President Mugabe slowly but surely reformingHonourable Vice President Joseph Msika, Honourable Vice President Joice Mujuru, Honourable Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, Honourable Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara, Deputy Prime Minister Thokozani Khupe, Honourable Ministers, Honourable Deputy Ministers, Heads of Ministries and Departments, Ladies and Gentlemen, Comrades and Friends.
It is indeed an honour and pleasure to...welcome all of you, and to be one amongst you, at this inaugural strategic Retreat of the Inclusive Government, born out of the Global Political Agreement signed by our three major political parties on 15 September 2008.
This Retreat, as you will get to know, is a means to afford you as Members of Cabinet, the opportunity to build consensus that guarantees the successful timeous implementation of the Short Term Emergency Economic Recovery Programme (STERP), which I had the honour of officially commissioning a couple of weeks ago. I have no doubt, therefore, that the quiet and serene environment of the Victoria Falls provides an ideal venue for such a Retreat as this, that seeks to engender constructive ideas and realistic deliverable targets for the Inclusive Government.
As most of you are aware, Article 3.1(a) of the Global Political Agreement prioritises the pursuance of economic stability and recovery by the Inclusive Government. This provision also bequeaths upon Government leadership in the process of developing and implementing an economic recovery strategy which seeks, most importantly, to address the priority areas of increased production, food security, poverty eradication and employment creation. I am pleased to note that immediately after its formation, the Inclusive Government has got down to serious work by producing the Short Term Economic Recovery Plan in record time.
The successful production of the STERP document within a compact time-frame is indeed a notable achievement by the Inclusive Government. Let me, therefore, heartily congratulate all our Ministers and officials who took part in crafting the document for a job well done. This, I believe, should go a long way in silencing the uninformed skeptics of the Inclusive Government, while simultaneously giving us ever-renewable and positive momentum to drive home the point that with unity of purpose we can as a people, carve for ourselves a prosperous future.
I wish to remind you that our people, be they the many from rustic dwellings, or emergent farmers, or indeed, the suave urban dwellers share high hopes of progress during the tenure of the Inclusive Government, and so we have an onerous responsibility of ensuring that we do not dash their hopes and disappoint them.
It is, therefore, incumbent upon us to ensure that we emerge from this Retreat with a clear, recharged and re-energised, compelling sense of achievement deriving from our design of implementing STERP. We dare not indulge in the luxury of engaging in unending theoretical discourse, for our thematic slogan should be resonantly Implementation! Implementation! and Implementation! again.
I am aware that this Retreat will come up with a 100-day Action Plan for the implementation of STERP. I have every hope that the Action Plan will have clear-cut roles and responsibilities for all the key players, namely, Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Heads of Ministries and Departments, the private sector, civil society, as well as heads of parastatals and state enterprises.
The roles and responsibilities should be well-defined, performance-based and time-framed. I am also confident that the Programme will receive much support judging by the various stakeholders workshops held recently across the country.
It is our collective hope that after the 100 days, the country will begin experiencing a firm and determined walk on the road to economic stabilization and recovery. Honourable Prime Minister, you have the challenge of carrying this assignment and, indeed, Cabinet will look forward to your regular briefs on progress in implementation of STERP. However, every one of us should rally behind the programme in order to realise its goals and objectives.
The country greatly appreciates the offers of much-needed financial assistance that are beginning to flow in, first from the region and also beyond. This assistance shall be effectively applied as agreed with our cooperating partners.
I should, however, hasten to point out that the mobilization of our own resources should be considered as key to the successful implementation of STERP, with outside support being complementary. This strategic posture is not only necessary, but also prudent, and far-sighted, more so in the light of the prevailing international financial crisis.
In conclusion, let me once more reiterate the need for binding unity of purpose throughout our deliberations, so that at the end of this Retreat, we can emerge with a clear sense of ownership and direction of the Short Term Emergency Recovery Programme (STERP).
May I now declare this Retreat officially open, and wish your deliberations all the success.
Ngiyabonga!
Ndinotenda!
I thank you.
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