Jane Mlambo| President Emmerson Mnangagwa has revealed how his Zanu PF party has over the years shown to be out of touch with reality following his remarks that devolution had finally been embraced by citizens.

Unequal sharing of natural resources has always created a need for devolution especially in provinces such as Matebeleland and Manicaland but it appears Zanu PF was blind to their calls.

In his closing address at the 17th Zanu-PF Annual National People’s Conference in Esigodini, Matabeleland South, yesterday, President Mnangagwa said;

“I have been happily surprised by the reception and quick understanding of the concept of devolution and creation of provincial economies by our communities. We must work hard, with a renewed sense of urgency, to close the development gap between the urban and rural communities.

“The revitalisation of rural areas must be uttermost in our endeavours. The days of lopsided development must be a thing of the past. All our people are important to us, everybody must be on board, no one must be left behind,” said President Mnangagwa.

“The prosperity we seek to achieve by 2030 must be for all our people in very corner of the country. Our desire for better and more modern roads, schools, health facilities must be realised across the entire country. As we are determined to modernise, build and industrialise our beloved country, no one should be left behind.”

President Mnangagwa said conference resolutions would help his Government better serve people’s needs.

“We value all the constructive contributions, with regards to all the sub-sectors of the economy; agriculture, mining, manufacturing, tourism, infrastructure, energy, ICTs and social services.

“As conference has directed, we will accelerate the various strategies that will lead to the modernisation of our agriculture sector and ultimately increased production and productivity,” said President Mnangagwa.

He called on the ruling party to be at the forefront of communicating the development agenda and the actual work done to improve livelihoods.

“The relevant departments of the party must play a central role in publicising our policies, programmes and reform measures to allow for the tracking of progress, monitoring and evaluation by the people,” he said.