Belarus deals herald new era

Fungi Kwaramba-National Editor

PRESIDENT Mnangagwa’s engagement and re-engagement drive has opened new frontiers of cooperation with countries like Belarus that have agreed to boost the country’s health sector and drive the digitisation of the broadcasting sector, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Dr Jenfan Muswere has said.

Last week, President Mnangagwa led a delegation to Belarus where life-changing mega deals that will actualise the realisation of Vision 2030 of an empowered upper-middle-income economy.

Further, the deal on agriculture will help fulfil provisions of the country’s Constitution in terms of achieving food security.

Engagement and re-engagement anchor President Mnangagwa’s foreign policy.

The President has not only declared that “Zimbabwe is open for business”, but also that the country is a friend to all and an enemy to none.

In an interview, Dr Muswere said the deals signed last week were game-changers.

“In terms of Vision 2030, we have got one of the most important pillars, which is the engagement and re-engagement pillar, which primarily focuses on the management of our international relations,” said Dr Muwere.

The visit to Belarus, he said, deepened economic, technical and bilateral cooperation in the sphere of international relations.

“Part of great importance is that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Cooperation in the field of Information and Press (that) we signed in Minsk is also to finalise the digitalisation and the transition from analogue to digital, as we seek to ensure that we achieve 100 percent media and technological sovereignty for our country.

“But other aspects also include the modernisation of our studios and the rest of the infrastructure in order to ensure that we have got information ubiquity across the country.

“We are currently working on the modernisation and recapitalisation of a number of Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation studios from Pockets to Montrose Studios. So this agreement comes in handy to enhance the collaboration between the Belarusian news agency and the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation.”

Apart from that, Dr Muswere said the agreement sealed in Belarus on media relations also covers the transmission of the signal from analogue to digital.

“So these are some of the issues that we discussed and agreed. We have fixed a two-year period as part of the Zimdigital Phase 2 project and we are very confident that this agreement will enhance our capacity as we seek to ensure that we cover the whole country in terms of signal distribution,” said Dr Muswere.

In addition, the two countries also agreed on human capital development, which focuses primarily on the exchange of media expertise.

“We have the same circumstances; both countries have been sanctioned. Both countries have also been affected by social media imperialism, which affects the sovereignty of nations in terms of data and digital sovereignty in the context of Zimbabwe as a country.

“So, all of this is well catered for in terms of the new agreement, which is going to enhance the architecture in terms of the media and broadcasting sector in Zimbabwe,” said Dr Muswere.

Some of the agreements also focus on tourism and immigration relaxation to enhance trade between the two countries.

“The MOU related to the enhancement of health institutions, including Parirenyatwa Hospital, is going to allow the health sector to improve. It’s also going to help in terms of capacitation in terms of sharing of knowledge and experience within the health sphere,” said Dr Muswere.

Through the MoU on health, the country’s health sector is set to be revamped and revitalised to equal world-class health services, with the distribution of pharmaceuticals set to begin soon.

On top of that, the two countries also signed an MoU on waste management that will see local authorities that are struggling with refuse collection entering into collaborations with Geo Pomona Waste Management to bring the lost sparkle in towns and cities due to years of neglect by opposition-led councils.

Dr Muswere said through the agreements, there will also be the localisation of content in terms of industrialisation and manufacturing, including lithium batteries that will be manufactured in Zimbabwe.

Already, Zimbabwe is reaping huge dividends from cooperation with Belarus in the agriculture sector and that will now be accelerated under the new set of agreements, especially about the assembly of tractors.

“You will recall that initially it was trade. Then we have now moved from trading to assembling. And in the third phase, we will be moving into the manufacturing of tractors.

“This is a game-changer, which is aligned to the local content strategy that has been clearly espoused by His Excellency, the President, Dr Mnangagwa, in terms of the Vision 2030.

“So these are some of the discussions which we held, and these are some of the mega-deals that will bring life-changing parameters to the people of Zimbabwe as we are nearing the conclusion and achievement in terms of Vision 2030, which is an upper-middle-income society.

“So, all this is going to benefit in terms of the constitution of Zimbabwe, in terms of food security and nutrition security, as we have already achieved in terms of our technological know-how through cooperation, through the Belarusian tractor facility, which is being rolled out through our banking sector,” said Dr Muswere.

He added that the deals signed will see total transformation of the country’s industry from primary to secondary and ultimately tertiary industry.

“This is now the most important part in terms of a comprehensive industrial strategy as we journey towards an industrialised upper-middle-income society by the year 2030.

“So all this will add to the growth of our GDP as an economy and will enhance our capacity as a country within the region and internationally,” said Dr Muswere.

After superintending over the signing of the eight agreements along with his Belarusian counterpart, Aleksandr Lukashenko, President Mnangagwa said the two countries should maintain the momentum in the implementation of agreed deals with Harare ready to be the regional hub for the manufacturing of pharmaceutical products as well as tractors and trucks from the East European country.

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