Harare Metropolitan Province is holding a Brand Zimbabwe Consultative Workshop that is expected to culminate in the building of a brand for the country that every citizen will be proud to be associated with.
In his welcome remarks, the Secretary for Provincial Affairs and Devolution for Harare Metropolitan Province, Mr. Cosmas Chiringa, emphasised the importance of developing a marketable ‘Brand Zimbabwe’ concept.
“Hon Minister, I am reliably informed that this branding exercise follows a bottom-up approach, and it is for this reason we have assembled here today to contribute to the branding process. Gathered today, are all the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) in the Province, Private Sector Representation, Religious organisations, legislators, and our Local Authorities.
“As we deliberate and contribute towards branding our Nation, it is my expectation that we all work together as one team to develop a brand that will build the Zimbabwe we want. Ladies and Gentlemen, I urge you all to effectively pay attention to our facilitators, actively participate in the discussions, and come up with tangible workshop outputs,” Mr. Chiringa said.
In his keynote address, the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution for the Harare Metropolitan Province, Hon. Charles Tawengwa at the Brand Zimbabwe workshop, encouraged stakeholders to focus their energies on accelerating the attainment of Vision 2030 targets earlier than originally planned and move Zimbabwe to a developed and high-income status.
“In that regard, His Excellency the President emphasized a number of strategic issues that should be borne in mind in order to achieve the country’s vision and aspirations. There is a need for scaling up successes scored by the Second Republic so far. We all should uphold sustainable and accelerated development and competitiveness through the exploitation of comparative advantages.
“Focus should be on the provision of quality, affordable, and accessible services to the citizenry. A greater sense of urgency should be borne in mind when implementing government programmes and projects; among a host of other strategic issues and policy imperatives,” Hon Tawengwa said.
The experienced technocrat said it is imperative that stakeholders take note of the key issues espoused in Vision 2030.
“With the coming in of the Second Republic, His Excellency the President Cde Dr ED Mnangagwa has been the Number one Brand Ambassador for Zimbabwe, travelling regionally and globally consistently communicating Zimbabwe is Open for Business Mantra and the country’s vision of becoming a Middle-Income economy by the year 2030. All the efforts by His Excellency, the President of the 2nd Republic, Cde. Dr. E.D. Mnangagwa is focused on achieving the Engagement and Re-engagement strategy espoused in the NDS 1.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, the foundation of any enduring national brand identity is derived from the people’s history and its record of achievement over a given time period. In the case of Harare Metropolitan Province, infrastructure development, Waste Management, ICT, Energy, and Power are lead sectors that investors can take advantage of. These key sectors are expected to power the growth of the provincial GDP for the current year,” Hon Tawengwa added.
This National Branding program is coming at an opportune moment, creating business confidence that will help to foster the economic, political, and international relations needed to attract investments into the productive sectors.
The exercise follows a bottom-up approach which requires the participation of all citizens in and out of Zimbabwe regardless of gender, ethnicity, race, tribe, political, or religious persuasions thus “leaving no one and no place behind.”
Mr. Agostinitio Zaverias, the Chief Workshop Facilitator from Brand Zimbabwe said that the process of branding a country is not something that Government can do alone.
“Creating a lasting brand requires everyone to put all their hands on the deck and work towards coming up with a brand that truly identifies us, a brand that tells who we are, a brand that mirrors our culture, norms, and values. To achieve all this, we need to involve everyone in the branding process that is the public and private sector. Hence, this consultative meeting speaks to the Second Republic’s true spirit of inclusivity in our development programming,” he said.