Story by Tafara Chikumira.
THE Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Magcor Consortium Group of Companies for a US$450 million investment to construct new schools and upgrade existing education infrastructure under the Zimbabwe National Education Advancement Initiative.
The investment will support the construction of more than 1 000 new primary and secondary schools in the initial phase, aimed at improving access to quality education across the country.
Chief Executive Officer of Magcor Consortium Group of Companies, Mr Michael Glynn, said implementation is expected to begin within the next three months.
“This is non-recourse funding. We intend to start in the next 60 to 90 days. We are ready to hit the ground running. This investment is not only to build schools, but we are also going to build accommodation for teachers, provide Wi-Fi in schools and address school feeding as part of the broader programme,” he said.
Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Honourable Torerayi Moyo, welcomed the partnership, saying it will help address the country’s shortage of schools.
“This MoU is set to deal with the deficit of 1 800 schools. It will benefit both rural and urban communities. This has been made possible by the able leadership of President Dr Emmerson Mnangagwa, who has opened the door for business to flourish. We also want to see the growth of laboratories and other facilities to promote innovation in schools. Our goal is to ensure learners do not travel more than five kilometres to access education,” he said.
The initiative is expected to strengthen Zimbabwe’s education infrastructure, reduce the national school deficit and support the implementation of the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2) as the country advances towards Vision 2030.
