Member of Parliament for Zaka South Hon Clemence Chiduwa.
By Godwin Makoho
Graduates need to harness opportunities availed by the government through various socio-economic programmes under the National Development Strategy 1 which feeds into the Vision 2030.
This was said by Honourable Clemence Chiduwa who was Guest of Honour at the Graduates For Economic Development Annual Conference held in Masvingo on the 14th of October 2023.
The former Deputy Minister of Finance, who is Zaka South MP and Chairperson of Parliamentary Committee for Budget, Finance and Investment Promotion, said President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s vision enunciated under Vision 2030 presents numerous opportunities that could be turned into brisk business.
“It is under the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) where we can identify the opportunities and take advantages of them. There are so many opportunities available for all graduates,” said Hon Chiduwa.
“Graduates should tap these available resources and utilise them to sustainably make money. For example in Masvingo we have Tokwe Mukosi dam and as graduates what are you doing with that water? I will challenge you to change that water into cabbages and make money,” he said.
The call is in line with the government’s thrust for Innovation and Industrialisation espoused under Education 5:0 policy which has added Innovation and Industrialisation to the key result areas of tertiary education. This implies that graduates from tertiary institutions should innovate and create companies that will employ others than to graduate and join the job market.
Owing to robust indeginisation and empowerment policies, Zimbabwe is one of the African countries who have managed to reverse the economic imbalances created during the colonial era through empowering its citizens to have power and access to the levers of the economy.
Currently the government is undertaking developmental projects in agriculture, mining, energy, tourism, manufacturing, among other sectors, and this has opened opportunities for investment.
In her speech at the just ended Sanganai Hlanganani World Tourism Expo in Bulawayo, Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Hon Barbara Rwodzi indicated that there are numerous opportunities in the tourism sector particularly in the Accomodation, Conferences and Entertainment facilities.
The Ministry has been promoting youth participation in the industry through initiatives such as the Tourism Challenge and the awarding of incentives to those investing in the sector.
Similarly, opportunities are rife in the agricultural sector where varieties of produce such as flowers, fish, cucumbers, fruits and small grains are on high demand locally and abroad. Government has come up with various support schemes such as Pfumvudza, Presidential Inputs Scheme, Zunde RaMambo and so on.
With more than 60 tradable minerals available in Zimbabwe, government has opened the mining industry to locals and foreigners with processes now simplified that everyone interested can participate. The industry is set to reach a 12 billion target by the end of the year.
These opportunities are meant to improve the socio-economic status of all Zimbabweans.
Hon Chiduwa enjoined the graduates to form and register companies and formalise the businesses so that they can too participate as companies in projects.
“You are supposed to register companies and partner foreign investors from different parts of the world, apply for tenders in all government projects and I will tell you that the government is ready to support its people,” he added.
He shared his personal history to motivate the graduates, citing how at the age of forty he left his lucrative job in Namibia to venture into personal business full-time.
“I was an Economics lecturer at a university in Namibia but I chose to leave and start my own business. The most challenging factor was my wife who doubted my move and was not really understanding what would happen after leaving such a good job,” said Hon Chiduwa.
Hon Chiduwa also urged the graduates to take crucial decisions in life including working hard to shape a good future for future generations.
Graduates for Economic Development is an Association of Zimbabwean graduates from tertiary institutions in Zimbabwe and abroad. The Association was established as a platform to mobilise resources, support and networks for the graduates, and fostering knowledge and skills sharing so that they are fully capacitated to participate in the development matrix of the nation.
