George Maponga in Rutenga
The Second Republic will intensify rural industrialisation to uplift the lives of ordinary people and expedite the journey towards an upper middle-income economy, Acting President Kembo Mohadi has said.
Addressing a large crowd at Rutenga Primary School in Mwenezi after touring the Mapfura/Marula beneficiation plant, the Acting President affirmed President Mnangagwa’s vision of value-adding locally available resources for both local and external markets.
He said this approach was yielding positive economic benefits.
The Mapfura/Marula plant, commissioned in 2021 by President Mnangagwa, was established by the National Biotechnology Authority of Zimbabwe in line with the Heritage-Based Education 5.0 initiative. This model encourages the use of local resources to support modernisation and industrialisation efforts.
Processing an average of 100 tonnes of the wild mapfura/marula fruit each season, the plant sources its raw materials from over 1,000 farmers who collect and deliver the fruit. The National Biotechnology Authority also buys the fruit from across 18 wards in Mwenezi, a development that has transformed the lives of the people, who earn a combined average of US$55,000 annually from selling the fruit.
The processed products, which include wines, cosmetic oils and charcoal, are sold locally and on export markets. Acting President Mohadi toured the plant, observing the entire process from the feeding of the fruit into machines to packaging value-added products such as wine and body oil. He was guided by National Biotechnology Authority of Zimbabwe chief executive officer Dr Dexter Savadye.
The Acting President said the Second Republic aims to further expand rural industrialisation and modernisation under the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2), whose implementation started this year.
“All our rural areas should have industries that beneficiate locally available resources for sale on the local market and also export to earn the much-needed foreign currency, and this is our vision as the Second Republic,” he said.
“Rural industrialisation and modernisation is a key policy of our visionary leader, President Mnangagwa. The Second Republic wants rural areas to undergo transformations that lift ordinary people out of poverty; this is our vision. We want rural areas to be industrialised and modernised.”
Acting President Mohadi mentioned visible transformative developments in rural areas, indicating that the country is progressing towards Vision 2030.
“Our thrust as the Second Republic is to beneficiate all our resources, build industries and create jobs, with value-added products earning the nation foreign currency,” he said.
He emphasised the importance of value-addition industries in attracting other service sectors, thereby creating more jobs and wealth, while aligning with the mantra of “leaving no one and no place behind”.
He also praised the Mapfura/Marula plant for its transformative impact on the community, noting that prior to its establishment, the wild fruit was left to waste in the bushes of Mwenezi.
Rutenga is evolving into a burgeoning industrial town, underpinned by the marula/mapfura processing plant, which directly employs 153 people during its peak season from late January to April. Acting President Mohadi said the value-addition project serves as a model for rural industrialisation that can be replicated in other regions to expedite the delivery of an upper middle-income economy by 2030.
Mwenezi is becoming a value-addition hub in Masvingo, processing products such as sesame, paprika and beef for local and export markets. Acting President Mohadi urged the province to continue its drive towards rural industrialisation and modernisation by using its rich natural resources.
In addition, he highlighted Masvingo’s high dam density, the highest in the country, and called for the construction of hydro power generation plants to supply uninterrupted electricity. He cited the Tugwi-Mukosi Dam’s capacity to generate 15MW and Lake Mutirikwi’s existing 5MW plant. The Acting President also discussed ongoing developments at Nuanetsi Ranch in Mwenezi, emphasising the need to remove illegal settlers from land earmarked for a greenbelt focusing on citrus, sugar cane and lucerne. Government has availed 136 000 hectares at Nuanetsi for resettling landless people, but Acting President Mohadi warned that only those displaced by the Tugwi-Mukosi Dam project would be compensated.
Acting Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development Minister, Professor Paul Mavhima, said they are committed to supporting the rural industrialisation drive through value addition of local resources.
Masvingo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister, Ezra Chadzamira, praised the Mapfura/Marula plant as a game-changer for Mwenezi’s economy.
The Acting President, who was accompanied by senior Government officials including Minister of State Security Lovemore Matuke, donated laptops and a Starlink kit to Rutenga Primary School.
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