Victory to cement legacy: VP Chiwenga
PRESIDENT Mnangagwa’s victory in next week’s harmonised elections is about building a new Zimbabwe, with a legacy to be appreciated for generations to come, Vice President Constantino Chiwenga has said.
The President’s vision, VP Chiwenga said, was about setting Zimbabwe on a new trajectory that ensures that Zimbabwe never experiences the pain of past failures and mistakes.
He was addressing thousands of Zanu-PF party supporters at Mafuta Farm, Raffingora, in Zvimba North constituency at a rally to drum up support for aspiring candidate Cde Marian Chombo and councillors in the area.
“We are saying vote for President Mnangagwa and Zanu-PF because we are building a Zimbabwe we all want,” said VP Chiwenga. “Zimbabwe yatinoda, yatichasiira nhaka kuvana. Kwete kuti vana vechidiki vagosvipira makuva edu kuti imbwa idzi dzakaondonga nyika yedu. Isu hatidi.
“We want to build a Zimbabwe that is different from the past one. What happened yesterday is now in the past and it shall never be allowed to happen again.”
Zimbabwe has gone through an economic downturn which peaked between 2007/9, with hyperinflation leading to a moribund currency and an exodus of people to regional and international countries.
The new dispensation has set out to build pillars for a growing economy that will be able to create jobs through resuscitating industry and attracting investment for new ventures.
VP Chiwenga said devolution of governance and province-based economic growth was one of the key pillars to accelerate and spread development.
“What is found here in terms of resources, what we call the provincial Gross Domestic Product, should remain here because it is only through the local structures and vulnerable communities that priority areas are known,” he said.
“The new dispensation led by President Mnangagwa wants to ensure that development is rapid and uniform throughout the country. Each province has its own resources.”
VP Chiwenga said Zimbabwe’s development would be anchored on value addition and beneficiation, which ensures creation of jobs and increased revenue for the provinces.
He said value addition centres should be established in all the country’s provinces.
“Mashonaland West province is an agriculture hub and we want the wheat and maize that we produce to be processed in the province, create employment and contribute towards the development of the province,” he said.
VP Chiwenga said milling companies must engage farmers to ensure adequate supply of wheat and maize.
He emphasised the need for Zimbabweans to embrace a culture of hard work, before warning that those caught engaging in corruption would be brought to book.
“We are saying that people should get rich through hard work and not want to get rich overnight,” said VP Chiwenga. “Zvehumbavha kwete, zvehugumha gumha kwete. People need to earn their living properly. Tinoda vanhu vanoti tinodya cheziya.”
VP Chiwenga said multiple farm ownership was a form of corruption which will not be tolerated in the new dispensation.
He said there should be a bigger hospital in Banket to reduce the distance travelled when people were referred from the various clinics in the area.
Most cases are referred to Chinhoyi Provincial Hospital.
VP Chiwenga said Government will improve access to health through resuscitation of operations at pharmaceutical giants Caps Holdings with the assistance of the World Health Organisation.
“The World Health Organisation looked at the Caps Holdings plant and condemned the facilities,” he said. “So, we want to re-equip and retool Caps Holdings so that it is able to manufacture all the drugs we need in the country.”
VP Chiwenga said Government was working on an elaborate plan to improve access to laboratory facilities in the country to meet the country’s science field requirements.
He reiterated Government’s position that no child should be expelled from school for failing to pay school fees.
VP Chiwenga said Government would increase its commitment towards the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) and scholarships.
He tasked Government officials in the province to start identifying areas that need new schools.
On roads, he said the Banket-Raffingora-Guruve Road would be tarred to boost economic activity in the constituency.