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EIGHTEENTH CABINET MEETING DECISIONS MATRIX: 2ND JUNE, 2020

|ITEM |CABINET DECISION |

|Zimbabwe’s Response to the Coronavirus(COVID-19) Outbreak |Cabinet considered and adopted a report on the country’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The |

| |presentation was made by Honourable Vice President K.C.D. Mohadi, as Chairman of the Ad-Hoc |

| |Inter-Ministerial Task Force on COVID-19. Cabinet noted that the cumulative rapid screening and PCR tests |

| |conducted has reached 45 395 as of 1 June, 2020. These are disaggregated as follows: 27 373 rapid |

| |screening tests and 18 072 PCR diagnostic tests. As at 1 June, 2020, the country has now recorded two |

| |hundred and three (203) COVID-19 confirmed cases, compared to the fifty-six (56) reported on 24 May, 2020. |

| |The number of those recovered from the pandemic has increased to twenty-nine (29) from the previously |

| |reported twenty-five, while the number of deaths remain at four (4). |

| | |

| |The positive cases are mainly returnees from outside Zimbabwe who are in the quarantine centres. The fact |

| |that the positive cases are being identified in the quarantine centres demonstrates that the quarantine |

| |strategy is bearing results, as the positive returnees are isolated before they can mingle with the general|

| |populace. The total number of returnees at the Centres is 3 766. |

| | |

| |A total of ten (10) quarantine centres have been identified, one in each province, for use by returning |

| |ex-convicts and people of a violent disposition. Improvements are being made to the centres in order for |

| |them to meet the requisite security standards. Law enforcement agents are also in the process of beefing up|

| |security at the centres in order to curtail incidents of absconding. |

| | |

| |In a bid to free schools as quarantine centres, alternative centres, mostly vocational training |

| |institutions with a capacity to accommodate 2 636 people, have been identified throughout the provinces. |

| |All schools currently being used as quarantined centres are expected to be vacated by 9 June, 2020. Hotels|

| |and lodges to accommodate returnees who can self-finance during the quarantine period have also been |

| |identified. |

| | |

| |With regard to education, Cabinet noted the detailed operational plan put in place by the Ministry of |

| |Primary and Secondary Education that was developed in consultation with stakeholders. However, following a |

| |marked increase in COVID-19 cases, Cabinet approved that only examination classes should initially open |

| |schools in order for schools to be able to put prevention measures in place. These measures include: |

| |social distancing; |

| |limiting of class sizes; |

| |hand sanitisation, and |

| |mandatory wearing of masks by both students and teachers at all times. |

| |Students will be expected to return home immediately after examinations. Depending on the outcome of the |

| |first phase, a way forward can then be mapped for the other classes, and the Minister of Primary and |

| |Secondary Education will subsequently issue a date for the commencement of the other classes. |

| | |

| |While acknowledging the critical role played by truck drivers in the movement of cargo across borders and |

| |between cities, Cabinet noted with concern that most truck drivers are testing positive for COVID-19, yet |

| |they are now responsible for the illegal movement of passengers between cities. |

| | |

| |The Information and Communication Sub-Committee has trained traditional leaders from Mashonaland Central, |

| |Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West and Matabeleland South provinces on the risk of harbouring returnees in |

| |the communities without reporting to the relevant authorities. The traditional leaders have since been |

| |incorporated into the Information and Risk Communication Sub-Committee. |

| | |

| |The Government has two programmes that are currently underway to ensure Food Security for the vulnerable |

| |groups and the informed sector members affected by COVID-19 lockdown. A total of 109 735 people out of 200 |

| |000 were paid cushioning allowances of $180 per individual. The beneficiaries of cushion allowance have to |

| |meet the set criteria. |

| | |

| |On the rehabilitation of 2 033 boreholes and 31 piped water schemes, a total of 1 340 water points have |

| |been rehabilitated countrywide since the beginning of the exercise. During the reporting period, 218 water |

| |sources were rehabilitated countrywide. To augment water supplies, bulk water supply trucking is being |

| |carried out in Harare, Chitungwiza and Bulawayo since 3 April 2020 by private bulk water truckers and |

| |Development Partners. |

| | |

| |On the production of PPE to fight COVID-19, the Materials and Production Sub-Committee will work in |

| |collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Child Care to develop a gap analysis at provincial level and |

| |engage more SMEs and private companies, including women and youth. |

| | |

| |Cabinet further agreed as follows: |

| | |

| |that the names of people absconding from quarantine centres be published; |

| |that enforcement agents should be capacitated to effectively enforce Level 2 of the lockdown as there is an|

| |increase in the number of people defying the lockdown; |

| |that truck drivers found carrying passengers without authorisation be penalised; |

| |that truck drivers should be educated on regulations governing their operations in Zimbabwe at the borders;|

| |and |

| |that further guidelines for the mandatory testing of truck drivers will be availed soon. |

|Zimbabwe National Trade Policy and National Export Promotion |Cabinet considered and approved the Zimbabwe National Trade Policy and Export Promotion Strategy which was |

|Strategy: 2019-2023 |presented by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Chairman of the Cabinet Committee on |

| |Trade and International Cooperation. Overall, the Policy seeks to make Zimbabwe “A transformed, dynamic and|

| |internationally competitive economy driven by robust domestic and international trade”. Essentially, the |

| |policy proposes an Exports Roadmap that will realise US$7 billion worth of exports by 2023 and US$14 |

| |billion in export value by 2030. |

| | |

| |The Trade Policy and Exports Strategy acknowledges the need to promote mutually beneficial trade with |

| |external parties, while simultaneously taking into account the challenges that impact on local industry as |

| |well as the country’s bilateral, regional and multilateral obligations. It is noted that restrictions |

| |currently in place to counter the COVID-19 outbreak have slowed down global trade. Nonetheless, the country|

| |should, thereafter, implement a clear Trade Policy and Export Strategy to fully harness market |

| |opportunities. |

| | |

| |The specific objectives of the National Trade Policy and the National Export Strategy are as follows: |

| |to promote free and fair trade; |

| |to promote export-led production and industrialisation; |

| |promote the diversification of export products and markets to increase the national export of goods by at |

| |least 10% annually from US$4.5 billion in 2018 to US$7 billion in 2023; |

| |to improve the balance of trade position by at least 10% annually; and |

| |to improve Zimbabwe’s ranking on the World Bank’s Trading Across Borders Distance to Frontiers Index from |

| |54.34 percentage points in 2018 to 65 percentage points in 2023 and 75 percentage points in 2030. |

| | |

| |The broad policy measures include, among others, the following: |

| |developing and nurturing an export culture; |

| |establishment and operationalisation of Special Economic Zones; |

| |establishment of the Zimbabwe Export Promotion Council; |

| |resuscitation of the Trade and Economic Relations Committee (TERC) as an inter-institutional consultative |

| |mechanism; |

| |promotion of trade-in-services; |

| |implementation of tariff and non-tariff measures to enable importation of raw materials and capital goods |

| |in order to stimulate production and export of value-added products; and |

| |regulating standards and quality for compliance with international standards in both imports and exports. |

| | |

| |The key implementation mechanisms of the National Trade Policy and Export Strategy include; the |

| |development of sector-specific trade plans; promotion of electronic commerce; and extension of preferential|

| |access to finances, trade support and information for women and youths. |

| | |

| |On a related matter, Cabinet was advised that His Excellency the President, Cde E.D. Mnangagwa, would tour |

| |some export-oriented industries in Chimanimani and Chipinge on Friday morning. |

|Report on Visits to Selected Projects on the 5th 100-Day Cycle |Cabinet received and noted the monitoring visit report by the Minister of State for Presidential Affairs |

| |and Monitoring Implementation of Government Programmes on selected priority projects under the 5th 100-Day |

| |Cycle Priority Projects. The purpose of the visit was to expedite implementation as well as publicise |

| |Government projects that are under implementation in the country’s various provinces. |

| | |

| |Between 20 February and 27 March, 2020, the Minister visited a total of eleven (11) projects, six of which |

| |had been completed. The six completed projects are as follows: Kamutsenzere Piped Water Scheme, Mt. Darwin,|

| |Mashonaland Central Province; Community Information Centre, Mberengwa, Midlands Province; Food Production |

| |Enhancement, Khami Prison, Bulawayo Metropolitan Province; Piped Water and Degradation Management through |

| |Community Gardening, Fula Rural District Council, Beitbridge, Matabeleland South; Tugwi-Mukosi Frequency |

| |Modulation (FM) Transmission Gap Filler, Masvingo; and Bio-degradable Solid Waste Management. |

| | |

| |Kamutsenzere Piped Water Project |

| | |

| |The 8.5 kilometre piped water scheme powered by a 4 020 watts solar panel and a 3-horse power engine for |

| |supplying water to 21 points inclusive of Kamutsenzere Clinic, Primary and Secondary Schools as well as |

| |nine (9) villages; |

| |The scheme benefits an estimated population of about three thousand and twenty (3 020). |

| | |

| |Community Information Centre: Mberengwa |

| |The project is meant to increase access to information communication technology services in both urban |

| |centres and rural growth-points countrywide. However, the smooth operations were being affected by power |

| |cuts. |

| | |

| |Food Production Enhancement: Khami Prison |

| |A total of 2 101 hectares were set aside for livestock production out and 61 hectares for crop production, |

| |out of which 16 are under irrigation; |

| |The Prison is also producing goat meat, pork, cowpeas and sugar beans for consumption by inmates; and |

| |The farming model, which is providing supplementary feeding to other prisons in Bulawayo Metropolitan |

| |Province, is being replicated at Chikurubi; Gwanda; Connemara and Plumtree prisons with notable progress. |

| | |

| |Piped Water and Land Degradation Management through Community Gardening, Fula RDC, Beitbridge |

| | |

| |A motorised borehole is the source of water for the market gardening and tree plantation project; |

| |Land rehabilitation and conservation of the catchment is through the establishment of an orchard with fruit|

| |trees, and aqua-culture activities; |

| |The gardening project, which is two (2) hectares in extent and fenced, is being implemented by a seven (7) |

| |member Committee; and |

| |The consolidated garden provides a reliable source of food for the villagers in the semi-arid district. |

| | |

| |Tugwi-Mukosi FM Transmission Gap Filler Project |

| | |

| |The gap fillers are meant to improve transmission and access to Frequency Modulation (FM) radio by |

| |disadvantaged communities; |

| |A one kilowatt transmitter was installed as a gap filler to address the challenge of non-reception of radio|

| |waves due to mountainous terrain and obsolete equipment at Glenlivet; and |

| | |

| |Bio-degradable Solid Waste Management Project |

| | |

| |Government is promoting green energy which is clean, cheap and friendly to the environment; |

| |One biogas digester installed has been at Chief Charumbira’s homestead. The bio-degradable solid waste |

| |management project is being replicated in Matabeleland North and Masvingo provinces. |

| | |

| |The other ongoing projects visited included the Construction of the Mt. Darwin Magistrate Court; Hwange |

| |Thermal Power Station Expansion; Infrastructure Development at J. M. Nkomo Polytechnic College in Gwanda; |

| |the Tsholotsho Disaster Recovery Housing Project; and the Mabhula Sewer Treatment Plant, in Zvishavane. |

| | |

| |Going forward, Government is now working on the 100-Day Cycle post-COVID-19. |

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