Matabeleland Development: Let's head to the fields!

Undoubtedly the Matabeleland underdevelopment has become a fertile ground for most of the political parties and civic society groups alike. For political expediency these political upstarts are at home to talk about the issue with a simple cause of stirring the emotions of our people for political gains and to get donor funds yet in truth they are clueless when it comes to the solution of the challenges that are faced by the region.

It is however the belief of the writer that the time has come for the end of this rhetoric about the challenges of the region and a new season of the solution to these challenges must surely reign in earnest. I am convinced that through all my years as a community builder, politician and a citizen of this country I would have done my country and Matabeleland a disservice if am to join the bandwagon of those that complain and complain simply because it brings bread and butter to the tables yet our people's souls remain in travail waiting for us their leaders together with them to bring a solutions. I submit that the time has come that we heard to the fields of opportunities and grab our share.

While it is a popular perception that the people of Matabeleland are deprived of equal access to opportunities and for that matter, some forces might have been set to destabilize our region.Failure to unite, grab opportunities and stand up to these negative forces is to me tantamount to cooperating and by default participating in our own marginalization and underdevelopment.

I have however over the years watched painfully as our people are misled from taking up some opportunities that have come our way by those that prefer to sing about this poverty for political gain yet by night grab these opportunities for themselves a good example is the land reform program that was labeled a Zanu PF campaign gimmick during the day yet by night the some architects and merchants of these lies approached the governors and district administrators to ask for a share.

This stinking hypocrisy and-lack of unity of purpose has deprived our people of an opportunity of empowerment that they would have contributed immensely not only to their livelihood but also to the development of the region.

Because am a daughter, mother and political leader in the region it is thus important that I make my contribution towards the solution of this debacle because am convinced through my experiences that we can as a people  we need to outgrow this belief that as a minority we can't successfully empower ourselves economically.

While obvious of the fact that we can't exist on our own in a vacuum I wish to put across the examples of the Indian community that despite their small numbers and not getting any favours from the government they seem to be successful entrepreneurs in their own right, they have the most surviving businesses in our lifetime since prior to Independence to the present day.

The secret lies in the organization of their business at their community level, they support each other through buying from their own shops or from their kith and kin, this makes it possible for money to circulate within their area of business while making sure that they have a steady, predetermined and maintainable, market for their food and clothes, they have even extended their businesses to the marital level. With this illustration the writer does not want to criminalise the business conduct but innocently  to put across to the people of Matabeleland that they are we could employ in our lives at our community level with the vision of creating sustainable business enterprises.

I submit that if we are to use our land for example we could have contract farming ( where farmers engages into business agreement with wholesalers and retailers) in this way  our farmers at communal level will sell the raw products from the farms to wholesalers, super markets and large consumers like schools and hospital at a specified price and quality. This farming model guarantees a ready market for the farm produce from our community farms to supply their products to our local businesses while still maintaining independence on production. In this case our people will be able to get a steady income from their land, be able to develop the land into market farming in the long run.

It is very important to understand  that the organization at community level  properly worked out will guarantee the success of our communities I long to hear of the successful community credit facilities  for the  communities were the people in a village will lend and borrow money among themselves  to start some small projects that will help develop the communities. These projects should produce commodities that have a local market as its primary target to cut on transport expenses and proper marketing techniques be implemented to build consumer loyalty, over the years my Ministry has offered the training for these entrepreneurs.

I personally with (ORAP) the institution that I lead have been involved with communities over the years. Through my experiences I know that since our region is not good in producing maize we may need to focus on the production of small grains because they fetch the same value to maize and more still they are of high nutritional value that maize, this has been scientifically proven.

Because the SME'S require less capital injections and by nature they have high labour absorption, they have made significant contributions to employment generation and also to rural industrialization.This sector is ideally suited to build on the strengths of our traditional skills and knowledge, by infusion of technologies, capital and innovative marketing practices. I have no doubt in my mind that with the right mindset and proper strategies the Matabeleland region will prosper from these initiatives.

The diversity in production systems and demand structures will ensure long term co-existence of many layers of demand for consumer products / technologies / processes. There is already a flourishing and well-grounded market for the same product/process, differentiated by quality, value added and sophistication in the region and beyond. This development will allow a complementary existence for various diverse types of units. The promotional and protective policies of the government have over the years ensured the presence of this sector in an astonishing range of products, particularly in consumer goods.

The ability of the SME's to change the lives of the people must not be ignored especially now after realizing the role this sector played in during the economic hard times. This sector has saved lives, created jobs, provided a social and economic safety nets, brought foreign currency to the country not forgetting bringing the food that was so scarce.

It is the hope of the writer that it will dawn to the politicians, activists from the region and those that come to prey on the emotions of our people that  they repent from this political treachery and contribute towards finding solutions to the challenges facing our nation in general and Matabeleland region in particular.

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Hon Sithembiso Nyoni is the Member of Parliament for Nkayi North, the Minister of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises. She is also the Politburo Secretary for Business and Development.