THIS week on news on television, I saw some innovations being showcased by one of our biggest tertiary institutions.
I was delighted.
It is no secret that we are building a new economy anchored in the sons and daughters of the soil.
After embargoes imposed on the country by the West in protest of our successful Land Reform Programme, the economy, as we thought we knew it, was destroyed.
We have had to literally begin from ground zero.
Our efforts, since the destruction of the white economy that was created by Rhodesians for Rhodesians has been to create an indigenous economy.
And we are on the right path.
According to the Macro-Economic and Financial Management Institute for Eastern and Southern Africa (MEFMI), we are on course to achieve 3,7 percent growth rate this year on the back of policies to resuscitate industry and good harvests.
Indeed, the rebound in global prices for mineral commodities, coupled with a good harvest, have been a boon to our efforts to turn around our fortunes.
Thus, it is always delightful when our institutions of education make contributions that support the effort to transform our fortunes.
What it means is that we are not looking to outsiders for solutions.
Our agriculture, mining and art will grow, supported by local innovations.
This means our success will be sustainable.
What we are building will not be destroyed at someone’s whim.
We will not be held to ransom.
If we continue on this trajectory, our posterity will be grateful for we would have set them a solid foundation.
We have successfully weaned ourselves from the old economic order that served a privileged minority.
Our scientists, cultural experts and artistes must proffer industry solutions and formulas to up their game.
The Chinese have done it, and so have the Arabs.
They are not just consumers of others’ goods but also have things to offer the world.
We as a nation have a lot to offer the world.
We have many things that the world wants.
The onus is on us to embrace local solutions.
I urge our industrialists not to shun these solutions.
We have regained control of that which rightfully belongs to us, now let us consolidate our gains.
A new economy requires new strategies.
It yearns for new innovations far detached from the old economy.
What it means, therefore, is that we should equip our learning and research institutions with more resources so that they can continue to effectively contribute to national development.
We need to fund research whose findings resonate with the new economy that we are building.
We need to do research on cancer treatment using traditional methods.
Our forefathers successfully treated diseases.
That research is vital in saving the country a lot of foreign currency used to import medical drugs from other countries.
This is where our universities come in, especially those involved in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Their research must provide value to the artisanal miner in Shamva or Kwekwe on proper mining methods and gold processing.
The research from our universities and research institutions must provide that entrepreneur from Glen View Home Industry or Siya So with technology that makes their operations flow smoothly.