President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said Zimbabwe is on a growth and developmental trajectory emphasising the country is experiencingย unprecedented socio-economic growth as well as the accelerated implementation of the National Development Strategy 1.
He was speaking during his State of the Nation Address (SONA) at the new Parliament building in Mount Hampden Wednesday.
โThe period since my last address to this Parliament has seen unprecedented socio-economic growth asย well as the accelerated implementation of the National
Development Strategy 1,โ said Mnangagwa.
โTight monetary and fiscal policy measures to stabilise the economy, and curtail speculative borrowing andย other rent-seeking behaviour, are bearing fruit.ย Gold coins valued at ZW$9.5 billion were sold asย of 30th September, 2022. Smaller denominations ofย the gold coins have been unveiled by the Reserveย Bank of Zimbabwe to broaden access and inclusivity.โ
He also cited month-on-month inflation for September which significantlyย declined to 3.5% from 12.4% in August, 2022 as another positive development in the economy.
โEveryย Zimbabwean must jealously guard this stability,โ he said.
โMeanwhile, foreign currency earnings amounted toย US$7.7 billion for the 8 months up to 31stย August, 2022.ย This reflects a 32.4% increase from the US$5.8 billion recorded over the corresponding period in 2021.โ
In agriculture, Mnangagwa said the Presidential Input Programme wasย targeting three million farmers for enhanced productionย of cereals, oilseeds and legumes. โ
The programme willย support five Pfumvudza/Intwasa plots per household,ย with specific crop input packages based on agroecological regions. The Zunde RaMambo/Isiphalaย SeNkosi Programme has been extended to also cover Headmen and Village Heads. Our traditional leadersย are constantly with our people at grassroots level.ย Hence, my Government will render all possible support to them.โ
He said in mining, output growth was evident in gold, coal, chrome,ย PGMs and related minerals.
โThe commissioning of theย Cam and Motor Mine Biox Plant; Radnor Mine andย expansion of Blanket Mine, among others, coupledย with contributions from artisanal miners, have resultedย in increased gold production.
Investments in the lithium sector, he said, were pleasing andย encompassed extraction through to value addition.
โTheย government is decisively dealing with illegal miningย and smuggling of precious minerals,โ said Mnangagwa.
โAll players in theย sector are once again urged to operate legally and inย an environmentally sustainable manner.
Turning to energy and power, the President said the economy was growing faster than power supply.
โThe Hwange Unit 7 is expected to be commissioned byย year-end,โ he said.
โA further 300 MW from Unit 8 is expected toย come on-stream by the second quarter of 2023. Efforts
are on-going to expand the countryโs energy mix, withย focus on renewable energy.โ
The rebound of the manufacturing sector, Mnangagwa said, was โencouragingโ, with industrial capacity utilisation exceeding 66% inย 2022, up from 47% in 2020.
โThe implementation ofย the Local Content Strategy has seen the introduction ofย new products that are critical in the agriculture, miningย and transport sectors, among others,โ he said.
โModern and efficient infrastructure is the cornerstoneย for economic development. More than 340 kilometresย of the Harare-Beitbridge road have been completed and opened to traffic. Construction of the Mbudziย Interchange is also well underway. Local companiesย contracted on the Emergency Road Rehabilitationย Programme have created both direct and indirect jobs.โ
