Vision 2030 will fire up economy

National development and the attainment of Vision 2030 must be a collective effort involving all citizens with their elected leaders, Zanu PF national political commissar Cde Victor Matemadanda has said.

Everyone has an equal responsibility to make the wheels of the economy turn once again, whatever their political, religious and social status, he said.

Speaking at a Zanu-PF Manicaland provincial coordinating committee meeting in Mutare at the weekend, Cde Matemadanda said it was the responsibility of leaders to mobilise people in their communities and rally them to work towards improving their lives, as well as the development of the country.

“President Mnangagwa gave us a vision; we must achieve an upper middle income society by 2030,” he said. “But to do that, each person should work on uplifting the next person. If you are a leader, you have a responsibility to show the person in your sphere how they can improve their life.

“We should see the evidence that your community is changing in line with vision 2030. If you understand that Vision 2030 is about uplifting the next person, that it is no longer a Zanu PF thing, but everyone’s duty, then you are on the right path.

“Even opposition parties should come forth and show what they have contributed towards improving their communities. It is not something that we will just achieve in one day. It will happen gradually.”

Cde Matemadanda said the new dispensation brought in many positive changes, which should propel the country’s development agenda.

The focus on increasing productivity, he said, was one such area that needed the leadership to take charge.

“Government has put emphasis on the Pfumvudza programme this year and if you are a leader but are not taking part in this initiative, then you do not qualify to be called a leader,” said Cde Matemadanda.

“We are saying we want everyone to feed their families and the country, and you as a leader should be at the forefront and show everyone else how it is done.”

Pfumvudza promotes conservation farming techniques and involves the use of small plots for higher returns.

The entire smallholder sector has been given a target of 1,8 million tonnes of cereals and 360 000 tonnes oil seeds under the initiative to meet almost 90 percent of the country’s annual food requirements, with the A1 and A2 farmers then pushing forward from that base to take Zimbabwe into surplus.

Cde Matemadanda said everyone should be willing to learn new things for development to be realised.

“If you are not an expert in that area, you have to be willing to learn,” he said. “You should know how many people in your district or constituency have taken up the programme and what they need to meet production targets. This way you will propel production and uplift the lives of those around you.”

So far, 226 000 farmers in Manicaland have received training on the Pfumvudza programme and have prepared their land for the coming season.

The province has a target of training 250 000 farmers on Pfumvudza.-herald.cl.zw