Full Text of Nineteenth State of the Nation Address by President Mugabe

Let us espouse values of honesty, diligence

Once again it gives me great pleasure to present the State of the Nation address to this August House. This address is set against a background of varied developments that have shaped events in the country this year. These include the challenges that confront us and manifest themselves in our present socio-economic environment.

The under-performance of the economy we are now turning around is largely a product of the illegal overt and covert sanctions imposed on us, by Britain and her allies, as punishment for daring to reclaim our land. We nevertheless derive comfort from knowing that the transient challenges we face have propelled us to the apogee of resilience and self-reliance, and awakened us in much ingenuity and pragmatism that have contributed to the home-grown programmes aimed at rejuvenating our economy.

The National Economic Development Priority Programme is one such example. On the basis of these developments and the policy gains deriving from our Look East Policy, the economy is on the recovery path. Once more, I wish to pay tribute to our people for their resilience, and to all our Look East development partners for their sterling display of solidarity at the time of our greatest need.

Madame President, Mr Speaker Sir,

I am gratified that this address comes just after the recent inauguration of the long-awaited 99-year leases. This development constitutes an important milestone in the evolution of our agrarian reform as it gives security of tenure, which we hope, in turn, will leverage more resources into the development of the agriculture sector. It is time we stressed that real emancipation lies not just in the possession of resources but in their effective utilisation. In this regard, I would like to call on all beneficiaries of the Land Reform Programme, as well as other critical stakeholders in the production chain, to work assiduously for the realisation of our quest for maximum productivity in our all-important agricultural sector.

Madam President, Mr Speaker Sir,

The 2005/6 agricultural season was a much better one than the previous season, thanks to the good rains. As a result, the majority of our people this year were generally self-sufficient in relation to their staple food although imports were still needed to ensure greater food security up to the middle of next year. For this current season, we are better prepared in regard to our input requirements, tillage services and related logistical support. The conclusion of a US$180 million loan agreement between the Ministry of Agriculture and CMEC of China for the supply of agriculture inputs, such as fertilizer, agrochemical and machinery further boosted our preparations.

A target of 55 000 hectares has been earmarked for tobacco production in the 2006/7 season, representing a 38 percent increase on last season’s figure of 40 000 hectares.
A total of 300 000 hectares have been set aside for the production of the strategic maize grain reserves during the 2006/7 summer season. This programme, which is being implemented under Operation Maguta/Inala and an Agribank facility, in collaboration with the District Development Fund, will target A1, communal and the old resettlement farmers.
A2 farmers will continue to access funding from the Reserve Bank’s Agricultural Sector Enhancement Productivity Facility, commercial banks and other contract schemes. Allied to this work is a programme, which is projected to localise the commercial manufacture of vaccines against animal diseases. The project is being developed at the University of Zimbabwe and will certainly assist in the recovery of the national herd.
The country and, indeed, the whole region, have become increasingly susceptible to the phenomenon of drought. To minimise the impact of unfavourable weather conditions, Government continues to invest in irrigation projects under the Accelerated Irrigation Development Programme. The Department of Irrigation received $438 505 000 under the Public Sector Investment Programme and a further $185 million under the supplementary budget during the period under review. A total of 3 500 hectares of irritable land was rehabilitated, while an additional 3 786 hectares were cleared for the construction of irrigation projects.

Madam President, Mr Speaker Sir,

As already stated above, it was in response to current economic challenges that the National Economic Development Priority Programme was evolved. It is a short-term economic turnaround initiative built on close collaboration between Government and the private sector. The programme, which prioritises implementation of quick response and high sectoral impact projects, is the major launch pad for the various current turnaround programmes.
In order to enhance exporter viability and consequently boost foreign currency inflows, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has raised the levels of foreign currency retained by exporters to 75 percent of their proceeds, to afford them a long-term planning horizon, while creating a vibrant inter-bank foreign exchange trading market. To improve gold production, the producer price was raised from $4 900 to $16 000 per gramme. In addition, gold producers now retain 70 percent of their output in foreign currency, while a 15 percent Foreign Currency Account Retention Facility for the tobacco industry will be introduced in April 2007. The current efforts to curb leakages of gold and precious minerals will continue.

Madam President, Mr Speaker Sir.

Government recently launched the National Export Strategy as the fulcrum of the country’s industrialisation drive. A critical component of this strategy is the enhancement of foreign currency generation and retention by emphasising value addition and import substitution. A Value Addition Fund has thus been created under the auspices of the Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe to finance related projects. At least twenty manufacturing companies with a potential to realise significant quick-wins in terms of foreign currency generation, savings and employment creation have been identified under the Import Substitution Programme.

A total of $3,15 million was disbursed under the Distressed Companies Fund to 22 entities in the engineering, fertilizer, pharmaceutical, textile, mining and construction sectors. This intervention was projected to increase capacity utilisation by an average of 30 percent, create a total of 4 216 jobs as well as generate up to US$38,2 million in foreign currency. In addition, the Toll Manufacturing Programme is being pursued with a view to increasing capacity utilisation in the sector.

Madam President, Mr Speaker Sir,

It is pleasing to note that the tourism sector continues its upward trend, with the latest statistics showing a 33 percent increase on last year’s tourist arrivals during the same period. This development bears testimony to our country’s well-known status as an attractive and safe tourism destination, in spite of the sounds of gloom and doom, nay, the sounds of impotent fury, peddled by hostile sections of the media.
To further consolidate our status, a programme to upgrade and decongest our premier border posts at Beitbridge and Chirundu is underway. In a related development, the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe is in the process of upgrading the Harare, Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo and Victoria Falls airports.

Madam President, Mr Speaker Sir,

The process of consolidating the management of regional transfrontier conservancy areas continues to gather pace. Following the establishment of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, a Memorandum of Understanding of the establishment of the Shashi Limpopo Transfrontier Area involving Zimbabwe, South Africa and Botswana was signed.
The establishment of the Kavango/Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area involving Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and Zambia is also in the offing. To facilitate tourism in the transfrontier national parks, the Department of Immigration is currently constructing the Mapungubwe and Chikwalakwala border posts, while the Zimbabwe Defence Force is clearing the Sango to Crook’s Corner minefield.

Road Network Access Fees were introduced this year at the border posts, in order to complement Government funding of the country’s road network. The fees are collected by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority on behalf of the Ministry of Transport and Communications. This project is generating a lot of revenue both in local and foreign currency and is being expanded to allow for the collection of toll fees at the peripheries of major cities and towns. In this regard, toll gates are currently being constructed at the Beitbridge and Chirundu border posts, and along the Harare-Gweru highway and the Harare-Masvingo highway.

Government has gazetted the Road Traffic (Public Service Vehicle drivers) Regulations of 2006, in response to the increase in the number of fatal road accidents. All public service vehicle drivers and goods vehicles will be required to undergo a re-testing exercise after a period of five years from the date of issue of a public service driver’s licence.

Furthermore, the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe has developed a new training programme for heavy goods vehicle drivers and public service vehicle drivers in order to reduce the appalling levels of accidents involving these vehicles.

Madam President, Mr Speaker Sir.

Significant headway has been made in terms of trade and investment promotion within the context of the look East Policy. Numerous institutional, business, trade and investment linkages have been forged with friendly countries in the spirit of South-South Co-operation. These developments received a further boost from my recent trips to the China-Africa Summit and to Iran, where a number of bilateral co-operation agreements were concluded.
Joint venture mining projects have been agreed with several Chinese companies, while there are advanced plans to open a minerals marketing office in the city of Shanghai, China. In light of these developments, Trade Promotion Officers have already been posted to China, India and Indonesia, while a similar posting will be made to Malaysia in the near future.
In the energy and power sector, Government has already approved several Power Sector Investment Projects aimed at improving poor supply. These projects include investments in new power stations, expansion of existing generation capacity as well as refurbishment of plants and equipment. To this end, the process of approving identified investors is at an advanced stage.
Progress has also been made in regard to the National Bio-diesel Feedstock production Programme, with over 300 farmers contracted by Noczim for the production of Bio-diesel, which should contribute up to 10 percent of national fuel requirements by the year 2010.

Madam President, Mr Speaker Sir,

The role of telecommunications as both driver and catalyst of modern economic competitiveness is universally acclaimed. In consonance with this, measures to boost the country’s telecommunications infrastructure are being implemented. Net-One has now extended its network coverage to rural, farming and mining areas, and growth points and tourist resorts, while Tel-One is installing phase one of the Code Division Multiple Access \Wireless Local Loop equipment in Harare. Phases two and three to cover both rural and other urban areas shall commence next year.

Madam President, Mr Speaker Sir,

Indigenisation and the economic empowerment of our people remain the cornerstone of our socio-economic development. To this end, Government is in the process of finalising the National Indigenisation and Empowerment Bill to underpin this thrust, while amendment of the Mines and Minerals Act to facilitate participation by locals in the mining sector is at an advanced stage.
Government has also relocated 34 860 Small and Medium Enterprises to permanent and temporary business premises, while the first phase of the construction of artisans factory hives in Harare and vendor marts throughout the country has been completed under Operation Garikayi/Hlalani Kuhle.

With respect to housing development, a total of $1,2 billion was this year provided to local authorities under the Public Sector Investment Programme towards construction of water and sewerage infrastructure for phase one of Operation Garikayi/Hlalani Kuhle. To date, 45 000 stands have been allocated under Phase II of the programme, where private developers, employers, housing co-operatives and individual beneficiaries are expected to participate in housing development. The Rural Housing and Social Amenities Policy is now in place, while a Rural Housing Fund has also been established to facilitate housing development in the rural areas on a cost recovery basis.

Madam President, Mr Speaker Sir,

Sustainable utilisation and management of the environment is critical for the long-term development of any economy. To this end, Government has launched the National Fire Protection Strategy in the country’s provinces to promote integrated veld fire management, while the Forestry Commission has embarked on a nation-wide awareness campaign to curb the rampant illegal harvesting of hardwood timber in commercial and resettlement areas.
It is noteworthy that the country is witnessing rampant destruction of forests and land through uncontrolled veld fires and illegal panning. I would like to urge the police, the Ministry of Environment and Tourism and local authorities to move swiftly in stemming this wanton destruction of the environment. I wish to note here the police operation code named "Chikorokoza Chapera/No illegal panning" and to commend the police for their noble initiative.

Madam President, Mr Speaker Sir,

The health sector continues to face several challenges, which include the shortage of essential drugs and critical equipment as well as the unending brain drain. To curb the exodus of medical staff, plans are underway to re-introduce the cadetship programme, while graduates will be bonded to the service of the State for a period equal to the period of their education and training.
Some 300 primary care nurses have been deployed to rural health centres throughout the country. The ongoing refurbishment of central hospitals is expected to be complete by the end of this year and will facilitate provision of a full range of services by the hospitals, thus bringing relief to patients.

Madam President, Mr Speaker Sir.

A critical mass of appropriate human resource skills is necessary if sustained economic growth is to occur. However, the outward flight of professionals to other countries in the region and abroad has become a major drawback to the country’s otherwise internationally renowned human resource development programme. To arrest this trend, Government, in liaison with other stakeholders, is formulating strategies to develop, attract and retain critical skills for both the public and private sectors. A retention package for critical health professionals is now in place, while a recommendation to hire retirees is already being implemented.
A professionals-cum-intellectual "Homelink" desk that will, among other things, identify and recruit Zimbabwean experts in the Diaspora to come and contribute to national development, is being set up under the auspices of the National Economic Development Priority Programme.
Tremendous headway has also been made in exploiting training opportunities in such countries as Japan, India, Malaysia and China. Of particular interest is the recent offer by China to train Zimbabweans in critical shortage areas such as agriculture, mining, energy and power development, environment and tourism as well as transport and communications.

Madam President, Mr Speaker Sir,

In the education sector, Government has continued to expand and strengthen the provision of basic education, with special focus on early childhood development. The programme to foster and promote computer literacy through provision of computers to schools continued in earnest.
In pursuance of the goal for inclusive education, the development of Volume II of the Sign Language Dictionary is now in the final stages. This year also witnessed the successful amendment of the Education Act, which seeks to keep education accessible to the majority of the people.

Madam President, Mr Speaker Sir,

Government remains acutely concerned over high unemployment rates among the youth. For this reason, a Youth Development Fund has been established under the auspices of the Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe to enable the youths to access financial resources for income generating projects.
Other funding arrangements have been made through the Reserve bank of Zimbabwe with such financial institutions as Sedco, Commercial Bank of Zimbabwe, Agribank, Genesis Investment Bank and First Bank. I wish also to commend the Zimbabwe Youth Council for successfully hosting the first ever Southern Africa Youth Festival and to applaud the selection of Zimbabwe as the first Chairperson of the Bureau of the African Union Ministers of the Youth, with a special mandate to drive implementation of the African Union Charter on the youth for the next 2 years.
The provision of social protection to people with disabilities has been an unabating challenge for quite some time. However, Government has since established the Disability Loan Revolving Fund through which people with disabilities are being assisted to start self-help projects. To alleviate the plight of older persons, Government, in consultation with relevant stakeholders, has come up with a draft Older Persons Bill that aims to address social protection and care for older persons in a more comprehensive manner.
Government, through NSSA, continues to avail high and medium density stands and houses to alleviate the plight of workers throughout the country. To afford the workers some respite, Government reviewed the non-taxable income bracket upward from the erstwhile $20 000 to the current $100 000.

Madam President, Mr Speaker Sir,

My Government has made huge strides in addressing gender imbalances in the context of both national laws and multilateral conventions. Following the adoption of the National Gender Policy, an implementation strategy and action plan for the policy has now been formulated for the co-ordination of gender mainstreaming in all sectors as well as to provide a framework for monitoring and evaluating progress.
Following concern over the high incidence of cases of domestic violence, the Domestic Violence Bill, to help contain this contemptible occurrence, was tabled before Parliament. However, while the legal instrument is a necessary remedial measure, we should as a society also emphasise adherence to good family and social values as the ultimate antidote to domestic violence.

Madam President, Mr Speaker Sir.

Government is aware that civil servants are some of the workers worst affected by inflation owing to their relatively low levels of remuneration. Accordingly, their salaries and allowances were reviewed in January and May 2006 to cushion them against inflation. Further, in May, teachers and lecturers in the education sector were also elevated by one grade while the rural allowance was increased from 10 to 15 percent. In addition, government has put in place non-pecuniary benefits for civil servants in the form of the Civil Service Housing Fund and Vehicle Purchase Scheme.

Government also expects its employees to reciprocate this overture through committed performance. To this end, the Results-Based Management Programme is being introduced throughout the Public Service. The objective of the system is to maximise delivery on Government policies and programmes through enhanced implementation, monitoring, evaluation and instilling greater accountability.

Madam President, Mr Speaker Sir.

Our justice delivery system needs to evolve in tandem with socio-economic trends for it to efficiently and effectively discharge its mandate. In pursuance of this objective, steps have been taken to enhance the system by, inter alia, decentralising and increasing the Labour Court establishment, and setting up Small Claims and Commercial Crimes Courts.

Madame President, Mr Speaker Sir,

The scourge of corruption continues to rear its ugly head, manifested through the abuse of poor and unfair business practices, and the amassing of ill-gotten wealth by those entrusted with offices in public, private and civic sectors. Government will not relent in its efforts to weed out such bad apples in our midst no matter how highly placed or well connected they may happen to be.

Madam President, Mr Speaker Sir,

The security agencies continue to do the Nation proud by discharging their constitutional role of safeguarding the sovereignty, territorial integrity and national interests of our country with honour and distinction in keeping with their tradition of participating in SADC, African Union and United Nations peace-support initiatives.
Locally, they continue to play a critical role in the context of Military Assistance to Civil Authority as exemplified by their participation in Operations Garikayi/Hlalani Kuhle, and Maguta/Inala, to mention just a few. The Nation is indeed proud of them.

Madam President, Mr Speaker Sir,

The country continues to enjoy peace and tranquillity despite attempts by some misguided elements to fuel anarchy under the guise of freedom of expression and association. While the country respects and affords everyone the right of assembly and association, the use of such platforms as tools to advance the British-inspired regime change agenda cannot be tolerated. Our law enforcement agents will continue thwart such ill-conceived manoeuvres.

Madam President, Mr Speaker Sir,

As a country we remain resolute in our commitment to the achievement of a fair, just and secure international environment, where all countries, both great and small, are accorded respect and equality. In that regard, we remain steadfast in our call for the reform of the United Nations, especially the Security Council, to render it more democratic and transparent.
Of essence is the need to check the impulsive tendencies of a unipolar world where those who wield power and wealth are inclined to ride roughshod over established international practices under the fallacy that might is right. We note, however, that the voice of reason is becoming louder and clearer in its chastisement of such gross abuses.
In conclusion, I wish to appeal to Zimbabweans from all walks of life to retain in ourselves the sense of enterprise, ingenuity and self-belief as we pursue the goals of our economic turnaround programme.

Let us espouse the values of honesty and diligence, knowing that our destiny is in our hands. Let us desist from ivory tower theorising, and better still, from being long on critique, but short on prescription. Let us pool together our diverse talents, expertise and resource endowments for the realisation of our cherished destiny.
I wish to applaud the approach taken by our churches to foster nation building through constructive dialogue. May we borrow a leaf from such wisdom and avoid the tendency of self-destruction. Indeed, let us build on the spirit of multi-stakeholder co-operation that underpins the implementation of the National Economic Development Priority Programme as we work towards a more prosperous Zimbabwe under-pinned by national unity.

I wish you all a Happy Christmas and prosperous New Year!
Ngilifisela Ikhisimusi enhle!
Ivai neKisimisi yakanaka!
I thank you.