Delivering
the
State
of
the
Nation
Address
(SONA)
at
the
New
Parliament
Building
in
Mt
Hampden
on
Tuesday,
President
Mnangagwa
said
the
country’s
growth
was
anchored
on
“the
unity,
peace
and
resilience
of
our
people”
despite
the
continued
impact
of
international
sanctions.
“The
unity,
peace
and
resilience
of
our
people
have
been
the
pillar
of
economic
development
of
our
country
in
the
face
of
illegal
sanctions,”
he
said.
“Let
us
remain
focused
and
disciplined
as
we
entrench
economic
stability
and
growth
in
our
march
towards
Vision
2030.”
Mnangagwa
highlighted
major
gains
in
agriculture,
citing
record
harvests
of
tobacco,
maize
and
wheat,
supported
by
the
Pfumvudza/Intwasa
Programme,
which
has
benefited
more
than
three
million
households.
He
said
livestock
production
had
also
improved,
with
the
national
herd
now
at
5.7
million
and
milk
output
increasing
from
76.7
million
litres
in
2019
to
115
million
litres
in
2024.
The
President
added
that
irrigation
coverage
had
expanded
to
221,000
hectares,
with
a
target
of
reaching
496,000
hectares
as
part
of
efforts
to
build
climate
resilience.
Turning
to
the
energy
sector,
the
President
said
government
was
scaling
up
the
Rural
Electrification
Programme
to
improve
access
for
communities
across
the
country.
“Independent
Power
Producers
and
industrial
players
have
been
licensed,
increasing
our
national
power
supply.
The
Rural
Electrification
Programme
that
is
electrifying
both
public
institutions
and
homesteads
is
improving
access
to
energy
for
our
rural
communities,”
he
said.
Ironically,
a
power
outage
plunged
the
Parliament
chamber
into
darkness
with
the
president
forced
to
continue
his
speech
by
torchlight.
“We
should
never
get
tired
of
preaching
hope,
unity
and
peace,
as
one
indivisible
nation,”
he
said.
“A
better
quality
of
life
for
all
our
people
is
at
the
core
of
the
policies
and
projects
of
my
administration.”
Mnangagwa
said
government’s
monetary
and
fiscal
policies
had
stabilised
the
economy
and
the
local
currency,
the
ZiG,
while
foreign
currency
inflows
reached
US$10.4
billion
by
August
2025,
up
from
US$8.3
billion
during
the
same
period
last
year.
“Going
into
the
future,
the
trend
in
macro-economic
stability
is
expected
to
become
the
status
quo
in
our
country,”
he
said.
He
announced
that
foreign
reserves
had
risen
to
US$900
million
as
of
September,
up
from
US$700
million
in
June,
and
highlighted
the
World
Bank’s
recognition
of
Zimbabwe
as
one
of
the
top
10
countries
globally
that
had
made
the
most
progress
in
building
reserves.
The
President
also
set
out
an
ambitious
legislative
agenda
for
the
Third
Session
of
the
Tenth
Parliament,
calling
for
greater
efficiency
in
passing
delayed
Bills.
“The
total
backlog
of
outstanding
Bills
is
unacceptable,”
he
said.
“Parliament
must
do
more
to
ensure
these
Bills
are
brought
before
the
House
and
finalised.”
Among
the
new
Bills
to
be
tabled
are
the
National
Productivity
Institute
Bill,
Disaster
Risk
Management
Bill,
and
amendments
to
the
Competition
Act,
Mines
and
Minerals
Act,
and
Broadcasting
Services
Act.
Mnangagwa
said
fiscal
capacity
had
allowed
government
to
extend
social
protection
to
vulnerable
groups
through
programmes
such
as
the
Food
Deficit
Mitigation
Programme
and
the
Basic
Education
Assistance
Module.
He
also
outlined
progress
in
health
and
education
reforms,
including
digital
health
services
and
the
recently
adopted
Zimbabwe
National
Artificial
Intelligence
Strategy,
aimed
at
fostering
innovation
and
youth
empowerment.
“We
must
continue
to
drive
innovation
for
national
growth
and
deliver
a
beneficial
knowledge
economy,”
he
said.
In
his
closing
remarks,
Mnangagwa
reiterated
his
Vision
2030
mantra,
calling
for
collective
national
effort
to
build
Zimbabwe.
“We,
the
people
of
this
great
nation,
are
building
our
motherland,
Zimbabwe,
step
by
step,
brick
by
brick
and
stone
upon
stone,”
he
said.
“There
is
no
turning
back.
Victory,
success
and
prosperity
are
certain.
Forward
ever,
backward
never.”