Nation urged to take advantage of Intwasa/Pfumvudza programme

05 Dec, 2021 - 00:12 0 Views
Nation urged to take advantage of Intwasa/Pfumvudza programme President Mnangagwa and Vice-President Chiwenga (left) planted trees to mark the National Tree Planting Day at Masvingo Primary School in Mberengwa, Zvishavane, yesterday. (Picture by Eliah Saushoma)

The Sunday News

Vusumuzi Dube, Online News Editor
THE nation should embrace the Pfumvudza/Intwasa programme to help uplift the country’s agriculture sector and ensure that the people also benefit as the Government ups its rural development drive.

This was said by President Mnangagwa during the National Tree Planting Day commemorations that were held at Masvingo Primary School in Mberengwa yesterday.

The President emphasised the need for people to note the benefits of the Pfumvudza/Intwasa programme and embrace it so that the country reaps its benefits, which will go a long way in ensuring that the nation achieves the attributes of Vision 2030 of being an upper middle class economy.

“Let us take advantage of the Pfumvudza facility and please I must warn headmen and village heads not to use their positions to engage in corruption. We were in Gokwe North recently where we heard that there were some village heads who were abusing this facility.

“I must emphasise that these seeds which are being distributed are not owned by any councillor or village head but are part of the Presidential Inputs Scheme.

People must be given these seeds as per the amount of land they have ploughed.

Last season we had good rains, I know this season we had good rains, same applies with the following season, therefore the future of the agriculture sector is quite bright,” said President Mnangagwa.

The President said the Government was upping the rural development drive where emphasis was incorporating education into the development of the nation.

“We now want education that produces products and services.

Our goal is that in the next 10 years children won’t want to go to the big cities once they complete their education, instead through rural development we will have industries being established within the rural areas.

“In Mutoko for example we noticed that a lot of people are growing tomatoes but once those tomatoes mature, they then hire transport to take them to Harare.

We are now destroying that requirement, instead we will have factories that will value add those tomatoes being established in Mutoko.

“In Mwenezi we saw that there were high volumes of the Amarula fruit that was going to waste, actually the locals were feeding these fruits to donkeys, now what we have done is we have a factory that is developing that Amarula Fruit to produce whisky.

I was talking to one of the engineers there and they told me the whisky they will produce will be of high standards to compete with any other expensive whisky,” said the President.

He said it was such programmes that had seen the country being ranked as the fastest growing economy in the Southern African region, pegged by the World Bank at 7,8 percent, where he noted that it was the simply principle of relying on own resources.

President Mnangagwa also reiterated that the country will in March next year be holding by-elections for various vacant council and parliamentary seats, calling on Zanu-PF supporters to use their vote wisely and defend the country’s sovereignty.

“The country’s heritage is in your hands, do not sell out, our independence came through sacrifices not these political organisations sent by the West to try and reverse the gains of independence.

You all have the power, that power being your votes, please vote wisely.

I know we have a lot of people that are coming from the opposition MDC coming back home to rejoin Zanu-PF, let us welcome them back but ensuring that they are not coming back just to go back to the opposition,” said the President.

Earlier the President launched an orchard at the school where he led other Government officials in planting trees.

He also renamed the Orchard in honour of the late Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Lieutenant-General (Retired) Dr Sibusiso Moyo, who did his primary education at the school.

He further revealed that the army had pledged to help rebuild and renovate the school in honour of the late National Hero.

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