AWARD ACCEPTANCE SPEECH BY SENATOR MONICA MUTSVANGWA AT THE 2020 ZIMBABWE BUSINESS AWARDS (ZIBA) ON FRIDAY 11 DECEMBER 2020 AT THE CROWN PLAZA HOTEL
I would like to first and foremost acknowledge the Guest of Honour and the Honourable Vice President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Honourable Vice President K.C.D. Mohadi;
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor, Dr. John Mangudya;
The Diplomatic Community here present;
The President of the Zimbabwe Business Awards Council & CEO of Group Maverick, Dr Enrico Maverick;
The Board of the Zimbabwe Business Awards;
Fellow cabinet ministers here present;
The CEO’s, Board Chairpersons;
Directors;,
The entire business community;
Musicians and other artists here present;
Members of the Fourth Estate, the media;
All esteemed guests here present;
Without disrespect to all the great people here present, allow me to say all protocols observed.
I am greatly humbled and honoured to be receiving the prestigious 2020 Zimbabwe Business Awards (ZIBA), ‘The Zimbabwe National Women’s Media, Gender, Business & Community Leadership Excellence Award’. I would like to offer my sincerest gratitude to the Zimbabwe Business Awards council, its President Dr. Enrico Maverick and the entire board for the honour and recognition of my work and service to the nation. The qualities and sectors that are listed as having made me be considered for the award go straight to my heart and form my life time focus: first and foremost women and girls, the media fraternity, my family and my country.
Allow me to humbly thank His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, President Dr E.D. Mnangangwa for believing in women and giving us an opportunity to share in the leadership of the country as a sizable number that hold various portfolios in his cabinet.
I am delighted that at the age of 60, I have been identified to be the lead contender for this prestigious ward. Maybe a brief history of my life will put all into perspective. The journey begins in 196O as an eighth born in a family of nine. I only have vague memories of my father. Tragedy struck as my mother was widowed in 1972. I owe what I am to the strict upbringing of my precious, hard-working, strong-willed and devoutly Anglican mother, yet another testimony that it is women that almost always bear the greatest brunt of raising children. Sarah Rudzungu Parirenyatwa single-handedly brought up the family to be close knit and highly conscious of positive values of society especially education, being alive to the environment around you and not shying from responsibility.
We grew up under the colonial yoke which was dominated by the prevalence of fear. Our parents made us understand that there was a white man who had come from afar and conquered us. He was in charge. All society knew this and was supposed to behave as the white man desired. At an early age of 15, I began to feel that this situation was untenable and desirable. I got caught up in the mood of the times as thousands upon thousands of young boys and girls absconded from school and employment to go join the bludgeoning ZANLA-ZIPRA guerrilla army. I left Mutambara School to join the armed struggle in 1976. I was doing Form 3. It was a long expectant walk filled with fear of the then menacing Rhodesia racist soldiers. We only got to know we had crossed into Mozambique when we encountered patrolling FRELIMO soldiers. What a relief it was to be welcomed by a friendly African army!
We were taken to Nyadzonia Refugee Camp which had been established a year earlier by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. I became an inhabitant of this sprawling camp of thatched dormitories housing nearly over 15000 youths and growing in numbers by the day. I was however soon struck by the agony of the new life of sacrifice I had chosen. Older arrivals were looking scruffy and lice were all over. Bodies were thinning because of under nourishment. What was remarkable was the high spirits engendered by a singular goal to train, get a gun and go back to fight.
I was hardly two months at Nyadzonia when the racist Rhodesia army raided the refugee camp. Because of a sell out, many rushed to the parade ground and were massacred. The escape saw us survivors crossing the Nyadzonia River after a long flight and ending up at a new improvised Doroi Camp that was farther from the dangerous Rhodesian border. However, the racist and brutal Rhodesian army would not relent and let go. At Doroi they attacked with biological and chemical weapons. Once more I survived.
On a good note of success, I ended up at the Chitepo School of Ideology where graduated in political cadreship. I soon proceeded to military training. Thereafter I was deployed to the border-front in the guerrilla army transport corps.
In 1977, Cde Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa as Special Assistant to Party President then lost no time in setting up the Takawira School of Security and Intelligence. I was identified and withdrawn from the war front to become one of the pioneer recruits. On graduating with distinction, I was deployed into the Office of the Special Assistant to the President as his Personal Assistant. I was also lined up for pilot training in Ethiopia.
With regards to the Battle of Mudzingadzi, I still carry bomb shrapnel pieces that glazed my thigh and gashed my ankle. I wear those ‘two purple hearts’ up to today. After the battle of Mudzingadzi I was instead redeployed to Party headquarters in Maputo and appointed Personal Assistant to the Special Assistant.
I met my loving husband, Cde Ambassador Christopher Mutsvangwa during the war and after a heart-rending relationship registered as per the practice then our marriage in late 1978 with Comrade Mayor Urimbo, the Party Political Commissar. By coincidence, the political fortunes also began to turn. The Lancaster House Conference beckoned in which my boss had to go to London to attend the conference without me as I was pregnant. During the armistice and ceasefire, I remained in Mozambique in the custody of secret and sensitive documents entrusted to me. I also was part of the team that would re-start the War in the event of Rhodesian perfidy. My first son, Neville, was born on 10 April 1980 in Mozambique. I had near perfect timing to make escape the air raids and bombing.
I came back home only in July 1980 and joined the President’s Department as Director of the office of the Minister of National Security. I went back to school as a working mother and completed O and A levels with flying colours. My husband was granted a diplomatic mission and we moved to New York. I pursued degree studies as a working mother of two boys. I graduated a Degree in Marketing in 1990 from Baruch College, City University.
My Masters in Business Administration-MBA came 15 years later in 2005. This time I was Ambassador’s wife in Beijing. I learnt the importance of branding Zimbabwe as I worked as a marketing executive in the tourist industry for 10 years starting with the New York office.
With regard to my private business interests, together with my husband, we ran a successful Information consulting company. We pioneered the Digital Age of Zimbabwe. We were the first to introduce the Compact Disk in 1990 and the telephone modem during the Commonwealth (CHOGM) of 1991. In 1996, we turned to the Digital GSM Cellular industry. We installed the first cellular switch in Zimbabwe with Siemens and NetOne. I personally negotiated the first Internet switch with CISCO and TelOne in 2000.
I turned to electoral politics in 2008 and won the Zimunya-Marange Senatorial seat. I have held onto it ever since. I have been a Deputy Minister of Information, then Social Welfare, then Economic Planning. I served as Resident Minister Manicaland in 2017. I became Minister of Information in 2018. I still am. I have the honour of being fired as a Minister during the dying years of the First Republic. I beseech you in all my humility that I shall try my best to continue to serve with commitment, flair, grace and dignity.
Today I am proud to be standing among giants who have walked this path before me and who have shown with their achievements that there’s no limit to what women and young people can accomplish if they believe in themselves. Time does not allow me to name all these outstanding women and young people from various parts of our country, but I would like to thank them for showing our young girls that the glass ceiling has been broken. And whereas many girls are still constrained by poverty, war, bad governance and retrogressive cultural practices, it is my duty to encourage them and let them know that no matter where they come from, whatever difficulties they have endured, what really matters is the size of their dreams and the willingness to pay the price to make those dreams come true. Whatever passions you have, pursue them relentlessly and someday, it will lead you to a stage such as this one, where your achievements can be recognised and honoured.
It is a matter of fact that I have not walked this journey alone. I have been supported along the way by my family, wonderful professional colleagues, partners and the dedicated staff in my ministry, without whom, we wouldn’t have achieved much.
Across Africa, women and young people have made much progress in various fields from politics to business to academia. ‘Hustling’ as it is called in street lingua, it is an area that has taken route on the continent, Zimbabwe in particular and the spirit is pushing us to greater heights. These developments have inspired a new generation of women and youths that do not shy away but push for the ultimate prize, which is claiming a leadership stake in the economic and political domains. I am thus most grateful that girls being born today will grow up in a society more accepting of their role as leaders and innovators in various spheres of life.
I want to thank the Second Republic under the leadership of His Excellency for the continued support to women and young people, particularly with regard to property ownership and access to credit. Women do not expect to be given hand-outs. What they expect is an enabling environment to farm, run their businesses and access markets. They expect peace in their communities. They need a platform to shake the Continent, in a positive way.
The 2013 Zimbabwe Constitution requires that the State must take all measures, including legislative, needed to ensure that both genders are equally represented in all institutions and agencies of government at every level, and that women constitute at least half the membership of all Commissions and other elective and appointed governmental bodies established by or under the Constitution or any Act of Parliament. Furthermore the Government has shown commitment to achieving gender equality by ratifying a number of gender-related international and regional protocols.
The Constitution reflects and honours the history of our nation whose roots are in the armed national liberation struggle. Remember I took part in the struggle together with many other youthful women and young girls. The salient point is that the gender equality we enjoy today is well-earned from the shared sacrifice as we fought side by side with our men. This gender equality should never be construed as an act of charity.
I am excited that Second Republic is opening up opportunities for the nation to excel. The National Development Strategy 1 (NDS 1) built upon the Transitional Stabilization Program which together with NDS2, is our main approach in seeking an upper middle income society by 2030. TSP created a firm foundation for economic recovery as well as basis for sustainable growth.
Since June, there has been remarkable price and currency stability. This came about courtesy of the Presidential Statutory Instruments that helped restore the authority of the Reserve Bank as the sole monetary authority of the land. The result is that both the public and the business community now enjoy a new confidence as the national currency is maintaining value. Wages can now maintain purchasing power. Companies can now plan with a measure of certainty. Petrol queues have disappeared as the fossil fuel sector is opened up to competition. Load shedding is giving way to reliable electricity supply. This is owed to the new Kariba South hydroelectric power station as well as growth in coal mining. New thermal power stations are being set up. Soon Zimbabwe will generate 5000kwh of electricity leading to exports to the region. Annual reports are painting a very bullish picture of various segments of the economy.
The agricultural sector has rebound. We seem to be having good rains this year. We have trebled winter wheat production from 45 000 tons to 150 000 tons leading to cutting of imports and savings in foreign currency. The newly introduced climate proofed a griculture programme ‘Pfumvudza’ initiative is poised to deliver food security to rural and urban households. Meanwhile, commercial agriculture is on the rebound. Horticulture exports are back and growing.
Capital expenditure is rising, production is up and the job market is beginning to firm up. All in all, there is a new CAN-DO mood among Zimbabweans. Confidence is back.
The Second Republic under the visionary and dedicated leadership of President Mnangagwa is delivering on the promise of prosperity. Our economy is on the verge of a major take-off. We have the bountiful mineral resources. There are fertile and well watered soils that germinate every type of seed. We have great tourist attractions starting with the spectacular and majestic Victoria Falls. To top it all, we have a well educated, organized and hardworking population.
Despite our political haggling here and there, our state is solid underpinned by national tranquillity and peace with a strong stability dividend. We are sharpening our investment attraction environment to both domestic and foreign entrepreneurs hence the mantra ‘Zimbabwe is open for business.’ There is also ZIDA and the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange that have added vitality to the economic environment. All these are the factors that are making Zimbabwe to improve on the World Bank’s business friendly index.
Let me conclude by saying that given all these developments leadership at all levels is critical if we are to succeed in our national aspirations. Buoyed by the knowledge that ‘The prestigious Zimbabwe Business Awards’ are the hall mark and premiere Business Awards in the Republic of Zimbabwe: a national honour, celebration of excellence, inspiration and success, I feel greatly honoured to have been chosen winner for 2020. I thus dedicate this award to the millions of women and young people, who are working hard in various fields to feed families, maintain the social fabric and grow the economy despite the Covid19 Pandemic that we find ourselves in. I say thank you Dr. Enrico Maverick and your team. Once more, let me repeat that I am humbled to be here, may you continue with the good work to inspire more after me.
Let me end by encouraging each and every one of us and the nation at large to continue observing all the COVID 19 Regulations and be responsible citizens. The Covid19 second wave is upon us and it looks like it may be more devastating than the first wave.
Thank you and God bless you all.
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