SO many things are happening in this country.
Most of these things are beautiful.
And, as expected, some are ugly — both in make and in shape.
Let us first give prominence to the beautiful things of our great nation.
Zimbabwe has been receiving a lot of goodwill from the world.
And it means soon, we will be receiving the same for our economy — an economy which has been battered by external and internal forces.
The external forces have manifested in the illegal economic sanctions imposed on the country.
We have since settled that matter through our resolve.
We are going to mitigate the effects of the said sanctions.
Never again will those sanctions be an excuse for failure.
Internally, we have a certain demography that does not believe in itself.
This section has failed or, to put it succinctly, refused to acknowledge our potential.
I am talking here about the successes that have been recorded in the mining and agriculture sectors.
They have refused to come to terms with the fact that we can build our economy from these success stories.
We can build a beautiful narrative from that success.
A narrative that defines who we are and what we should be.
A narrative that imbues us with the zeal and vigour to take our economy to the next level.
A narrative that will make us key stakeholders in the new economy that will be borne out of the Second Republic.
Yes, investors will come in their numbers.
But have we asked ourselves these questions: What will be our role in the new economy?
How will we accommodate our best brains in the Second Republic?
What role will our inventors play in the unfolding economy?
Government has created a system that ensures everyone is catered for in the new economy.
And that means we have to support Government efforts in that regard.
The issue of devolution means that it will be easy to identify and nurture raw talent from our provinces.
This brings me to my second point.
A disturbing incident that took place during the swearing in of councillors where one of the councillors was harassed for speaking in Shona must be condemned in the strongest of terms.
We are trying to build a nation where one is recognised for talent, capacity and competence, not on the basis of tribe.
We are building an inclusive economy where skills are above all other factors.
We are creating a state where each province must harness its best talents and skills for development.
That has nothing to do with one’s tribe but competences and ability.
Let us embrace the concept of devolution and give it the prominence it deserves.
We have given the example of China which became an economic success story due to decentralisation.
Each province in Zimbabwe has abundant natural resources and good soils from which economies can be built on.
We will unearth talent from across the board, be it in sport, arts and culture or science and technology.
Let us build a beautiful narrative for our beloved country.
Together we will make it!