On 2 January 2022 the Second Republic announced, through Cabinet Chief Secretary Dr Misheck Sibanda, the setting up of the R. G. Mugabe Commendation Award for Service to Human Capital Development.I highly commend the ZanuPF Government for this worthwhile historic initiative.
The late former President richly deserves the honour for his contribution to Zim's human capital development. A former school teacher, the enduring philosophy he carried into his administration was no pupil should fail & where a pupil fails the blame should fall on the teacher. 
He, almost singlehandedly, forcefully & vociferously introduced policies that immensely contributed to the socioeconomic development of Zim. We are where we are today because of the late former President’s contribution principally in two areas of human endeavor;
... namely asserting our sovereignty over our resources & the quantitative & qualitative transformation of our human capital.
Zimbabwe’s present & future development rests on 4 pillars namely control over the country’s resources (i.e. land, minerals embedded in the soil, flora & fauna etc), its people (i.e. an educated & highly skilled population), technology & access to capital.
The late former President bequeathed to us control over our resources & an educated, highly skilled population (Zim has the highest literacy rate in Africa). After independence, the new Mugabe govt introduced free primary education & expanded secondary & university education.
To illustrate the extent of the debt we owe former President Mugabe I give the statistics on school enrollment figures & number of schools between 1979 & ģŕ2014. In 1979 there were 1 235 994 pupils doing primary education in 2 401 primary schools.
By 2014 this figure had jumped to 3 120 000 pupils enrolled in 5 863 primary schools. In 1979 there were 66 215 pupils undergoing secondary education at 177 secondary schools. By 2014 this figure had jumped to 979 644 pupils enrolled at 2 424 secondary schools.
In the area of university education, there was one university in 1979 namely UZ which in colonial times times didn't serve the interests of the indigenous population considering that with a student enrollment of around 1500 black students constituted but a fraction around 300.
... notwithstanding that the majority of the country’s population was black. In 2014 we stood proud to count 18 universities with total enrollment of at least 200 000 university students with UZ alone boasting at least 20 000 students in enrollment.
I can go on & on & on recounting the quantum leaps made in the area of human capital development under the watch of the former late President Mugabe.
Similar achievements were scored in all sectors of human skills development in the training of doctors, lawyers, nurses, engineers, artisans, agricultural extension officers, teachers etc etc.
The dispersal of the population to the diaspora to diverse countries like the USA, Europe, UK, white Commonwealth Countries of Canada, Australia & New Zealand & to regional countries: SA, Botswana & Namibia is significant, ample testimony of the depth of human capital development
This has taken place under ZanuPF rule & watch since our independence in 1980.
It can't be disputed that 99% or so of our population in the Diaspora (the remaining 1% mainly in the UK are those who under instigation from the Blair government & MDC faked victimhood & human rights violations to justify gaining entry into that country) ...
... are highly skilled men & women who were allowed entry into those countries solely on the basis of their skills.
What sometimes isn't appreciated or understood is the fact that because of asserting our control over our resources through the land redistribution programme, at the behest of the Tony Blair founded, funded, inspired & sponsored MDC the country got punished ...
... & economically isolated through the imposition of the illegal, heinous & punitive sanctions in contravention of the UN Charter. To this day these sanctions remain. The sanctions apart from wreaking havoc on the livelihoods of millions of our people have robbed Zimbabwe
...of access to international capital & vital technology (to gain access to technology you require in the first instance access to capital, the two go hand in hand). Thanks to @edmnangagwa Zimbabwe will develop, albeit at a slower pace,through Mobilisation of Domestic Resources.
With last year’s economic growth at 7.8% & projected economic growth of 5.5% in 2022 under sanctions conditions the country will no doubt fly economically speaking if sanctions were unconditionally removed.
The strides made by the late President Mugabe under the First Republic in the sphere of human capital development & for which the Commendation Award has been created are measurable. I trust the Commendation Award would be an annual event & open to both the living & posthumously.
Posthumously names that come to mind for possible award are the late Professors Kamba & Makhurane (MTDSRIEP) for their contribution to university education.Going forward my plea is for the establishment of more Vocational Training Colleges (VTCs) &Polytechnics on the German model
...placing VTCs under the Ministry of Higher & Tertiary Education so as to create an integrated vertical system dedicated to skills development up to university level,
... incorporate into all our education system a curriculum imparting entrepreneurship so that we don't churn out from our education system year after year hordes of graduates all looking for work & not creating employment opportunities for themselves & others.
One last plea is for Central Government to create various awards to recognize, acknowledge & celebrate excellence in various fields of human endeavour such as the sciences, creative arts, literature, sports etc something along the Hall of Fame concept.
Lastly President Mnangagwa needs to be commended highly for building on the foundation of the late former President Mugabe in the field of human capital development in Zimbabwe & taking a gigantic leap in skills development through the introduction of Education 5.0
Education 5.0, if relentlessly pursued, sustained & adequately funded will equip Zimbabweans with skills that empower them to be innovative towards enhanced socioeconomic development through transformative science, technology & knowledge application that delivers goods & services
Those with eyes let them ‘eye’ and those with ears let them ‘ear '.
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