US Embassy construction in Harare creates jobs for many locals

The United  States of America's construction of its building in its new embassy campus has reportedly created jobs for the Harare residents who are now employed in the construction works.

An observer Chalton Tsodzo said he lives in the Bluff Hill area of Harare, where the United States Embassy is building its new embassy campus. He said he has witnessed  over hundred local young people being employed at various levels, skilled and semi-skilled as the construction work progresses, and have also seen many vending stalls manned by women carrying babies on their backs getting brisk business around the complex.

"Women and girls are suddenly selling again, the young ladys go out of the complex for lunch or for breaks...and buy from the vendors nearby, the transport operators get business such that in the morning and after work as the construction workers head home there is a lot of money in this place, as the young ones of today would say..... you can actually see a little economy around the complex," he said. "Really i got reminded of when industry used to function many years back, there was something for everyone, employment for those needing employment, trade for the traders, families getting fed etc."

He said it is then just to ponder on how much it would take to attract and retain investment in this country, to re-industrialise, to enable a business environment where production, value addition and exports again happen etc.

"Imagining a Zimbabwean industry that awakens from deathly slumber and the machines start roaring again throughout the night. I was also just imagining what it would take for real production to happen on our farms (not the sustained farm invasions it was seen that there was  production 16 years before  the war of farms  started guys), primary produce which then would be channeled to industry for further processing and value addition to satisfy both domestic and international markets," he said. "I was just fantasizing how many spin-off jobs would be created if the agriculture sector alone was revived both horizontally and vertically, if we had economic processing zones, agro-specialised zones etc"

The observer said he was also imagining what sort of leadership would want to see revenues from mineral and other natural resources really benefiting the poorest of the poor in this country through improving social service delivery and then of course he quickly remembered that such kind of thinking is alien to the current leaders.

"The majority of them are on a journey of self-aggrandizement and self enrichment. The revival and growth of this country is nowhere near their interest, if the poor also live descent lives, they won't have anyone boast to with pictures on social media when they go where ever they would have gone," he said.