Mutare (New Ziana) – President Emmerson Mnangagwa applauded the Johanne Marange Apostolic Church on Wednesday for championing development in the education sector, where it is heavily investing in new schools.

Officiating at a ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of boarding facilities at St Noah College, he said a country is only able to develop if its citizens lead the development agenda.

“We are the custodians of this country, and its development is dependent on its own citizens. The people are responsible for their own development and should not expect their country to be developed by others. Since the inception of the school development drive by Johanne Marange church, with St Noah being the first, we have seen the church grow in leaps and bounds through the construction of various other schools across the country. They have covered all provinces and as such we are much pleased because they have shifted from the dependency syndrome and taken responsibility of their own development,” President Mnangagwa said.

Government’s development thrust is anchored on harnessing local resources first and looking for external assistance a distant second.

This has seen a host of locally funded projects, such as dams, irrigation schemes, schools, clinics and roads, among other things, being constructed over the last four years.

Speaking on behalf of the church and school, St Noah School Development Committee chairperson, David Chimbadzwa said the church under the leadership of St Nimrod Taguta in collaboration with the Government has taken a stance to prioritize education as evidenced by the establishment of top-notch schools across the province and the country at large.

“The church is blessed with a number of skilled artisans, and we have taken it upon ourselves to develop our own schools to best set standards. The church under the astute leadership of St Nimrod has dedicated its time and skill to the construction and completion of school development projects as evidenced by 26 schools under the church across the country,” said Chimbadzwa.

St Noah College opened its doors in January 2012. It comprises both primary and secondary schools on one campus.
The school was named after the late Noah Taguta who was the leader of the Johane Marange Apostolic Church in Zimbabwe.

To date, the Johanne Marange church has 10 operational schools and 16 schools still under construction, to which the President pledged USD100 000 and 12 trucks.

New Ziana