Staff Reporter
Upscaling of domestic resource mobilization initiatives remains critical in order to adequately fund the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) programmes and projects, Deputy Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion, Cde David Mnangagwa has said.
He made the remarks during his speech at the opening of the ongoing three-day Zimbabwe Economic Development Conference (ZEDCON) being held in the resort town of Victoria Falls, where he underscored that sustainable socio-economic development could only be achieved through solutions that are home-grown and developed domestically.
“Drawing from our official mantra as a nation, that is to say “Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo/ ilizwe liyakhiwa ngabanikazi balo”, it suffices to say that sustainable socio-economic development requires solutions that are home-grown and developed domestically.
“Hence we need to intensify our efforts in mobilizing resources within the country as we are all aware that currently our capacity for external financing is limited for many reasons.
“In that regard, upscaling domestic resource mobilization initiatives remains critical in order to adequately fund the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) programmes and projects, during the second half of the NDS1 period,” said the Deputy Minister
Deputy Minister Mnangagwa also implored academics and young researchers to be part of the country’s economic revolution that is being championed by the Second Republic under the tutelage of President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
“Our research and academic institutions must also be a big part of that conversation, by delivering actionable and practical recommendations from their academic and research work. This conference provides another unique platform for established academics and young researchers to present their solution oriented research to policy makers and decision makers," he said.
The conference which has attracted some of the best economic minds in the country, drawn from government, the academia, civil society and private sector, is being held under the theme “Public and Private Resource Mobilisation for Sustainable Development.”
