President Mnangagwa yesterday opened up on his infamous Gwanda poisoning incident in 2017, saying the medical treatment that saved his life after being airlifted to South Africa inspired his mantra that a country can only be built by its own citizens (Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo).
He said this during an interactive meeting with the
business community in Kwekwe yesterday, which had ambushed him for the meeting
to discuss the current economic situation.
Since taking over the reins as the Head of State and
Government in November 2017, President Mnangagwa has been rallying Zimbabweans
to unite and work together for the betterment of the country.
Addressing the Kwekwe business community meeting at a local
hotel, President Mnangagwa said the Second Republic had been working on
revamping all sectors of the economy, including the health sector.
“Most of you would remember that in August 2017, I had an incident of poisoning in
Gwanda and I was airlifted to Gweru,” he said. “General Chiwenga then came to
pick me up, airlifting me to South Africa.
“In South Africa, I was exposed to some expert medical
attention and that’s when I made a decision that this kind of medical
technology should also be there in Zimbabwe. I had no idea then that they had
decided to fire me back home.”
President Mnangagwa said the medical treatment that he
received in South Africa inspired his vision for Zimbabwe’s health delivery
system which he was now advocating.
He said Zimbabwe was for Zimbabweans and the Second
Republic was determined to turn the country into a jewel, albeit with some
painful austerity measures that might hurt Zimbabweans, but temporarily.
He said the journey towards a sound health system had
started with the opening of a state-of-the-art pathology and diagnostic
research centre in the Midlands.
The President had opened the Midlands State University
National Pathology and Diagnostic Centre in Gweru before he addressed the
business meeting in Kwekwe.
He said Zimbabwe was on a recovery path under the Second
Republic.
He challenged Zimbabweans to be vigilant, working as a unit
to overcome the illegal sanctions imposed on the country.
“So, under the Second Republic, we said nyika inovakwa
nevene vayo, we must not continue to cry and mourn about the illegal sanctions
that were imposed on us,” said President Mnangagwa. “We must look to what God
has given us and take advantage of that.
“What ever we eat we must be able to produce, what ever we
wear we must be able to produce as well.”
President Mnangagwa said there could be some temporary
economic pains that were bound to be felt by
the ordinary Zimbabweans as the Government sought to put the economy on the
right track. He said there were some few economic saboteurs in the economy who
the Government was dealing with.
“Of course, there are a sizeable number of people in the
economy who are saboteurs, but if we work as a unit we will conquer them,” he
said. “There might be some pain felt along the way, but we will get there. What
is needed is to focus on the positives and forget about the minor challenges.”
The Head of State and Government said the Second Republic
had scored a number of successes in the economy in the last few years, with the
industry picking up from 35 percent capacity utilisation to around 68 percent
this year.
“In 2018, industrial utilisation was around 35 percent and
now we are at 68 percent and we must be proud of ourselves,” he said. “The
shelve product content on our supermarkets was at 42 percent domestic content
and we are now at 72 percent. All that is progress.
“We have our problems, but we should not cry and mourn
about these minor challenges. These policies we feel are a pain but there are
to cure some diseases and it will be a thing of the past soon.”
In their presentations to the President, the business
community applauded the Second Republic for creating an enabling environment
for industry.
Chairperson of the Kwekwe Business Community, Mr Thakor
Patel, said the Second Republic had created a conducive environment for
business through policies and other financial support systems that had seen
industrial capacity utilisation growing from a mere 35 percent in 2018 to
around 68 percent this year.
“We have been cut off from any financial support by the
Western countries, but the Second Republic has come up with some supportive
polices that have seen businesses growing,” he said. “This is a true sign of
visionary leadership by His Excellency President Mnangagwa and we have
continued to thrive despite these sanctions.”
Mr Patel urged fellow business people to take advantage of
the conducive environment to seize opportunities to grow the economy.
“Let us take advantage of the conducive environment created
by His Excellency,” he said. “The Government has made available loans from the
banks, land for agriculture and mining as well. Let’s stop complaining about
minor challenges and find solutions to grow our economy. Herald
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