Law-making, statecraft levers strengthened
THE opening of the 10th session of Parliament after ZANU PF reclaimed its mass mandate in the just-ended polls puts an end to the election cycle.
THE time for revisiting the unfinished legislative business of the previous session of Parliament motions the Second Republic’s consistent law-making continuity.
As further underscored by His Excellency President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa at the recently held ZANU PF Central Committee meeting, any hopes for a Government of National Unity (GNU) must be dispelled, inasmuch as any National Transitional Authority fetish must be dismissed.
As President Mnangagwa opened Parliament, he relaunched its checks and balances anchoring role to the Executive — a sign of his devout subordination to constitutionalism.
In the process, he closed the election nostalgia chapter. To this end, our party, ZANU PF, should capitalise on its majority status to champion a progressive legislative mandate that focuses the nation on unity.
ZANU PF, as the mother entity of our national democracy, must ensure that its majority power-bearing status in Parliament enforces Zimbabwe’s deepening political and economic democracy.
True to that cause, and without mincing his words, President Mnangagwa emphasised: “The Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill; Public Finance Management Amendment Bill; Medical Services Amendment Bill; Insurance Bill and the Private Voluntary Organisation Bill, which were outstanding from the Ninth Parliament, must be concluded during the First Session of this Parliament.”
Turning to the media, the mandate of the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services was cut out once more.
Our constitutional obligation to inform must be broadened to ensure that national pride is packaged through new media.
The role of community media platforms will be key in driving this agenda. The ministry’s output to the devolution agenda will also be broadened through provincial media tours.
This way, the Second Republic’s self-evident policy milestones will be reamplified.
The provincial- and constituency-inclined media spotlight-beaming will also be important in giving the people an opportunity to speak back to their Government by way of proposing policy interventions to the lived experiences of their societies.
As we leapfrog towards the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS 2), it is most appropriate for us to appreciate the fiscal consolidation and budget sustainability of NDS1. The vibrancy of Government communication institutions must be strengthened with a view to listening to the populace’s needs and spur those views into policy action by Central Government.
The anthropological beauty of what it means to be Zimbabwean is another equivalent of what America has harnessed from its Hollywood flagship and what India is making out of its Bollywood film sector.
With the continued global intertwining of internet access to broadcasting, it is becoming clear that the media is an important lever to Zimbabwe’s engagement and re-engagement policy.
From an international image-building perspective, given the growth of the mining sector, our geological exploration stories must be produced to advertise Zimbabwe’s subsoil endowments.
The unprecedented and rapid growth of the mining sector from US$2,8 billion in 2017 to the current US$12 billion, which is propelling socio-economic development, also needs to be highlighted.
To mainstream small-scale and artisanal mining, Government established a US$10 million Mining Industry Loan Fund.
Moving forward, a series of highlevel public service appointments in the Office of the President and Cabinet and line ministries beckon the realignment of statecraft needs to the virtues of the post-23 August new political season.
Government is now fully constituted and all current policy endeavours are linked to consolidating ZANU PF’s current popularity base ahead of the 2028 harmonised election.
In reinforcing that cause, ZANU PF will be hosting the 19th National People’s Conference this month to draw its policy resolutions for the coming years.
Meanwhile, a fertile ground for the engagement and re-engagement policy was set through Zimbabwe’s participation at the recently held United Nations General Assembly. There, several African Heads of State called for the unconditional removal of illegal sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe.
This was also an imperative philosophical and revolutionary expression of the Global South’s condemnation of how the sanctions have haemorrhaged Zimbabwe’s economy.
Africa spoke and Africa is speaking, and we should perhaps think of Africa speaking again: Sanctions must fall!
Again, this past week, President Mnangagwa toured the modernised Beitbridge Border Post with his South African counterpart President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Meanwhile, the same rehabilitation initiatives with respect to the Chirundu Border Post point to a lucid strategic output of modernisation of the movement of goods and services across the North and Southern corridors of our nation.
The same development has been noted with respect to the massive makeover of the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport.
Put together, the development of these ports of entry symbolically depict how the Second Republic is modelling itself to be an optimal destination of capital.
The road rehabilitation projects of the Second Republic emphasise Government’s commitment to championing ease of access for goods and services.
Zimbabwe’s inland geospatial comparative advantage makes it even more strategic for promoting industry and commerce in the SADC region.
Such developments add more value to the conceptual mandate of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), thus displaying Zimbabwe’s strategic position in championing regional and continental prosperity.
Such is the most modest characterisation of what Vision 2030, under ZANU PF and President Mnangagwa, entails.
Therefore, all Zimbabweans must rally behind this vision.
This new political season with a fresh Cabinet offers a clarion call for all Zimbabweans to unite in building their nation. The new political climate calls for cultivation of ideas that bind us to peace and development. The time to unite, for better or worse, is now.