LAST week I attended an event which I consider one of the most important gatherings this year.
The University of Zimbabwe (UZ) Graduate School of Management (GSM), as reported elsewhere in the paper, has been conducting researches that seek solutions to challenges that have hamstrung industry.
And the school made presentations of its several research findings.
We shall not tire of emphasising that the solutions we seek are among our people.
And that it is time we concentrate on these solutions which have been diligently and painstakingly researched and proffered by our sons and daughters of the soil.
The onus is on us as individuals, small and medium enterprises, large corporations as well as entrepreneurs to take on board the numerous findings that will accelerate economic development.
It is heartening that our institutions of higher learning are moving away from producing academics who just theorise.
Our institutions and our academics are engaged in endeavours that seek to transform lives for the better.
The best of our brains are determined to have their works benefitting society.
As a nation, we must all troop to our institutions for answers — they have them.
Before independence, we had one university and it was not accessible to all Africans.
Today, in a free Zimbabwe, we have several universities and colleges and in these are ground-breaking works that will catapult us to the greatness that we seek as a people.
As highlighted in this paper, many companies have engaged consultants, at a high cost, to get their operations back on firm footing but many are yet to turn the corner.
The gathering at the UZ clearly showed that what is lacking in the development matrix is adopting and adapting solutions to operations.
These are indeed no mere pedagogical rumblings in ivory towers, but research steeped in the practical needs of the various socio-economic sectors.
Our failure as a people has nothing to do with lack of resources and knowledge but inability to implement.
We must stop being doubting Thomases and embrace the findings by our people, our experts.
In fact, the findings have been taken to many of our institutions but those that must benefit from them have chosen to stick them in drawers where they gather dust.
It is time our researchers, lecturers as well as public and private sector stakeholders combine efforts and cease to operate independent of each other.
The GSM must be commended, receive support and become the go-to centre for all serious business persons and players from other sectors seeking growth.
Indeed the school must continue to provide the intellectual knowhow and research skills while industry funds research, directing academics on key problems to solve.
There must be no discord but harmony among politicians, academics, Government and industry.
Industry must not hesitate to communicate its needs to academia.
And academia must use its human capital and research skills to come up with development-oriented research.
Let not research that stands to benefit our banking and finance, public sector, agriculture, small-to-medium enterprises and telecommunications gather dust; it awaits consumers, it must not go to waste.
It will be a travesty for institutions to suffer from malnutrition amidst plenty.