Zim Asset already showing promise

The Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (Zim Asset) launched in October 2013 is a cluster based government.

 Clusters in the policy include, Food Security and Nutrition, Social Services and Poverty Eradication, Infrastructure and Utilities as well as Value Addition and Beneficiation.

To date, the new economic blue print has already realized success in some clusters highlighted below although it is too early to gauge its overall success rate.
 The plan of Zim Asset is to strengthen the gains brought about by the land reform, indigenization, economic empowerment and employment programmes. Zim Asset also pins its hopes on mining, agriculture and transport.

The thrust of the Food Security and Nutrition cluster is to create a self- sufficient and food surplus economy that will see Zimbabwe re-emerge as the "Bread Basket of Southern Africa." Ultimately, it seeks to build a prosperous, diverse and competitive food security and nutrition sector that contributes significantly to national development through the provision of an enabling environment for sustainable economic empowerment and social transformation.
Zim Asset is a result driven policy and accordingly, through the Presidential agricultural input scheme for the 2013 to 2014 cropping season, farmers were given maize seed, fertilizers and small grain seed. Most farmers across the nation have yielded a bumper harvest. In Matabeleland, improvements in crop produce have been recorded in this year's cropping season. Matabeleland South and North fall under region 5 where there is less or no rainfall and farmers usually realize abundant harvests of small grains such as soya beans, rapoko and millet.

Government has since increased the producer selling price of maize from $265.00 to $390.00. This initiative will see a number of farmers selling their maize to the Grain Marketing Board. In addition, government also suspended the importation of all agricultural produce such as eggs, vegetables, fruits and poultry products taking into consideration the plight of local farmers.

A programme of rehabilitation of irrigation equipment and adopting low-cost mechanization is another initiative by the Government that is set to transform the fortunes of Zimbabweans through Zim Asset.  Nyanyadzi Irrigation Scheme, in Manicaland received new equipment together with others like Stanmore and Dromore Irrigation schemes in Masvingo.

The infrastructure and utilities cluster focuses its attention on the rehabilitation of infrastructure assets and recovery of utility services. Since the new economic blue print is a policy that is public-private partnership oriented, a number of mining companies are giving a hand in construction of roads and schools.
 The Ministry of transport and infrastructure development, through the Zimbabwe National Road Administration (ZINARA), is already in an ongoing big project to rehabilitate and widen the Plumtree-Harare- highway and other roads. In Gwanda, Blanket mine is fulfilling its corporate social responsibility through construction of schools and clinics.

The thrust of social services and poverty eradication cluster is to enable government to improve the living standards of citizenry for an empowered society and growing robust. In an effort to wipe out poverty, the government has incorporated small scale and artisanal miners into the main stream mining sector. Measures were also put in place to prevent the illegal sale and export of minerals in order to boost the economy.

Mining has become the center piece for economic development in line with Zim Asset. In a press statement, Minister of mines and mining development, Walter Chidhakwa noted that the government had reduced license fees for local diamond polishing and cutting firms from $100 000 to $20 000 annually. The move was aimed at promoting the local beneficiation industry as well as creating jobs in the country. With the value addition and beneficiation cluster in mind, the government reached an agreement with platinum miners to use existing refineries to smelt platinum.

With this promising start to ZimAsset , more successes are sure to come.