Story by Bruce Chahwanda, Political Editor
Government will continue funding infrastructure development projects which have resulted in positive spill-offs across other sectors of the economy.
This was revealed by President Emmerson Mnangagwa when he presented a State of the Nation Address at the New Parliament Building in Mt Hampden on Wednesday.
Infrastructure development remains at the core of the Second Republic, with several projects being rolled out in both urban and rural areas.
President Mnangagwa said government will continue availing requisite funding and technical support for infrastructure development.
“Widespread infrastructure development projects have resulted in positive spill-offs across other sectors of the economy. The Nhimbe/Ilima Programme has been modified to see provincial road authorities pooling together equipment into single construction units to implement works on prioritized projects at the local level. The requisite funding and technical support for the initiative will be availed by government. Going into the future, infrastructure development will be critical pillar to our economic growth, revitalization and creation of jobs as well as stimulation of broader production and capacity utilization,” he said.
The utilisation of existing water bodies has been cited as critical in dealing with the vagaries of climate change on agriculture.
“For the upcoming summer season, ARDA has been given a target of 500 000 tonnes of cereals for the strategic Grain Reserve. Water harvesting remains critical to climate change mitigation and adaptation towards complementing rain-fed production systems. The full utilisation of small dams and weirs around the bigger dams is top priority to my Administration. The Rural Infrastructure Development Agency has scaled up assistance to communities with tillage activities as the summer farming season draws closer. Beyond water provision, Government has rolled out a programme to bolster hay-bailing and transportation to drier regions,” said the President
President Mnangagwa reaffirmed government’s commitment to improving the health delivery statement through availing resources for the acquisition of medical equipment.
“Government is availing resources for the acquisition of essential medicines and specialist medical equipment for all our Central, Provincial and District hospitals. In line with emerging technologies, the introduction of telemedicine to facilitate virtual specialist consultations, for citizens in remote parts of our country, is being speeded up. Under the on-going health sector reforms, Government is implementing measures to ensure universal health coverage and lifting our people from the burden of disease.”
The full utilisation of solar energy has been emphasised, with government looking forward to the commissioning of several projects by Independent Power Producers to increase power generation.
