Sikhumbuzo Moyo, [email protected]
THE venue for the Zanu-PF Annual People’s Conference in Bulawayo was a hive of activity yesterday as various business organisations pitched exhibition stands to showcase their goods and services in solidarity with the gathering’s focus on the economy and development issues.
About 4 000 party delegates are expected to descend on Bulawayo this week for the crucial indaba, which began yesterday with the Politburo meeting in Harare and will run up to Saturday under the theme: “Industrialise and Modernise Towards Attainment of Vision 2030.”
While the main conference proceedings will be hosted in Hall Four at the Zimbabwe International Exhibition Centre, Hall Five was already fully occupied yesterday with spillovers of business exhibitors occupying any available space outside.
Among these are major players in transport and logistics, mining, agriculture, telecoms, universities, health and commerce entities who have also been joined by Government ministries and departments, who were putting final touches to their stands.
Two of the country’s major players in the mobile communication industry, NetOne and Econet, had already set up mobile booster equipment to complement the permanent ones to provide seamless and efficient communication for the delegates during the conference.
Hillside Teachers College and Mkoba Teachers College are among the country’s top institutions showcasing their innovations while the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) and seed-producing companies were already set.
Those who spoke to this news crew said exhibiting at the ruling party’s expo was a signal of conviction that politics influences business hence the business expo, which resonates well with President Mnangagwa’s Philosophy; “Zimbabwe is open for business”.
Contacted for comment, Zanu-PF politburo member and secretary for business, Cde Elifasi Mashaba, said the huge business and industry presence was a confirmation that the economic policies being implemented by the party and Government were impacting positively on the national economy.
“We are extremely overwhelmed by such a massive turnout of exhibitors, a seal of approval to the party policies and President Mnangagwa’s wise leadership acumen,” he said.
“Besides party members that will attend the conference, we have guests, which provides a rich ground to do business. The entire Government will be at the conference,” said Cde Mashaba.
He said the party continues to call for more exhibitors, especially Small and Medium Enterprises (SME).
President Mnangagwa is expected to deliver his keynote address to conference delegates on Friday before officially closing the event on Saturday after presentations to the conference by the party’s thematic committees.
The party has said that the major focus of the conference will be anchored on the state of the economy, the party and the welfare of the people.
While during the First Republic, the National People’s Conference was hosted in December, the Second Republic shifted it to October to allow the party’s resolutions to align with the National Budget for the coming year.
As the guide to the Government, the party’s conference resolutions will influence policy, which must translate into projects and programmes for implementation to change the lives of citizens as the nation surges towards an upper-middle income economy by 2030.
The conference comes at a time the Second Republic has embarked on a series of economic reforms aimed at revitalising Zimbabwe’s economy and setting it on a path towards achieving Vision 2030, a blueprint for transforming the nation into an upper-middle-income economy.
Central to these reforms is the emphasis on leveraging Zimbabwe’s abundant natural resources, fostering a conducive business environment and attracting foreign investment to drive economic growth.
The Government has introduced policies to attract investment in the mining sector, streamline regulations and promote sustainable exploitation of these resources for the benefit of the economy and its citizens.
Under President Mnangagwa, Zimbabwe continues to successfully implement people-centric, life-changing and high-impact programmes and projects across all sectors of the economy through homegrown solutions and exploitation of the country’s natural resources.
Landmark achievements have been registered towards the betterment of Zimbabweans with tangible programmes and projects delivered in agriculture, mining, social services and transport leading the transformative agenda.
Accelerating the construction of high-impact dams in a bid to increase the area of crops under irrigation is one of the key milestones. Some of the dams include Gwayi-Tshangani Dam, Kunzvi Dam, Bindura, Tuli- Manyange, Semwa, Vungu and Defe-Dopota. In the past five years, the Government has also taken bold steps to construct Zimbabwe’s roads, which marks significant progress in infrastructure development, paving the way for better connectivity and facilitating economic growth.
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