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Tendai Mugabe, Harare Bureau

In a show of confidence in the new dispensation under President Mnangagwa, the United Arab Emirates has commended Zimbabwe’s commitment and dedication to the implementation of developmental projects that transform the lives of people.

 The emerging Asian giant said it operated in several countries but was impressed by Zimbabwe’s commitment and zeal.

As part of new governance culture, President Mnangagwa introduced a 100-day plan report that premières Government priority projects.

The 100-day cycle plan is an inclusive governance approach that enables Government to keep the public and stakeholders informed on the progress on projects being implemented.

Addressing journalists after meeting the Acting President Cde Kembo Mohadi at his Munhumutapa Offices yesterday, director of the development cooperation department in the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Rashed Al Hemeiri said Zimbabwe had the potential to flourish given its highly regarded education system and modern infrastructure.

Mr Al Hemeiri is in the country leading a delegation of ICT experts who are on a technical visit to study how they could help Zimbabwe to introduce e-governance in public hospitals.

The UAE is working with Estonia on the e-governance and smart health projects that will see public health institutions having patient records in digital form.

“We work in a lot of countries, we support a lot of countries but honestly for me personally I have not seen a Government with this kind of willingness and dedication and commitment to the projects like Zimbabwe – not only the Minister (of Health and Child Care) but also the whole Government team.

“This (visit) was organised in a couple of days and we first spoke with the Minister end of December that we will do this and that and he said just tell me when you are ready,” said Mr Al Hemeiri. 

“There is great political willingness from both countries to take this relationship to the next level. It’s not just providing assistance and support in the health sector but may be you have seen that we have a new ambassador in Zimbabwe and investments coming to Zimbabwe. 

“We also have a lot of exchanges between the two governments. Zimbabwe has also opened their embassy in Abu Dhabi and this is a very clear sign that Zimbabwe has the potential to go to the next step – the education system, they have good infrastructure, they have everything to take you to the next level – it’s just may be a little engagement with the international community, especially with the new face of President Mnangagwa that it will go to the next level. 

“The e-health service is not a new project for the UAE to implement in Zimbabwe. There is a project at Chitungwiza Central Hospital and today we have a meeting with the Ministry of Health and the presentation on the system they are using, so it’s not something new but a continuation from what has been happening.”

Representing the Estonian team, director for development cooperation and humanitarian aid in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kadi Metsandi said: “This is a technical visit to assess your requirements for e-governance. 

“Together with UAE, this project we are going to launch is about digital transformation. We are very committed and we have already discussed the follow up steps and you will hear more from us. We are here to guide you with technical expertise you may need.” 

Acting President Mohadi welcomed the idea of e-governance saying the world was going digital and Zimbabwe should not lag behind.

“They are here to explore together with us and members from the Ministry of Health and Child Care and the Ministry of ICT ways of enhancing the e-governance or smart health,” said Acting President Mohadi.

“What we have been discussing is a situation whereby someone in the very remote area will then be in a position to access advice from a doctor from one of the central hospitals or a provincial hospital. Our friends from the UAE are interested in upgrading the infrastructure that we have got and they have so far adopted the Sally Mugabe Hospital and they are working on that and also the Estonian delegation is also into ICT on how to connect the patient with the doctor and then from there we can see what we can do but it’s a very good programme because we are all going digital, we are all going IT the world over. So we would want smart health and we would want to see e-governance as government goes towards e-governance.

“UAE is driving the e-governance part of it and Estonia is driving the smart health part of it. So they are here to facilitate to see to it that we get there now. Estonia is one of the leading countries in terms of e-governance in the world and they have come here to share that experience with us.”