The Herald (Zimbabwe)

ED guarantees free, fair polls

- Tendai Mugabe Senior Reporter

PRESIDENT Mnangagwa says Government is putting in place measures to ensure the country conducts free, fair and credible elections due in the next few months.

Addressing captains of industry in Harare on Thursday, President Mnangagwa implored politician­s to campaign for political office peacefully.

“We also have a stable political environmen­t despite the fact that we are a few months away from harmonised elections,” he said.

“My administra­tion will continue to urge politician­s and the electorate to campaign for political office peacefully and compete for positions in a manner that demonstrat­es political maturity, diversity and tolerance.

“Government says no to politicall­y motivated violence and measures have been put in place to ensure holding of free, fair and credible elections.”

President Mnangagwa said he would remain a listening President and he was always ready to engage in dialogue for the good of the nation.

He said if people worked together, Zimbabwe would achieve a middle class economy by 2030.

“The onus is upon us to determine our own destiny,” he said.

“I urge all of us to uphold good work ethics, be principled and discipline­d in our daily work as we rebuild our country. The future of our children and economy lies in our hands and this country bears a huge growth potential for sustainabl­e developmen­t.”

To accelerate economic developmen­t, President Mnangagwa said Government was working on a onestop shop investment centre to ease the doing of business.

Said President Mnangagwa: “Government is seized with the operationa­lisation of the One-Stop Investment Centre where relevant Government agencies are housed under one roof, coordinate­d and streamline­d, to provide efficient and transparen­t services to potential investors.

“The centre will be strategica­lly located and will aim at shortening and simplifyin­g administra­tive procedures for the issuance of business approvals, permits and licences and company incorporat­ion. This removes unnecessar­y bottleneck­s, delays and red tape currently faced by investors.”

He said the initiative was in line with Government’s rapid results approach aimed at easing the doing business in the country.

President Mnangagwa continued: “Our private sector should be at the forefront in building this Zimbabwe which we can all be proud of. As custodians of the means of production and leaders in the private sector, I exhort you to continue to be resilient, to be buoyant and strive to resuscitat­e companies, maintain ailing ones and establish new ones.

“The time of conferenci­ng, meetings after meetings has lapsed. It’s time for action and to deliver. This requires diligence, foregoing of short-term benefits for long term benefits.”

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