By Ziyah’s News Editor
President Emmerson Mnangagwa yesterday delivered the SADC public lecture at the University of Zimbabwe where he rallied the region to exploit its potential and position it where it really belongs in the global economy.
His Excellency was delivering a lecture titled: “Building Research Capacity and Innovation Ecosystems for a Sustainable Industrialised SADC Economy” reiterating that the region has unique opportunities and ingredients for success.
“We have all the requirements to become an economic powerhouse on the global arena. We are endowed with a rich resource-base, resilient and interconnected people; vast arable land for agriculture; a wide array of minerals, a good climate, abundant wildlife as well as a rich culture. Our task is to unlock value from these diverse resources that we collectively share as a Bloc. Finally, let me reiterate the important need for SADC, to re-purpose our human capital resource pool and optimise production and productivity specialisation anchored on the right education philosophy and configuration,” said the incoming SADC chairperson.
He underlined the actions SADC need to bring about a competitive regional economy.
“To achieve this, the programming of our new education systems should be aligned to the abundant and key resources distributed across the SADC Bloc. I, therefore, challenge member states to further reflect on these critical issues as we re-organise and mobilise to drive forward our modernisation and industrialisation agenda, through the requisite knowledge, research, innovation and new technologies,” he said.
The President also used the opportunity to chronicle the strides Zimbabwe has been making in ensuring its education system produces innovators and industrialists equipped with skills and competencies that develop products to meet the needs of our people.
“In Zimbabwe, our Heritage-based Education 5.0 Philosophy embraces research, innovation and industrialisation as important mandates for all levels of the education sector. This focuses on our God given natural and cultural endowments to drive development. The appropriate research and innovation are fundamental to the advancement of both our domestic and regional development agenda.”
He also emphasised that a correct configuration of the region’s education, innovation, science and technology ecosystems, can help unlock maximum value from our natural resources and human capacities in the regional bloc adding that; “appropriate and timely research as well as relevant science, technology and innovation, new business and trade opportunities should be created for SADC to become a key player in the world of today and that of the future.”
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