'Zimbabwe must remain a unitary state'

Zimbabwe remains a unitary state and the concept of devolution Government intends to implement in line with provisions of the country's Constitution is aimed at uplifting the living standards of people in all corners of the country, President Mnangagwa has said.

The President's remarks follow the approval of the Provincial Councils and Administration (Amendment) Bill by Cabinet recently.

The Bill spells out mechanisms for decentralisation and devolution.

Addressing the 17th Zanu-PF Annual National People's Conference here yesterday, President Mnangagwa, who is the ruling party's First Secretary and President, said secession had no place in Zimbabwe.

"Every province has particular and specific resources," said President Mnangagwa.

"Government, guided by the party, is putting in place a legislative framework to implement devolution. This is set to see the actualisation of the concept of provincial economies. The recently announced Budget allocated a total $310 million towards this programme," he said.

"Hurumende iri kuti iyo province imwe neimwe yakapiwa upfumi hwayo naMwari isina kukumbira kuna Mwari. Saka moga ikoko kuprovince motarira kuti muprovince menyu munei? Province yedu tingaisimudzira sei, munge makabatana muchiita izvozvo. Vachanyanya kubatana vachachimbidzika kubudirira.

"In implementing devolution, vachanonoka kubatana vachanonoka kubudirira. Saka new Minister of Finance Professor Mthuli Ncube akakupai $310 million kuma province. Zvinobvira kuti each province will have $31 million yamuchagara pasi kuti moshandisa sei. I now want you to listen attentively as I say this. As we implement devolution, let us always remain mindful that we are a unitary state, with diverse cultures, languages, beliefs and religions," said the President.

"We must therefore use this concept for economic advancement and as a vehicle to propel development. Devolution must improve the quality of life of all our people in our provinces. Therefore, as a country we have improvements of our people as a nation."

With regards to the use of social media, President Mnangagwa challenged party youths to use the platforms to defend and educate people on party policies.

"I implore our young generations to be educative and informative on social media platforms and engage others who are on those platforms. Rakashanai ipapo imi muchisimudzira musangano wenyu. You must always remember that our revolutionary party, Zanu-PF, has a history and a vision in building unity, peace and unity. Our party values should therefore permeate throughout the structures of the party."

President Mnangagwa continued: "In today's fast changing and global world, ICTs are an indispensable necessities. While Government has rolled out ICT, radio and television transmission signals to remote areas, we will quicken the pace of implementation of the programme. All our people in every part of our country must have access to local broadcasting and telecommunication services. Mobile networks must spread their services to remote areas so that more of our people can enjoy the convenience of mobile money services."

President Mnangagwa challenged war veterans, women and the youths to be proactive in building the Zimbabwe desired by all citizens in the Second Republic.