“Under an MDC government infrastructure development will be central to economic development. The programme will be an important source of permanent job creation and will also provide the government with a basis to stimulate industrial activity and spur economic growth,” says the policy. Party President Morgan Tsvangirai told supporters in Highfield that the $14,5 billion plan would target roads, energy, information communication technologies, the railways, water, housing and air transport.
“We urgently need to address our energy crisis in order to develop and compete. The targets agreed provide for investments to raise power generation to 6,000 Megawatt capacity in the next five years,” says the policy.
Agricultural reform to attain food security will entail providing support to farmers, access to markets, sound pricing policies, drought mitigation and through increased irrigation capacity.
To enable access to efficient financial services and responsive financing instruments the MDC would put in place tenure conditions that will enable the use of land and other assets as collateral for borrowing.
The party recognises the irreversibility of the land reform programme and that the land ownership of pre-2000 was unsustainable. It plans a Land Commission that will be tasked with addressing thorny issues of security of tenure, compensation for land and improvements and the acquisition of all vacant, underutilised land to channel it back into the market.
After lamenting what it called the resource tragedy currently underway mainly in diamond and gold mining the party said its mining policy priorities will include enacting new mining legislation.
This legislation would allow the country to join the Gaborone Declaration and Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, encourage Foreign Direct Investment, provide support to small scale mining industry and ensure that all large and medium scale operations have adopted internationally recognised Occupational Safety and Health provisions. Every mining company would be obligated by law to contribute a certain percentage of their profits to the Sovereign Wealth Fund and the contribution of the mining sector to the fiscus will be increased through taxation and royalty measures.
The party also said it would provide investment opportunities to Zimbabweans who want to participate in mining while at the same time attracting more foreign investors into platinum.
The party has a three year programme to recapitalise Fidelity Refineries so that all refining is done locally.
Post published in: News