By Elton P. Ziki
ON November 16 2020, the President, Cde E. D. Mnangagwa, launched the National Development Strategy (NDS1) at State House in Harare.
In his address, he said the NDS1 would be anchored on “…devolution and hard work, implementing robust, innovative and responsive strategies that impact positively on the livelihoods of society in a cross cutting manner.”
Hard work is the basis for success.
If work is applying your ability, then hard work is applying your ability with focus and intensity.
The difficult, strenuous, intense work which is the antithesis of leisure must be undertaken to achieve Vision 2030.
As citizens, we must understand and appreciate the nature of work and place ourselves where we fit or choose.
Work is that which is necessary and mostly unpleasant. Hard work generally involves physical, mental or emotional effort, high levels of focus and purpose.
No matter what industry you work in, diligent hard work and team spirit is the recipe for success.
Hard work is a term that means different things to different people.
In any context, we must appreciate that success doesn’t happen overnight, it’s a process of the various efforts and input.
The most successful individuals, communities and nations are those who are willing to put in a productive day’s work before they even receive success.
The Chinese, for instance, have a world acclaimed 24-hour work ethic.
Honest hard work is the most important key to success.
Writing for Psychology Today, Dr Jim Taylor defines motivation as “…being able to work hard in the face of obstacles, boredom, fatigue, stress and the desire to do other things.”
Motivation is what sets hard work in motion.
Motivation is what keeps us productive in spite of the gruelling grind and the tough sacrifices: Tough sacrifices in coming up with solutions to grow the economy through practical blueprints such as the NDS1 that commences in 2021 and the TSP which ran from 2018 to the end of 2020.
The motivation is better livelihoods for all and a middle income economy by 2030.
Efforts at bi-lateral and economic co-operation among the family of nations is part of the hard work our leadership is putting in the quest to develop the country, hence the need for citizens to play a complimentary role.
This approach will increase the chances of rebuilding lost confidence and trust with the world body.
It may seem as if we are stuck between a rock and hard place, the illegal sanctions and the COVID-19 pandemic militating against envisaged economic growth targets and development but these will not stop the country from resolutely moving ahead.
With the sanctions in place, the leadership has resolved not to bury their heads in the sand but rise above the challenges by implementing robust, innovative and responsive strategies to grow and develop the economy.
Success would require maximum effort by all in a united drive to develop the Zimbabwe we want.
Hard work never killed anybody.
The rains are upon us. Let us all toil and till the land with our Pfumvudza/Intwasa sustainable farming concept to ensure food security at household level.
The Second Republic this year embarked on ambitious roads rehabilitation, dams and clinics construction as well as borehole drilling and rehabilitation, walking the talk on devolution.
At least $19,5 billion has been allocated for the 2021 fiscal year for the individual provinces and local authorities, including the metropolitan provinces.
This will drive local authorities in individual provinces to spearhead and develop critical infrastructure so as to create the environment essential for sustainable economic development within their jurisdictions.
In line with the 2013 Constitution on devolution, Vision 2030’s middle income economy and the NDS1 to create an enabling environment for productive economic growth, $140 billion will be channelled as follows: Energy $45,7 billion, Transport $36,4 billion, Water and Sanitation $14,5 billion, ICT $7 billion, Health $10 billion, Education $7,5 billion, Irrigation $3,9 billion and Housing $10,1 billion.
The NDS1 target of 220 000 housing units and high rise structures for accommodation purposes by 2025 will be realised through diligent, disciplined and industrious determination by all.
The hard part is in the doing the things that will push the country above and beyond. Hard, smart work is but one of the ways the nation can achieve its development goals.
We must have sufficient ‘drive’, this is the motivation, the inspiration to achieve, the entire reason to work hard and smartly. This is the engine that pushes our efforts forward no matter the pain and cost or blood and sweat nor tears.
The ‘plan’, which in this case is the NDS1, maps out the course of action and helps plot our progress and keeps us on track in the various fronts for economic emancipation. Plans usually require great effort in monitoring, implementation and evaluation.
The ‘grind’ often what separates the winners from the quitters. Even during the war of liberation, such a time separated true cadres from pretenders.
The ‘sacrifice’ is the crux of hard work, and the one thing that makes hard work truly hard. Any ambitious goal, like the NDS1, requires significant personal sacrifice of every citizen in support of Vision 2030. Enduring the strain in our relationships, finances and comfort level is the real test. Working endless hours, burning the midnight oil intelligently and vigorously at a given task to complete it with maximum efficiency. That is the sacrifice required.
The ‘reward’, for the sweat and tears, is the brass ring. In order for hard work to be worthwhile, one has to define a number of goals and milestones and recognise when one has achieved them as the case with the TSP that laid a strong foundation for a sound and stable macro and fiscal environment. Once the milestones are achieved, one has to up the ante and keep going.
Each individual must ultimately define hard work for him/her self as it has different meaning to different people. Nevertheless let’s all prepare ourselves for hard work to develop our beloved country in a unified way going forward.