NEWLY-APPOINTED minister of the new Ministry of National
Housing and Social Amenities, Daniel Garwe, said his ministry will push to
fulfil the interests and manifestos set by Zanu PF ahead of the 2018 general
elections.
Speaking soon after his swearing in at State House along
with Information Communications and Technologies minister Janfen Muswere, Garwe
said he was ready for his new role.
“We are here to further the interests of our party Zanu PF,
if Zanu PF says we are going to build houses, we are here to therefore take it
up to build those houses for the people of Zimbabwe,” Garwe said.
Ahead of the polls, Zanu PF promised to build five million
houses by 2023, to date no significant milestones has been made.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa in a Cabinet reshuffle
whittled the powers of Local Government and Public Works minister July Moyo,
who was in charge of housing, to bring in Garwe.
He also trimmed Perrance Shiri’s Lands, Agriculture, Water
and Rural Resettlements ministry to expand Mangaliso Ndlovu’s Ministry of
Environment, Climate Change, Tourism and Hospitality Industry.
The new minister said while the construction industry was
dormant owing to a declining economy, he was up for the challenge.
“The construction industry right now is dormant because of
the economic hardships that the country is going through,” Garwe said.
“We all know that it is a service industry, people would
want money to buy food to get in the stomach first before they think of
building houses. The industry is waiting for me now, it is a collective
responsibility, it is not the minister’s job alone, stakeholders must be
involved. It’s a key result area for government, it is a key result area for
me, it is a key result area for my party Zanu PF.”
He added: “Local Government is no longer constructing
houses; that responsibility has been taken to National Housing. However, this
is my first day; I have to sit down with my colleagues, and see how best we can
work in harmony. It is about inter-connectedness of responsibilities.”
Muswere, who is the former ICT deputy, said his immediate
task would be to strike a balance between affordability of data and
sustainability of service providers.
“The basis of the entire mobile network operators and the
fixed network operators is to ensure that their businesses are viable but also
to ensure that we protect the consumers of Zimbabwe,” he said.
Muswere said he would ensure an acceleration of
connectivity and prioritise access to modern technologies.
“Generally, what we are expecting is an acceleration of a
knowledge-based society, through ubiquitous connectivity,” Muswere said.
“If you are looking at the pre-budget seminar, we are
covering mainly the infrastructure sectors, which is in line with the
Transitional Stabilisation Programme … we are going to be more about results.” Newsday
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