TO the leaders of this country, national development and national pride come fi rst. This entails many responsibilities such as ensuring that every household is well taken care of and adequately fed to maintain the prevailing peace and tranquillity. For a country that is contending with incessant interference in its internal aff airs from the West, we have exceeded expectations if the massive infrastructural and other developmentoriented projects since November 2017 are anything to go by. In spite of Western aggression, Zimbabwe is relentlessly charting its path towards prosperity. The welcome rains are a blessing set to ensure a bumper harvest that will boost food security. According to the Meteorological Services Department (MSD), the rains will continue until March, fi rmly putting the responsibility of feeding the nation in the hands of our farmers. For any nation to develop, ownership and control of the means of the productions has to be vested in the masses. Our farmers, most of whom are benefi ciaries of Government’s unfl inching drive for land reform, have fared extremely well, dutifully playing their role of feeding the nation. The rains have come in abundance to wash away the dreadful terrors of hunger. Government, which is even often blamed for droughts by the usual malcontents in our midst, has ticked all the boxes by ensuring that inputs were delivered on time. As of January 3, over 1 448 684 hectares had been put under maize, with a combined 322 606 hectares of small grains and 85 000 hectares of tobacco, according to the Agricultural Advisory and Rural Development Services (AARDS) acting chief director, Leonard Munamati. The target this year for total planted crop area is three million hectares. This is anchored on programmes such as Pfumvudza/Intwasa, the National Enhanced Agriculture Productivity Scheme and support from the Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (ARDA) as well as the private sector. In order to achieve that target, Government has embarked on an intensive capacitation programme for extension services staff which has ensured a smooth fl ow of distribution of inputs to farmers.
Mining and energy to spur economic growth
A Government’s initiative to introduce incentives and create a conducive operating environment in the mining and energy sectors means that Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube’s projected 6 percent GDP growth is attainable. Already, the mining sector has witnessed increased support for smallscale miners as well as reopening of closed mines, pushing gold output to 36,4 tonnes last, a record for the country. In 2016, the country produced 21,1 tonnes, rising to 24,8 tonnes in 2017.
The upward trend continued in 2018, with the country producing 33,2 tonnes, a 34 percent increase in output. Currency vacillations in 2019 saw a slump in deliveries of 27,6 tonnes, with the trend continuing in 2020 where deliveries were just 19 tonnes.
The currency fl uctuations meant that Fidelity Gold Refi neries (FGR), the country’s sole gold buyer, would pay only 75 percent of deliveries in US dollars. This meant operational costs would not be sustainable for gold producers but Government intervened to ensure that small-scale producers received 100 percent payment in foreign currency. From 2021, production has been rising, with output rising to 35,3 tonnes in 2022.
To boost production, 17 gold-buying agencies have been established since 2020 while FGR has introduced initiatives such as the Gold Development Initiatives Fund (GDIF) and mobile buying units. This year, the country targets 40 tonnes buoyed by a US$5 million facility that was recently unveiled by the Minister of Mines and Mining Development, Winston Chitando, under the Mining Industry Loan Fund aimed at capacitating artisanal miners. In energy, Government has put in place measures to support 27 Independent Power Producers (IPPs), most of which are owned by locals. They are expected to produce 1 100 MW worth US$1 billion.
Despite the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA) having registered more than 100 IPPs since 2010, most of the anticipated projects have failed to take off due to lack of Government guarantees to attract investors. But in November last year, Professor Ncube revealed that the projects would receive guarantees in the form of the Government Implementation Agreement (GIA), which has three components to ensure sustainable return on investment (ROI) for investors; namely Project Development Support Agreement (PDSA), Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) and RBZ Undertaking for Foreign Currency Convertibility and Transfer.
All these will be based on competitive tariff s for power producers. Prior to these interventions, there were only 46 operational IPPs with a capacity of 222,8MW but were feeding a mere 58 54MW into the national grid.
The politics
We have deliberately chosen to dwell on this topic since the fi rst few days of 2025 have already shown that a united Zimbabwe can successfully navigate all political storms wrought by its perennial enemies both from within and outside of its borders. This unity will repel attempts by the usual characters to destabilise the country. 2025 is the year of unity, peace and development. Let those with ears listen.