Change model to accelerate economic growth, CEOs urged
ACTING President Dr Constantino Chiwenga has challenged business leaders to collectively work together in transforming Zimbabwe’s economic model to ensure the country’s prosperity in line with the aspirations of Vision 2030.
The Second Republic under the administration of President Mnangagwa has set sights on transforming Zimbabwe into a prosperous upper-middle-income economy by 2030.
Vision 2030 entails charting a new transformative and inclusive development agenda while simultaneously addressing the global targets of Sustainable Development Goals ( SDGs) and Africa Agenda 2063.
In his keynote address at the CEO Africa Annual Roundtable here yesterday, Acting President Chiwenga urged captains of industry and commerce, private and public sector players to continue collaborating with the Government to drive economic development.
“This should be done in harmony with aspirations to achieve an empowered and prosperous upper-middle-income economy by 2030.
“The past decade has shown us just how quickly industry transformation can happen when you reimagine and re-engineer the business model.
“In order to secure our future and to prosper, we need to evolve our economic model. Therefore, to move forward, we need nothing short of a paradigm shift, one that inspires action at revolutionary levels and pace,” he said.
The 8th edition of the CEO Africa Annual Roundtable, which began on Wednesday and ends tomorrow, is being held under the theme, “Advancing systematic leadership and shaping a better future for all”.
This year’s event has attracted a total of 250 delegates from within Zimbabwe and Africa to pull in unison to foster economic transformation and prosperity.
In 2021, the CEO Africa Annual Roundtable conference focused on galvanising strategies to emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Acting President Chiwenga said changing the existing trajectory required bold and imaginative action, together with determination and decisive leadership.
Starting this year and going forward, he said, should be the time for solutions and practical action.
“With our NDS 1 (National Development Strategy 1) and Vision 2030 in mind, the good news is that they are well within our reach if we all pull together in a coordinated initiative to tackle the threats.
“Let me challenge you all to shift your mindsets to a default setting of ‘sustainability’. For sustainable markets this means everyone in a leadership role putting genuine sustainability at the centre of our business models, our analysis, our decisions and our actions,” he said.
NDS I is the Government’s five-year economic blueprint anchoring the economy between 2021 and 2025 charting the policies to transform Zimbabwe into an upper middle-income economy by 2025.
Dr Chiwenga said the Government is committed to identifying game-changers and barriers to transition to an upper-middle-income country by 2030.
“We need to identify, showcase and invest in the game-changing technologies and solutions that are emerging around the world.
“To accelerate, we must also identify the barriers to progress, be it policy, regulation, infrastructure, investment or the wider enabling environment. Often, I have found, it is simply about bringing the right people together to help lift those roadblocks out of the way.
“More importantly, connecting investments to investable using platforms that can rapidly scale solutions is a must,”he said, adding that it is time to align sustainable solutions with funding in a way that can transform the market place.