said it was very critical for the Government to avail resources to construct the requisite infrastructure to promote the growth of small to medium enterprises nationwide.

Dr Gumbo said the processing of amacimbi and other horticulture produce was in line with the thrust of the Government to promote value addition and beneficiation.

He said the plant will not only boost employment but will also reduce post-harvest losses, transportation costs, provide proper grading infrastructure and address the problem of depressed prices, especially among small-scale traders.

“The plant will also play a critical role in addressing hygiene issues associated with the processing of amacimbi and thereby empowering local traders to be competitive.

“At the same time, we are concerned with the case of deforestation where some people cut down trees to harvest amacimbi. This is unacceptable, we need to review the harvesting methodologies and also create mopane tree nurseries to replenish the natural resources,” said Dr Gumbo. — @tupeyo