Harare, (New Ziana) – Despite enormous economic and social challenges caused by the El Nino-induced drought last year, the government managed to achieve most of its annual goals, particularly in the sphere of infrastructure development, acting President Kembo Mohadi said on Friday.
He cited, among the government’s most notable achievements in 2024, the introduction of the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) currency, rehabilitation of roads across the country, and digital transformation which saw the licencing of international telecommunications player, Star Link.
He said the introduction of the ZiG by the Reserve bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) was a bold move that managed to stabilise the economy and laid the foundation for sustained economic growth.
“You will agree with me that there is no country that can ever grow without its own currency, so we had to come up with our own currency, which is a currency which is backed by our gold reserves, the gold that we have in our vaults and also the foreign currency reserves we have as Zimbabwe,” he said.
On the infrastructure side, acting President Mohadi said progress was negatively impacted by the drought as funding earmarked for the sector was instead used for food imports. He, however, said this did not deter government entirely from pushing ahead with some infrastructure development projects, such as the rehabilitation of the Borrowdale road in Harare, and the Harare-Beitbridge highway.
“The year also saw the commissioning of the new Robert Gabriel Mugabe International airport by His Excellency, the President which increased the passenger capacity significantly,” he said.
In the area of housing, Acting President Mohadi said that significant progress was made in meeting the target of 220 000 housing units per year. A major development was also scored in digital transformation, which saw the country licensing Star Link to provide satellite internet services in the country.
This increased internet penetration in the country from 63 percent to 75 percent. The bold decision, he said, was an acknowledgement that the information sector was a major contributor to the economy. Acting President Mohadi said on the agriculture front, President Mnangagwa also took another bold decision to come up with a land policy that would give indigenous farmers ownership of the land that they benefitted under the land reform programme.
“The ownership allows them (beneficiaries) to go to the bank and use their title deeds as collateral, and get loans to develop their land. This is a milestone and achievement of the year 2024,” he said.
On the other hand, he said the Ministry of Health and Child Care procured cancer treatment machines for both Parirenyatwa and Mpilo hospitals last year as part of government’s goals for the year. The machines brought relief to cancer patients, whose number is growing.
Turning to sports, Acting President Mohadi said the senior national soccer team was playing its home games on foreign lands, but Government managed to mobilise resources and installation of the bucket seats at the National Sports Stadium is now being finalised.
This should allow the national team to play home matches in the country again. Politically, he said people last year remained united on the whole, and described talk of divisions and tensions as mere false creations of the media.
“The divisions we hear about, if there are any, we read them in newspapers. Recently it has been trending that I am dying somewhere in India and I will come in a coffin. Here I am, do I look like someone who has just come back from India in a coffin?” he asked.
New Ziana
