Staff reporter
The Southern African Development Committee (SADC) spoke with one voice, at the 42nd Summit which was held in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), that foreign powers must not preside over African affairs.
Speaking just after his arrival in Zimbabwe yesterday, President Mnangagwa said the SADC 42nd Summit was a victory for SADC as a region. Amongst discussed issues in DRC by the 16 Heads of State were concerns over foreign interference in African politics by foreign powers. He said the agreement was that Africans must be left alone in order to run their own affairs.
“What is happening in Europe should not divide Africa. We should not be supported by foreign powers. We should be solid and remain ourselves and uphold the principles of the founding fathers,” said the President.
According to President Mnangagwa, another critical issue that was discussed was that of industrialisation within the region and Africa. The President said SADC further adopted the prioritisation of Agricultural Industrialisation by member states as it would ensure food security.
“The second issue which was of importance was industrialisation of the SADC. We developed a strategy of industrialisation as SADC three years back, but we were now interrogating how each member state was moving on industrialisation. We felt there are two key areas and the priority issue was to ensure food security and for that we must use our Agriculture to make sure the region is food secured. The impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict has made it important that as a region, we must address food security in the region and that member states have the requisite infrastructure for agriculture,” President Mnangagwa said.
To achieve these obligations, the Zimbabwe Government is currently spearheading technology based agricultural measures in order to achieve food self-sustenance as imbedded in National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) 2021-2026. In July, President Mnangagwa commissioned a Marondera University of Agricultural Science and Technology which also saw the institution partnering with the community on an out grower irrigation scheme. This University is also expected to be an innovation hub for research works on seed variations that suite Zimbabwe’s climate.
Zimbabwe is currently constructing water reservoirs in the form of dams and lakes, which are at various strategic areas across the country. Kunzvi Dam is one such example which lies on the boundary of Goromonzi and Murewa. This dam will be used for irrigation purposes in the area as well as to ease water woes in Harare. Gwayi-Shangani dam is another of such projects which will be used to resuscitate irrigation, domestic and business area water supply and as a tourist attraction site. This is all aimed at creating a food secure and self-sustainable people.
