Staff Reporter

MARONDERA– The Municipality of Marondera recently held a Local Economic Development Plan (LED) consultation with residents and stakeholders in the provincial capital of Mashonaland East.

Kudakwashe Tapfumaneyi who is the council’s public relation officer highlighted that LED is a blueprint that is meant to identify the main economic development drivers and organize economic systems in ways that will ensure the continued growth of the town’s economy.

“This blueprint will go a long way in ensuring that Marondera continues to develop socially and economically, thereby raising the standards of living and quality of life for residents and ratepayers in Marondera, in sync with the National Development Strategy-1 (NDS-1), Vision 2030 and the Call to Action: No Compromise to Service delivery blueprints.

“Our key stakeholders help us to develop a comprehensive and inclusive economic development strategy for our town. While the council coordinates efforts to create the LED plan, it is essential for the plan to be collectively owned – hence the inclusion of stakeholders,” Tapfumaneyi said.

Five steering committees were formed and these included agro-processing and value chains, environment and tourism, social services, transport and communication as well as business and real estate.

These committees will lead the development of the Marondera Municipality LED plan as the committees consist of a diverse range of stakeholders who will create a framework to structure key economic pillars in a way that promotes development in the provincial capital.