New Cabinet has an opportunity to deliver

There are indeed higher expectations that the economy will soon be revived as the newly appointed Cabinet has pledged to give it maximum attention.

The new Cabinet which was recently appointed and sworn in by President Emmerson Mnangagwa, has a great opportunity to deliver and is expected to hit the ground running in its efforts to rebuild a new Zimbabwe.

Although the nation faced many challenges in the past, there are strong hopes that the new Cabinet, through the wise leadership of President Mnangagwa, will unlock the economic fortunes of Zimbabwe through revival of the banking sector, advancement of the agricultural sector, increased investment opportunities and accelerating productivity among other things.

There has been negative criticism of the new Cabinet in some sections of the media by the country's detractors. However, Zimbabweans should be encouraged to be patient and give the new Ministers a chance to execute their duties before rushing into accusing them of failing to deliver.

The nation's hopes hinge on this new Cabinet. Citizens expect the new Government to provide decent service delivery, especially health, education, water, electricity, roads, sanitation and general infrastructural development.

In his efforts to rebuild Zimbabwe, President Mnangagwa had been leading by example. The President began by setting up a new Government where some Ministries were merged to avoid duplications and containing unnecessary expenditures. This was also done as a way of reducing the bloated Cabinet which has been draining the fiscus at the expense of improving productivity and development.

Some Ministers were re-appointed to their previous ministries where they have much impressive records on their service delivery as well as pending projects that needs their attention. Most of the Ministers have been in Government before and have the professional experience to deliver on the expectations that people have.

Presidential advisor, Christopher Mutsvangwa recently told a gathering in Chinhoyi that President Emmerson Mnangagwa had engaged opposition MDC-T leader, Morgan Tsvangirai with the aim of creating an inclusive Cabinet with MDC-T ministers, unfortunately, the MDC-T leader gave a precondition that he ought to be included in the echelons of the new administration and that he had to hand pick his party officials to be appointed for the Ministerial posts.

Like always, Tsvangirai declined to let his party legislators take in the Ministerial appointments, claiming that he was never consulted. Tsvangirai has never been satisfied with supporting Government programmes that are directed towards development.

MDC-T legislators should understand that their leader is an enemy of development. Remember when Government embarked on the Land Reform Programme, most citizens benefitted from that programme but Tsvangirai imprudently told his party supporters not to be part of the programme. Most MDC-T supporters failed to take advantage of that opportunity, but most of their leaders including Welshman Ncube were the major beneficiaries of the programme.

MDC-T legislators should be encouraged to involve themselves in Government programmes so as to enhance national development. In as much as it is important for MDC-T officials to heed their boss's advice, it is also necessary for them to be embroiled in national service if ever they want to endear themselves to the electorate.  It is also imperative to note that nation building is not a one man's band but requires everyone's contribution regardless of political background.

The Ministry of Industry and Commerce should ensure that there is maximization of local production of commodities that have internationally accepted standards for exporting. This will have a tremendous effect on the growth of economy as more foreign currency will be generated.

When revitalizing the economy, the new Government should be encouraged to serve at the interest of the people. Thus, all the developmental projects should cater for the needs of citizens so as to improve their living standards.