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Exploring importance of capacity building

May 6, 2016 Shingirai Huni <http://www.herald.co.zw/author/shingirai/>


Dr Maruping
*Lloyd Gumbo Mr Speaker Sir*
/One of the major problems in Zimbabwe is that people without the required
capacity have been given authority to negotiate mega-deals with investors, yet the
country has people with that capacity who should take the lead in negotiating
these deals./

Revelations of the capacity gaps that exist in the African continent, with about 8
million engineers needed by 2023 for the countries in the region to meet targets of
the first 10 years of Agenda 2063 following its inception in 2013, indicates a serious
problem that the continent is facing.

Mr Speaker Sir, a lot of questions have been asked over the years about how the
African continent has remained under developed, despite being endowed with all
precious natural resources that some countries outside Africa have used to develop
their economies.

The paradox that has begged answers for years has been why are African people
poor yet so rich in resources?

Answers have been given and solutions with Western parentage proffered which has
resulted in the continent remaining poor while its finite resources continue to be
depleted.

This has mainly been due to lack of integration and sincerity among African
countries on speaking with one voice and acting on one position because powerful
countries have used their purse to divide and rule through funding national budgets
of some of the countries in the region.

However, the endorsement of Agenda 2063 by African leaders presents a big test
for the continent to prove if the spirit that united them to fight for political
independence will prove itself again in their fight
for economic independence.

Mr Speaker Sir, while the continent has made its number one priority to
industrialise, lack of capacity presents a big mountain to climb. The last thing the
continent would want to see is for countries outside
Africa to come here and prescribe how the region should industrialise.

But even more worrying are revelations by the African Capacity Building Foundation
in its study that Africa would need to produce about 8 million engineers by 2023 if
efforts towards meeting the first 10 years of Agenda 2063 are anything to go-by.

At the just-ended ACBF 25th anniversary that was held alongside the Capacity
Development Forum in Harare, the message from all eminent people who spoke was
that there is a huge capacity gap in the continent.

Right from Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko, they underscored the need for Africa
to build its capacity so that its citizens can proffer and implement solutions to the
continents problems.

ACBF executive secretary, Professor Emmanuel Nnadozie gave clear benchmarks of


how the continent was to meet the Agenda 2063 goals for the first 10 years until
2023. In terms of agriculture scientists and researchers, Africa has a current
projected gap of 1 611 042, and a projected number of 1 886 820
to aim for by 2023. As a continent, Africa has a current estimated gap of 2 827 703
water
and sanitation engineers, the continent should aim for 3 152 025 by 2023.
Africa has a current projected gap of 7 441 648 engineers, and a projected number
of 8 295 163 engineers to aim for by 2023, said Prof Nnadozie.

This therefore goes to show that African countries need to move with speed in
addressing these capacity gaps if the continent is to be transformed.
Mr Speaker Sir, it goes without saying that capacity building is about improving
effectiveness, as such it should be prioritised by African countries.

As was aptly described by Prof Nnadozie that capacity is the missing link in the
development of Africa, this has remained a major challenge for the continent.
While Zimbabwe has unambiguously demonstrated its support to capacity building
through various initiatives such as establishment of institutions of higher learning
throughout the country, a lot still
needs to be done considering that capacity is central for organisations and
countries to know where they ought to be done as they navigate through several
challenges.

There is a lot of noise today in Zimbabwe where authorities are crying that the
country got a raw deal from the diamond mining activities that happened in
Chiadzwa for almost 10 years.
Yet when the deals were sealed they were considered the best given that all
investors got into joint ventures with Governments mining arm-Zimbabwe Mining
Development Corporation.
But it has taken almost 10 years for the country to discover that pilferage still
occurred despite putting security measures in place. Mr Speaker Sir, this is where
capacity building becomes vital and calls
by African Union Commission, commissioner for Economic Affairs, Dr Anthony
Mothae Maruping for the continent to develop its human capital cannot be over-
emphasised.

For instance, Dr Maruping cites several deals that African countries have entered
with investors from outside the continent that see investors extracting resources,
exporting them and externalising funds
back to their countries.

One of the major problems in Zimbabwe is that people without the required capacity
have been given authority to negotiate mega-deals with investors, yet the country
has people with that capacity who should take the lead in negotiating these deals.

Officials in the Office of the President and Cabinet and other arms of economic
intelligence are at the Governments disposal, yet sometimes they are sidelined
when these huge deals are struck only to discover loopholes when the damage
would have already been done.
Line ministries take centre-stage with ministers; some of them without capacity,
running a one-man show and disregarding some of the technocrats in ministries.
At the end of the day, they get into raw deals that cost the country a lot of money.
Mr Speaker Sir, it is important that Government put in place a well-structured
organisation with qualified personnel of high integrity to superintend over any big
deals that the country enters, particularly in the extractive sector.

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