The birth of ‘Mr Groundbreaking’
In short, every nickname captures some moments in the days of our lives in a manner so satirical, yet telling. Mr Groundbreaking’s story tells itself. It is one full of toiling for the motherland. It is one pregnant with economic activity that has set Zim
AS WE grew up in rural Nyajena in Masvingo South, Guwa to be precise - that area sandwiched by Tugwi-Mukosi to the south-west, Mutirikwi River to the east and the mighty mountains of Morgenster Mission to the north, my buddies developed a habit of manufacturing nicknames for me.
Even when I later joined my father at that dusty cement manufacturing company at Colleen Bawn - 27km from Gwanda town and a stone’s throw away from West Nicholson - that place where some sumptuous beef used to be canned in Matabeleland South Province, my new accomplices would still birth nicknames for me as if mocking the womb from which I descended for failing to aptly apportion a befitting name.
Scream, shout and threaten murder, I would in anger at derision. Decades later, the answer is right on the wall.
Crafters of nicknames do so after careful thought. A nickname notoriously captures one’s deeds at a particular point in life. If you are a philanderer, nickname crafters will christen you Cde Casanova or worse still Cde Reza! If a thief, the name Gudo comes your way and sticks like tick to beast.
This week gave birth to “Mr Groundbreaking”. “Mr Groundbreaking” has been breaking the ground almost daily since November last year when he assumed office. This was after he briefly skipped the border at the height of insults and threats from a “Dr Stop It” and her hubby.
Yes, in the later days of her 94-year husband’s 37-year rule, “Dr Stop It” raged like the Greek wildfires, which besides consuming 74 lives so far, now threaten the mighty Athens.
She would shout at rallies specifically mobilised to undress her nemesis: “Who is Mnangagwa? Akatopinzwa basa nemurume wangu” before her piercing voice shrieked “Stop it, Mnangagwa stop it!” She was eventually nicknamed “Dr Stop It” before she was stopped last November, courtesy of Operation Restore Legacy, which seven months down the line has seen the birth of “Mr Groundbreaking” in President Mnangagwa.
In short, every nickname captures some moments in the days of our lives in a manner so satirical, yet telling.
“Mr Groundbreaking’s” story tells itself. It is one full of toiling for the motherland. It is one pregnant with economic activity that has set Zimbabwe on a trajectory that will see thousands of youths employed, infrastructure revamped to match world standards, food crowding the table and hunger finally fleeing our homes.
On March 28, President Mnangagwa hit the ground running by commissioning and switching on the $533 million Kariba South Power Station project, which added 300 megawatts to the national grid.
Completion of the Kariba South Power Station Extension project is testimony to Government’s commitment to addressing Zimbabwe’s energy requirements, while boosting economic productivity.
The project created 900 jobs, reduced the energy import bill and ensured access to power for a broader section of the population.
Still on power, fast forward to June 27, President Mnangagwa officiated at the groundbreaking ceremony for the $1,5 billion expansion of Hwange Thermal Power Station.
The project is expected to feed an additional 600MW into the national grid. It only started moving after President Mnangagwa visited China in April at the invitation of President Xi Jinping. The Hwange project will spur massive economic metamorphosis through increased supply of power to critical sectors like mining, agriculture and the manufacturing sector. It will create 7 000 jobs directly and indirectly at its peak.
In a move meant to grow the national herd, on June 22 in Gwanda, President Mnangagwa launched the Command Livestock Programme. He handed over 660 heifers to 151 beneficiaries, a majority of them poor in society who never dreamt of owning a beast.
The heifers comprised mostly Brahman, Brano and cross Brahman breeds and are part of the 1 660 head allocated to the province under the scheme. Still in Matabeleland South Province, on July 11, President Mnangagwa broke the ground for the $241 million Beitbridge expansion project.
The massive project will create employment and on completion, change the face of sub-Saharan Africa’s busiest port of entry. The major highlights of the project entail the construction of more commercial customs offices, paving and expansion of sewer and water reticulation facilities, separation of traffic into buses, light vehicles, tourists, commercial vehicles, and construction of a commercial bridge to link with South Africa, and the upgrading of Beitbridge Municipality’s key infrastructure.
The project creates thousands of jobs and lays the foundation for the modernisation of Beitbridge into a world-class commercial hub.
Away from the border project, on July 23, “Mr Groundbreaking” broke new ground when he commissioned the $153 million upgrading and rehabilitation of Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport in Harare. The project includes expansion of the international terminal building and aprons, installation of four new air bridges, a secondary radar system, construction of a VVIP pavilion, an airfield ground lighting system and communication systems.
The three-year project, besides being a catalyst for economic development, brings with it employment opportunities. It also supports the broader national aspirations towards transport and infrastructure network in the country and provides enablers to fully industrialise and modernise the economy. The project facilitates movement of cargo, tourists and investors.
Its other benefits were captured by President Mnangagwa when he commissioned the project this week.
“Upon completion, this project is expected to boost the current positive growth and transformation trends in trade and tourism. Further, it will facilitate trade in agricultural produce, minerals and other products with China, the Far East and Europe through enhanced air connectivity in line with existing air service agreements and the envisaged growth of every sector of our economy,” he said.
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