THE message has been, and still is, that Zimbabwe is open for business.
And Wednesday marked the manifestation of that clarion call.
The much talked about National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) recapitalisation has now been consummated.
Naysayers may criticise and throw all sorts of brick-bats, but what is important about that development is the action we are witnessing.
We have heard the talk before; several times in the past.
But this time around, it is not mere rhetoric.
What was launched was the NRZ interim solution equipment programme.
Of course we want bullet trains but all in good time; one step at a time.
There are so many key industries that need revival in the short-term to support the economy.
Indeed we must have NRZ, ZISCOSteel, Mashava Mine, the Cold Storage Company and David Whitehead fully functional for they form the bedrock of our economy.
These are the drivers of the country’s economy.
Add to that the many interventions being made in the agriculture sector then you have a functional economy.
That is the economy that Zimbabwe is shaping; an economy where every sector is operating at full capacity.
We are shaping an economy where every citizen of this country plays a role in the rebuilding efforts being undertaken by the leadership.
The revival of industry is critical in many ways.
It provides the basis upon which the other sectors can grow; by constructing the physical facilities required for the production and distribution of goods and services. Our young must rally behind the development agenda, they have travelled the world, their experiences must put them in a better position to serve rather than denigrate and pull in different directions.
Obviously we need to recoup the lost self-confidence in our young people, empower them so that they can take charge of their own lives and be loyal citizens of the nation.
It is not going to be easy.
What we imagine and dream of our country cannot be achieved overnight.
The process will be painful, but pain has not stopped us before.
We have experienced a ‘rupture’.
And that is why we have the statement no more to ‘business-as-usual approach’.
A rupture is indeed never a pleasant experience.
It is a fact that all our victories as a nation, as a people, were never handed to us on a platter; they came from ruptures.
A message that must be clear is that there is no turning back, hands are on the plough and stragglers will fall by the wayside.
Elsewhere in this paper we talk about the need to emphasise the implementation of the updated curriculum.
This is a very important issue that is very much a part of our development matrix.
We have rethought and rewrote our curriculum, in our own terms so that we benefit from it as we wish.
Our empowerment and development as a nation can never be complete if we just occupy the physical space and forget the intellectual space.
Our values, traditions and beliefs are not diabolic or retrogressive; they are who we are.