President Mnangagwa yesterday held his inaugural meeting
with members of the Presidential Advisory Council (PAC) and exhorted them to
quickly give impetus to the Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP) by
proffering advice and assisting in the formulation of key economic strategies
that advance Vision 2030.
The Head of State and Government said to propel development
and improve people’s livelihoods, the PAC members should expend more energy
towards supporting the TSP and policy pronouncements made under the Second
Republic.
TSP is the Government’s economic blue print covering the
period 2018 to 2020. “The Transitional Stabilisation Programme and the various
policy pronouncements made under the Second Republic should be a beacon through
which we must unleash our full potential towards the attainment of Vision
2030,” President Mnangagwa said.
“We must therefore proffer our views, recommendations and
solutions alive to the interests of the majority. Let us give due regard to the
undeniable need to uplift the quality of life of the millions of our people
throughout the country. As the Presidential Advisory Council your work
programme should be informed by the immense opportunities in every sector in
our nation and the various strategies we need to grow and develop our economy.
The present challenges must never obscure or limit what we can become or what
we should do, now and in the future. I challenge you to be informed by the hope
of a better and more prosperous tomorrow.”
The advisory council comprises experts and leaders drawn
from diverse sectors such as business, health and social protection,
agriculture, governance and human rights, faith-based organisations, tourism,
education, minorities, ICT, civic society, communication and media management.
All its 26 members attended yesterday’s meeting at State
House save for three who were away on business.
Vice Presidents Constantino Chiwenga and Kembo Mohadi,
Cabinet ministers and senior Government officials were also part of the
proceedings.
President Mnangagwa said the “Zimbabwe we want” will only
be built through a collective, patriotic approach and singleness of purpose.
“That is the reason we gather today, with the overriding
objective of working together towards attainment of an ambitious and yet
achievable shared vision of becoming a middle income (economy) by 2030,” he
said.
“Furthermore, we realise that nations, the world over, have
to operate within a more interconnected and complex policy environment. This
has given rise to the need for a greater involvement of private sector players
in the governance and policy discourse. It is against this background that I
saw it fit to constitute a Presidential Advisory Council. You are a team of
experts and leaders from across a broad spectrum of professional skills to
proffer strategic advice, guidance, information and recommendations on policies
that support key goals under Vision 2030.”
President Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe continued to suffer from
the deleterious effects of illegal sanctions imposed by the West hence the need
for it to leapfrog development, modernisation and industrialisation of every
facet of its economy to catch up with other countries.
“Going forward, there is also need for us to harness our
potential in the various spheres of the economy through leveraging on our
geo-strategic location to attract investment and facilitate trade across the
region,” he said.
“To this end, we are convinced that the rapid development
and transformation strategies for economic development adopted by my
administration will yield desired successes. Meanwhile, the engagement and
re-engagement policy, stabilisation of the macroeconomic environment, zero
tolerance to corruption, observance of rule of law and entrenchment of
democratic values as well as the implementation of devolution and
decentralisation of economic activity to provinces and local authorities for
social equity should result in the marked improvement of the socio-economic
landscape of our country. Let us build on this broad foundation and give
impetus and momentum towards full economic recovery, development and prosperity
for all our people.”
President Mnangagwa said interaction between him,
Government officials and PAC members should be flexible and responsive while
hinged on patriotism, trust, candidness and confidentiality.
“Allow me to assure you that members of my administration,
at every level, will be receptive to your ideas, which must be informed and
guided by national interests all the time,” he said.
“A collective approach implies collective responsibility
with regards agreed and adopted positions. This is a fundamental principle. We
must therefore seek to proffer strategies on how to develop, modernise and
industrialise every part of our country, improve our infrastructure, speed up
the development of rural industry systems as well as increase our overall
productivity and exports to effectively enter and participate in the global
value chains. Let us harness our collective capacities to create conditions
where peace, unity and development can flourish in our country. Guided by our
mantra ‘Zimbabwe is Open for Business’ our actions should never lag behind
global developments and expectations. Together let us sharpen our focus and
make solid footsteps as we define and walk the road towards delivering the
Zimbabwe we want.”
The PAC members, whose contribution is voluntary, will hold
office for the duration of the President’s tenure of office. Herald
0 comments:
Post a Comment