Ministry of Lands ,Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement and the Ministry of Industry and Commerce have joined hands to enhance local content, Great Dyke News 24 reports.
Speaking during the Buy Zimbabwe 10th anniversary awards launch held in the capital today, Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, and Rural Resettlement Dr. Anxious Masuka said the alignment was influenced by President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s vision 2030 of achieving an upper-middle-income economy.
“In the past ten years, the first seven years were about the concept of Buy Zimbabwe and its general accessibility by Zimbabweans, industrialists, employees and by the government to say if we work discordantly, then we will not be able to accelerate economic growth.
“From 2017-2018, we now have better clarity because we now know that the next stop for Zimbabwe is 2030 and that has improved the alignment of ministries that has enabled us to work together to an extent that the National Development Strategy 1 now for the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement have common elements and these common elements are the value chains.
“In the cloth value chain, we are saying we want to grow cotton from the current 82 000 metric tonnes, and this year we are expecting 150 000 metric tonnes to 400 000 metric tonnes but when we are doing so, we are saying what are the next steps and that’s better alignment.
“To me, this is where ministries are beginning to participate in building a country rather than silo aspects that we have been seeing in the past,” he said.
Speaking during the same event, Minister of Industry and Commerce Dr. Sekai Nzenza said the two ministries are already witnessing the results of working together adding that linkages will ultimately have an impact on the consumer.
“We are very much at the watershed of breaking down the silos that may have existed between ministries and already we are witnessing the results of working together.
“We can only see positive growth as we go forward between our two ministries.
“We are launching the leather value chain strategy in April in Bulawayo together with the Minister of Lands and the Vice President honorable Constantino Chiwenga.
“Apart from leather and cotton, we are also looking at wheat production so that bread will be affordable so these linkages will ultimately have an impact on the consumer and helps us to implement the consumer protection act which was launched by the president last year,” she said.
The awards which were launched today will be held on the 12th of May 2021.
