by Innocent Mujeri
President Emmerson Mnangagwa today attended a virtual seminar on the reform of state enterprises and parastatals ownership model at State House in Harare.
In his opening remarks, President Mnangagwa said there is need to overhaul the corporate governance and management culture within the State Enterprises and Parastatals.
“The review of the ownership model has been necessitated by the need to overhaul the corporate governance and management culture within the State Enterprises and Parastatals in our quest to ensure their productivity, efficiency, accountability, profitability and relevance in the context of Vision 2030.
“Let us therefore revisit the strategic importance of the various State Enterprises and Parastatals, through the lens of the current development epoch,” said the President.
President Mnangagwa said there are many countries who have successfully transformed the State Enterprises and Parastatals through the adoption of appropriate ownership models.
The President further said the virtual workshop was convened to acquaint Cabinet Ministers with issues around re-modelling parastatals and State Enterprises for the realisation of national goals and interests.
President Mnangagwa said the Government is implementing reforms across the socio economic and political sectors as the country moves towards the attainment of Vision 2030.
The President further said Zimbabwe had 107 State Enterprises and Parastatals and most of them are key enablers of the economy, as they contribute at least 40 percent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
President Mnangagwa also said the efficient performance of the State Enterprises and Parastatals is crucial to the modernization, industrialisation and development of a robust rural industry system and growth of the country’s economy.
The President urged the attendees of the seminar to be mindful of the need to create top notch enterprises that can successfully compete for global capital, whilst producing goods and services that can penetrate the international value chains.
The seminar included virtually linked experts from across the globe and was attended by Vice Presidents Constantino Chiwenga and Kembo Mohadi.
Cabinet Ministers, among them Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa, Mines and Mining Development Minister Winston Chitando and Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Dr Misheck Sibanda also attended the virtual seminar.
