Cabinet approves new economic development plan

Harare (New Ziana) – Cabinet on Tuesday approved the National Development Strategy (NDS) for the period 2021-2025 which aims to steer economic growth at an average of 5 percent per annum over the next five years.

Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said the NDS was the Second Republic’s first of two 5-year Medium-Term Plans aimed at realising the country’s vision 2030.

She said the two plans would run under the theme “Towards a Prosperous and Empowered Upper Middle Income Society by 2030”.

She said the NDS would build on the successes and failures of Transitional Stabilisation Programme.

“The National Development Strategy 1 outlines the policies, legal and institutional reforms, programmes and projects for identified National Priorities that will be implemented over the strategy’s five-year lifespan,” she said.

“This will help to achieve accelerated, high, inclusive, broad-based and sustainable economic growth and development. The NDS was a result of an extensive and structured consultative process involving stakeholders. The Strategy succeeds the Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP): 2018-2020, which focused on, inter-alia, stabilising the macro-economy and the financial sector, and thus laid the foundation required for economic growth. The report on the TSP will be published at the end of the programme period.”

Mutsvangwa said the broad objectives of the NDS included strengthening macroeconomic stability, characterised by low and stable inflation and a stable exchange rate, promoting new enterprise development and job creation, strengthening social infrastructure and social safety nets and promoting good governance and corporate social investment.

“The NDS has 14 priority areas which include economic growth and stability, food security and nutrition, governance, moving the economy up the value chain and structural transformation, human capital development, environmental protection, climate resilience and natural resource management, housing delivery; ICT and the digital economy, health and well-being, transport, infrastructure and utilities, image-building and international engagement and re-engagement, social protection, youth, sport and culture and devolution,” she said.

Meanwhile, Mutsvangwa said in keeping with its obligations to pay a decent wage to its workers, government had reviewed upwards the salary offer to Civil Servants to 40 percent.

The new offer will be awarded to deputy director grade and below.

“In addition to the salary increase, teachers will also be awarded a 10 percent risk allowance. The new basic salary package for a teacher is now ZW$18 237, which is above the Poverty Datum Line.
“This means that the compounded review percentage of the teacher grade salary is 1 284 percent since the beginning of the year. The lowest paid civil servant will receive a salary of ZW$14 528. This is effective from 1st November 2020.”
New Ziana