TWO YEARS LATER : ED HAS ENDED POWER CUTS, CREATED BUDGET SURPLUS, SAYS GOVT

PRESIDENT Mnangagwa has in the past two years since his inauguration ended power cuts and turned a Budget deficit into a surplus while his Government continues to take steps to improve the welfare of the populace.

Articulating Government achievements in two years, in a two-minute video on Twitter yesterday, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Mr Nick Mangwana said the President’s Government turned a national Budget deficit into a cumulative surplus of $1,2 billion, in less than two years.

“The benefits of the surplus are subsidies to the general citizenry. Mealie-meal is being sold at $75 instead of the going market price of $400. Fares for Zupco are 20 percent of what private transporters charge. 

“We have given citizens in urban areas uninterrupted electricity supplies and connected business centres and homes in rural areas to the national power grid. We have rehabilitated rural urban roads,” said Mr Mangwana.

Roads under the Second Republic are being transformed, with major rehabilitation works being done along arterial highways that link the country to its neighbour and thus improving trades routes.

The surplus has also been channelled towards paying fees for children.

“We have also educated vulnerable children under the Basic Education Assistance Module. We have reintroduced the Zimbabwe dollar, and this has boosted exports and created jobs,” he said.

President Mnangagwa recently signed a US$3,5 billion Global Compensation Deed with former white farmers, an agreement which will see the latter, being compensated for development on farms.

“We have commissioned a US$3,5 billion fund to compensate commercial farmers. We have reintroduced the climate friendly and high-yield Pfumvudza farming project.

The reasons why Zimbabwe is now becoming an investment destination also include the repealing by the Second Republic of laws that repealed investors and structural reforms.

“We repealed the indigenisation law, replacing it with more business friendly empowerment laws. We have brought down the public wage bill from 92 percent of total revenues to below 50 percent, Zimbabwe is now number three on Africa’s budget transparency list”.

To improve the ease of doing business, the Government reintroduced the one-stop-shop under the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra).

“We reduced the period from starting a business from 32 days to 11 days. It now takes 150 days to start a construction permit down from 208 days. The property registration period has been cut down from 36 days to 14 days. Thanks to these reforms, Zimbabwe is on Africa’s top five doing business reformer list,” he said. 

Through opening up the airwaves new players have joined the broadcasting industry which had been hitherto dominated by one broadcaster.

“We have repealed AIPPA, we have repealed POSA”. As an administration open to dialogue and transparency the Government has started addressing Gukurahundi, something that was not possible in the past.

“Polad has enabled political players to interact with each other and Government. We empowered communities to develop under devolution policy. We have established innovation hubs at universities. Beitbridge Border Post has been expanded and modernised. Harare-Beitbridge Highway is being dualised.

“We have overseen the construction of the new parliamentary building. Makuti road is under construction. We constructed critical dams such as Gwai-Shangani Dams and Marovanyati, we have opened a new coal mine and facilitated the development of Arcadia lithium mines,” said Mr Mangwana.

Despite the debilitating effects of sanctions, the Second Republic continues to defy odds with most of the projects that are currently underway being funded locally. Herald

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