Shongedzai Mugwagwa

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has challenged Zimbabweans to emulate the hardworking culture exhibited by the Chinese in all their projects, the Harare Post can report.

President Mnangagwa said this during his tour of the new Parliament building which is being constructed by a Chinese company in Mt Hampden, 18km north-west of Harare.

He said that the pace at which the construction was moving at was unprecedented and very commendable.

“I was here last year in November for the ground breaking ceremony and today, almost six months down the line, l am back again and the progress that l am seeing here is very commendable.

“I am told the project is anticipated to be completed in 32 months but with the pace they are moving at, I am very sure they will beat the anticipated time and complete it in less than 32 months,” said President Mnangagwa.

On the sidelines, President Mnangagwa told this publication that the construction of the new parliament marks a shift towards the total emancipation of the Zimbabwean people.

He said that the new state of the art building would be a symbol of Zimbabwe moving away from infrastructure which the country inherited from the Rhodesian government.

As a way of showing confidence in the Shanghai Construction group, President Mnangagwa urged craftsmen, engineers and workers who are working for the construction company to harvest and absorb skills from the biggest Chinese company in Africa.

“To our engineers and craftsmen working for this construction company, we hope that by the time this project is completed, you would have harvested necessary skills from this giant company which has been in Africa for decades,” said President Mnangagwa.

President Mnangagwa said at the ceremony that China had provided a "grant, not a loan, to build a new parliament.