By Ndafadza Madanha
DURING an international trip prior to the outbreak of the COVID 19 pandemic, minister of Higher Education Professor Aaron Murwira recounts how his boss President Emmerson Mnangagwa queried why Zimbabwe had such a huge import bill though it had capacity to make some of the imports.
The President’s observation was to be apparent a few months later when the world found its self fighting Covid 19.
Covid 19 required that governments stock up on sanisters, masks, gloves, oxygen and other protective material, the sudden demand of these items caused global challenges in the supply chain with small countries like Zimbabwe facing huge import bills to bring in the material.
With Zimbabwe stretched and many experts had designated Zimbabwe as most likely to be hard hit by the pandemic owing to the fragility of its health sector and perceived inability to manufacturer the protective material and oxygen disaster was almost inevitable.
“ I recall I was the acting foreign affairs minister and I was travelling with the President sometime in 2019 to a meeting and he asked me why the country was importing so many things and one thing he pointed to was oxygen he said why are we importing oxygen and I said your Excellency we can make oxygen, nitrogen and gas required for welding if you can give us US$4 million and he said ok you will get it as you are the only ministry that’s allowed to fail as you are experimental ministry and that’s how we started”.
From that discussion, Professor Aaron Murwira set about ensuring that Zimbabwe could fight the Covid 19 using its own resources through Education 5.0.
Beyond Covid 19 the ministry has also undertaken other projects that have transformed the livelihoods of Zimbabweans.
“This thinking by the President is not cheap as Through Education 5.0 we have set out a revolution that has enabled us to use our own resources and this revolution is Chimurenga chepfungwa as coined by the President which demands that we use our resources for development”.
Through the challenge posed by the President for Universities to take a leading role in their development the country has witnessed a number of innovations that have the potential to save or have the country a lot of money.
Covid 19
As part of interventions to the pandemic, Governmnet supported state Universities to successfully set up semi automated manufacturing plants for the production of industrial and household personal care products, personal protective equipment and allied products. The National Response to Covid 19 saw HTEIs playing a major role in the production of PPEs and saved the nation US$12 Million in imports through their efforts.
ZINGSA
Under Zingsa Professor Murwira said the biggest impact of this programme has been sending into orbit of Zimbabwe’s first satellite which has produced high resolution survey for maps for improved urban land use planning and control of illegeal settlements of Harare, Karoi and Masvingo using drone technology.
ZINSA has also produced a revised Agro ecological Zones Map replacing the one produced in 1965.
Minister Murwira said the ministry had also taken the challenge by the President for the country to use its own resources to develop.
“We have started establishing a Masawu beneficiation plant in Muzarabani with the NBA and Bindura University of Science Education and we expect it to be operational this year as we took up the challenge by the President to our own endowments to develop, our masawu do not need to be watered or fertilizers but these are fruits which our country have in abundance”.