ANOTHER new year!
Another moment for reflection.
The beginning of each year provides the opportunity for one to reflect on the year gone by.
We take time to take stock of the mistakes of the previous.
It is then that we come up with solutions to rectify those mistakes.
We also take time to analyse successes of the year gone.
And we come up with policies to strengthen and consolidate those successes.
2017 provided us with high octane drama, thrills and spills that culminated in the consummation of the prevailing new dispensation.
And the new dispensation has so far given us a glimpse of what lies ahead.
It has so far demonstrated that if given the opportunity, it can and will revive the economy that has been standing still for almost two decades.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa, during his visit to South Africa on December 21 2017, conceded that Zimbabwe was lagging behind 20 years in terms of development.
Time is not on our side.
We need to start work now and vigorously pursue the economic revival agenda.
The President and his team are already on the ground, pushing for the much-needed turnaround of the economy.
This calls for everyone’s participation.
Iwe neni tine basa/mina lawe silomsebenzi.
However, as others are busy at work, we hear of offices that are not using allocated funds to deliver service.
What is the rationale behind not utilising funds to repair and build roads by some of our Rural District Councils (RDCs)?
It is common knowledge that development starts in the house.
It transcends to the community.
It then goes to the national level.
We have many farms situated in areas that are close to rural communities.
And we have been receiving a lot of rainfall that has destroyed the road infrastructure.
When Government avails funding for the rehabilitation of the roads which are a key asset in linking farmers to markets, the expectation is that naturally the funding must be utilised.
How then do we talk of development when funds meant for that cause are not being utilised?
How do we move forward as a country when we are sitting on funds meant for community development?
Where are we going as a nation when some people are sleeping on duty?
We need to introspect and steer clear from mistakes of the past.
We need to walk the talk like our leaders are doing.
The current work ethic at the highest level of Government is a clear demonstration of what is required from all of us.
Let us see positive results; our blueprints must come to fruition and not just gather dust unimplemented.
The onus is on us the masses.
We must own and drive the development agenda.
We need to unite as a people and bring everyone, local and in the Diaspora, on board.
We all must work for the motherland and not shy from duty and our obligations.