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VP PHELEKEZELA MPHOKO

Tendai Mugabe Harare Bureau
PRESIDENT Mugabe has allocated newly appointed Vice Presidents Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa and Cde Phelekezela Mphoko specific ministries to superintend as government moves a gear up towards full implementation of Zim-Asset.

Cde Mnangagwa who is currently the Acting President told captains of industry who visited him at his farm in Kwekwe at the weekend that soon after their appointments, President Mugabe outlined their duties and the specific areas they should direct.

Ministries that fall under Cde Mnangagwa’s purview include Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development, Health and Child Care, Lands and Rural Resettlement, Public Service and Social Welfare, Mines and Mining Development, Tourism and Hospitality, Higher and Tertiary Education, Sports, Arts and Culture and Small to Medium Enterprises and Cooperative Development.

This effectively means that VP Mphoko who is also responsible for national healing would be in charge of all the security ministries that include Home Affairs, Defence and Presidential Affairs.

He would also direct operations in the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development, Foreign Affairs, Indigenisation, Youths and Development, Local Government and Urban Development, Energy and Power Development, Women and Gender Development, Information, Media and Broadcasting Services and Information, Communication and Technology.

“There’re two new Vice-Presidents and we’ve been allocated responsibilities,” Cde Mnangagwa said.

“I’m not really new in government. I’ve been around for a bit since 1980 and I’ve moved around a bit. So, on the average I understand how government works.”

Going into the New Year, Cde Mnagagwa said, government would commit its energy towards resuscitation of industry.

“Overall we want to grow our economy. We want to improve the lot of our people. We want to create employment, to grow our industry, our mining sector and our manufacturing sector.”

Cde Mnangagwa said government was dependent on captains of industry to know what challenges are inhibiting growth of the economy.

He said government was more focused on projects with quick results and restore hope in the generality of Zimbabweans.

“There’re areas which can quickly show results and there’re others which require longer gestation to realise the benefits,” he said.

“Because of what has happened in this country, we would want to prioritise these issues and see things that can quickly bring about creation of employment, bring about development, bring about hope in our people and this will depend on yourselves telling us from where you work to say in our area these are things we want you to address.”

Cde Mnangagwa said he would soon invite the captains of industry sector by sector to discuss challenges and opportunities presenting in their areas.