By Engineer Jacob kudzayi Mutisi- The only way to turn around Zimbabwe’s fortunes is to appoint professional  engineers in positions of authority.

It is no secret that Zimbabwe’s infrastructure has been steadily falling apart since the 1980s. Zimbabwe is riddled with a multitude of crumbling roads and bridges, aging dams and outdated airports.

While much of the nation’s crumbling infrastructure can be attributed to a lack of funding, many feel the main culprit is simply neglect.

There is a lot of talk on why President ED Mnangagwa is “by-passing” parliament and has resorted to Statutory Instruments (SI) as a way to turn around Zimbabwe’s economy. There is now a need to have Statutory Instruments that will turn around the industrial manufacturing sector driven by professional engineers.

Zimbabwe’s political structure is mostly dominated by lawyers, economists and accountants and there is now a need to appoint professional engineers in strategic government positions.

Countries like China, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and now the world’s biggest economy China has a domination of Engineers in government, advisory boards and in most of the countries strategic positions.

Reason being an engineer is a problem solver hence the definition of an engineer (“a person who designs, builds, or maintains engines, machines, or structures”). These are the qualities that this country desperately needs.

Zimbabwe’s physical infrastructure we all rely on which include transport networks, roads, bridges, waste management,water and energy supplies are all in a dilapidated state.

Zimbabweans have to thank professional engineers for their digital infrastructure like communications and navigation networks that are part and parcel of the now Zimbabwe’s way of life. Zimbabwe’s engineers continue to play a huge role in healthcare, food, manufacturing and research. Professional engineers are the ones who bring innovation to our country.

As you know, Germany is known for its automobile industry. But did you know, Germany has very advanced nanotechnology applications in various industries.Japan too,has its income now mainly from Animes and Mangas.

Mangas are Japanese comics, and Anime is the Japanese version of animation. In order to design those they hire a lot of animation engineers. China is known for manufacturing electronic appliances at a cheaper cost. This is not possible without an electronics and electrical engineer.

So, engineers make a lot of difference in nation’s technology state. Talking about changes in technology by engineers,India is one more country that has a very big market of textiles, that do a lot of varieties. All these are not possible without textile engineers.

The Japanese economic growth was driven by an American engineering and industrial expert, W. Edwards Deming. Deming taught the Japanese manufacturers how to produce top quality products economically.

Some of the Japanese companies who adopted Deming theorems and concepts are Toyota Motor Corp. and Sony Corp. and became world-class producers in their fields, helping Japan become one of the planet’s dominant economic powers. Japan’s rise was the start of a regional metamorphosis. Asia eventually became a manufacturing giant.

Although American companies could have learned from Deming, most ignored him for decades even as Asian competitors gobbled away at Americans’ customer base and profits.

Zimbabwe needs professional engineers to be actively involved in building infrastructure, engineering work has a much wider and more lasting impact. It is common knowledge that infrastructure  development helps to fuel economic growth.

Well-built housing and sanitation improves the quality of life of all residents in Zimbabwe. Good transport links make it easier for businesses to trade their goods, and enables the workforce to be more mobile and on time.

High-speed internet can boost productivity, improve efficiencies, and help organizations to look beyond their local or national borders… this list is endless.

There is no way Zimbabwe will develop to be a first world country without professional engineers leading from the front.

Engineer Jacob Kudzayi Mutisi is Chair of the ICT division of Zimbabwe Institution of Engineers (ZIE) , a Board Member of the Zimbabwe Institute of Directors (IOD), a Member of the Zimbabwe Institution of Engineers (ZIE) and Practising Engineer with Engineering Council of Zimbabwe (ECZ)

Leaders who don’t listen will eventually be surrounded by people who have nothing to say. Andy Stanley