Meshia Mambo
Zimbabwe is putting final touches on its preparations to host the Africa Skills Week, running from October 12 to 16, after its successful bid to host the prestigious continental gathering.
An African Union (AU) delegation touched down at Robert Mugabe International Airport yesterday to assess the country’s readiness ahead of the summit.
Chief Director of Skills, Audit and Development, Cliford Matorera, welcomed them.
“We welcomed delegates from the AU who have come to assess the situation on the ground as our country won to host the Africa Convention of Skills Week, which is going to happen from the 12th of October.”
He described the summit as a critical platform for African countries to demonstrate their skills readiness, bringing together senior and external experts from across and beyond the continent. “It’s a very important conference where African countries are showcasing the level of skills preparedness,” he said,
Matorera said the summit fed into a broader national vision.
“We are proud to be Zimbabweans, and we call it the United Zimbabwe.
“And for us to build our country, we must therefore then have the necessary skills to build it,” he said.
On the AU’s assessment mission, he confirmed the delegation would scrutinise everything from venue readiness to programme content.
“They are here to check on the level of preparedness, in terms of our name, in terms of our equipment that we are going to use.
“We have ample time up to the course of October to look at those issues that they would have highlighted,” he added.
Speaking on behalf of the AU delegation, Education Division Head Sophia Ashipala said the visit focuses on evaluating every dimension of the summit.
“It means that as we approach October, everything is ready about arrival, about immigration, about accommodation, about the content of the Africa Skills Summit.
“We want to invite young people to be part of the event.
“Of course, the first thing always is the youth forum, and we want to invite them in large numbers to come and witness, contribute, showcase their skills and to learn from other countries,” she said.
Zimbabwe now awaits the AU’s final verdict on its readiness to welcome the continent.
