Zimbabwe has cut its poverty rate by nearly half since 1995, President Mnangagwa announced yesterday at the World Summit for Social Development, marking one of Africa’s most remarkable achievements in poverty reduction in recent decades.
The poverty
rate dropped from 62 percent to 38,3 percent between 1995 and 2019, while
primary school enrolment reached 88 percent, representing dramatic improvements
in living standards for millions of Zimbabweans.
The
announcement comes as Zimbabwe seeks international support for its bid for a UN
Security Council seat and reforms to global financial systems to ensure further
progress.
Addressing the
Second World Summit for Social Development in Doha, a high-level gathering
focused on reviving progress toward global poverty eradication and inclusive
economic growth, President Mnangagwa said despite facing challenges such as
climate change and punitive economic sanctions, Zimbabwe is recording progress
through people-tailored policies that are responsive to their needs.
This has been
anchored on flagship Government financed programmes such as the Basic Education
Assistance Module (Beam), which benefits over 1,5 million learners annually,
including children with disabilities, the Health Assistance Fund, which ensures
access to healthcare for vulnerable citizens and smart agriculture policies and
programmes that have ensured food security.
“In Zimbabwe,
our national commitment is informed by the Constitution, which enshrines
equality, social justice and the right to development.
“These
principles are operationalised through Vision 2030 and our national development
blueprint (National Development Strategy). They are also reflected in our
foreign policy of Engagement and Re-engagement, which is grounded in sovereign
equality, peaceful co-operation, solidarity and mutual respect among nations.
“On Poverty
Eradication: Zimbabwe has made headway towards reducing poverty and improving
access to education, healthcare and social protection. Poverty levels declined
from 62 percent in 1995 to 38,3 percent in 2019.
Primary school
enrolment has risen to 88 percent while adult literacy is 93,6 percent and life
expectancy is at 64,7 years,” the President told the Summit.
Massive
investment in climate-smart agriculture have led to successive bumper harvests
in cash crops such as tobacco, improving the lives and livelihoods of many
while the country is now self-sufficient in wheat production with a surplus for
exports.
To provide
social safety nets for the vulnerable, President Mnangagwa’s administration has
digitised social registries, thus ensuring no one and no place is left behind.
The President
added that the Summit, which will culminate in the adoption of a Doha
Declaration, should also lead to reform of the world governance and financial
architecture, which is presently skewed towards a few countries at the expense
of the majority.
“However,
progress remains constrained by coercive measures and unilateral sanctions
imposed on us, climate shocks and restricted access to development finance.
Zimbabwe, therefore, calls for reform of the international financial
architecture, debt relief and enhanced development financing, consistent with
the Seville Commitment on Financing for Development,” he said.
The Seville
Commitment is an agreement from the 4th International Conference on Financing
for Development (FfD4) that calls for a global reform of the financial
architecture to support sustainable development.
It places
emphasis on the need for greater, more equitable access to finance for
developing countries, sustainable investment and the role of development banks
in promoting innovation and addressing challenges like climate change and
inequality. The commitment aims to close the US$4 trillion annual financing gap
for the Sustainable Development Goals and sets out a high-level agenda for
future action, though some observers note its commitments are currently non
binding.
On job creation
and decent work, which is a key thematic area of the Summit, the President said
employment creation and decent work are central to Zimbabwe’s development
strategy, adding that the country has been promoting this through the National
Employment Policy Framework and Decent Work Country Programme, for enterprise
development, skills training and infrastructure investment.
“The 2024
Labour Force Survey shows unemployment at 20,5 percent, down from over 30
percent in the mid-1990s. Modernising and reforming the Labour Act are ongoing,
along with the strengthening of inspection systems and promotion of social
dialogue through the Tripartite Negotiating Forum.
“Zimbabwe also
participates in the ILO Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection for
Just Transitions, advancing green jobs, youth employment and women’s
empowerment”.
Turning to the
social inclusion and equality front, the President said these are both
constitutional and moral imperatives, with policies such as the National Social
Protection Policy; Disability Policy Gender Policy and Devolution Framework,
seeking to achieve the sustainable empowerment of communities so that no one
and no place is left behind.
“Through our
heritage-based Education 5.0 Model, we are promoting innovation and
entrepreneurship while the Women’s Bank and Youth Empowerment Bank provide
concessional finance. Women now hold leadership roles in every sector of
society, reflecting progress toward gender parity.
“Our
development philosophy which entrenches the belief that the duty to build,
modernise and industrialise our country is the responsibility of all citizens,
continues to inspire national unity and stewardship, a shared vision, hard work
and collective responsibility,” he said.
Sustainable
development, the President added cannot take root in an unequal global order
and the President called for the recognition of Africa’s special circumstances,
accompanied with the reforms of the international financial architecture and
total removal of unilateral coercive measures, which undermine development and
violate international law. Herald
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