Story by Bruce Chahwanda, Political Editor
PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has implored SADC member states to move away from dependency on donors and the West, but to utilise existing resources and education to unlock maximum value for industrialisation.
As has become the tradition with ordinary SADC summits, a public lecture is delivered and this Thursday, the incoming SADC Chairperson President Emmerson Mnangagwa delivered a public lecture to students, industrialists and representatives of regional bodies at the University of Zimbabwe.
President Mnangagwa said the founding fathers of the trading bloc delivered political independence, hence the current generation should come up with measures to do away with dependency.
“In Zimbabwe we say, ‘A country is built, governed and prayed for, by its people/ Nyika inovakwa, inotongwa, inonamatigwa nevene vayo/Ilizwe lakhiwa, libuswe, likhulekelwe ngabanikazi balo.’ This underscores the weighty responsibility we all carry to drive development in our countries from both an individual and collective standpoint.
“Gone are the days where we depended on people from elsewhere to develop our economies, provide services for our communities and avail goods for our industries and commerce. The forebears and founding fathers of SADC fought for the political liberation, democracy, independence and freedom we are presently enjoying.
“This current generation of SADC citizens should take deliberate steps to exit perpetual dependency. It is at such forum that we should identify the goods being currently imported into the region so that our talented innovators and vibrant institutions can lead in import substitution,” said the President.
The Head of State further highlighted that Zimbabwe is ready to share its experiences with respect to educational model considering that SADC has unique opportunities for success.
“Zimbabwe is ready to share experiences of this journey with SADC member states as we evaluate, review and restructure our respective education model to drive the industrialisation and modernisation of our bloc.
“SADC has unique opportunities that position us for success. We have all the requirements to become an economic powerhouse on the global arena. We are endowed with a rich resource-base, resilient and interconnected people; vast arable land for agriculture; a wide array of minerals, a good climate, abundant wildlife as well as a rich culture.
“Our task is to unlock value from these diverse resources that we collectively share as a Bloc. Finally, let me reiterate the important need for SADC, to re-purpose our human capital resource pool and optimise production and productivity specialisation anchored on the right education philosophy and configuration,” the President said.
President Mnangagwa said member states must revisit their education system to embrace innovators and industrialists equipped with skills and competencies to produce goods locally.
“We must therefore transform the educational space to produce innovators and industrialists equipped with skills and competencies that develop products to meet the needs of our people. In Zimbabwe, our heritage-based Education 5.0 philosophy embraces research, innovation and industrialisation as important mandates for all levels of the education sector.
“This focuses on our God-given natural and cultural endowments to drive development. The appropriate research and innovation are fundamental to the advancement of both our domestic and regional development agenda.
“With the correct configuration of our education, innovation, science and technology ecosystems, we can unlock maximum value from our natural resources and human capacities. The change of the education framework has seen my Government setting aside a specific budget for innovation, research and development.”
Earlier, President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his two Vice Presidents, General (Rtd) Dr Constantino Chiwenga and Colonel (Rtd) Kembo Mohadi toured exhibitions and the vehicle number plates manufacturing plant at the University of Zimbabwe.
At least 30 institutions are exhibiting at the University of Zimbabwe and these include government agencies, universities, teachers’ colleges and polytechnics.
The University of Zimbabwe had more than 40 products with some already on the market to show commitment to the industrialisation agenda.
