Closing by Zimbabwe Minister of Skills Audit and Dev. at Africa Skills Week 2026

Director of Ceremonies;

African Union Commissioner for Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, His Excellency, Professor Gaspard Banyankimbona;

Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution for Harare Metropolitan Province, Hon. Senator C. Tayengwa;

Honourable Ministers from across the African Continent;

Other Government Ministers and Deputy Ministers here present;

Members of the Diplomatic Corps and the UN Family;

Permanent Secretaries and Other Senior Government Officials here present;

Captains of Industry and Commerce, the Academia, and Trade Unions;

Youth Leaders, Exhibitors and Innovators from across the Continent;

Distinguished Guests;

Ladies and Gentlemen;

Comrades and Friends.

As we conclude Africa Skills Week 2026 here in Harare, allow me to extend my deepest acknowledgment to the African Union Commission (AUC), African Union (AU) Member States, Regional Economic Communities (RECs), Development Partners and Partner Sponsors who have made this week possible. Over the past five days, we have engaged in educative and collective dialogue, shared information and forged partnerships that will shape the trajectory of Africa's skills revolution and Agenda 2063.

We began this week by recognizing the sobering realities across our continent, the gap between continental strategies and national implementation remains wide. Too often, bold pronouncements have not yielded practical outcomes. Yet, Africa Skills Week 2026 has demonstrated that this gap can be closed. From youth-led innovation pitches to ministerial roundtables, from industry compacts to evidence-based skills intelligence, we have seen Africa's determination to move from vision to deliverables, from policy to practice, and from aspiration to impact.

We have confronted the challenges of outdated perceptions of vocational and technical education training, inadequate financing, and the undervaluation of apprenticeships. We have also celebrated the advantages of TVET as high-level economic infrastructure, the master key to industrial competitiveness, and the foundation for Africa's participation in the

Africa Skills Week has reaffirmed that the operationalization of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA) cannot succeed on tariff reductions alone. The true catalyst of free trade is human capability and ingenuity. To trade in high-value goods, processed agriculture, advanced pharmaceuticals, and digital services, Africa must invest in specialized skills. Zimbabwe, as host, has shared its experience in ratifying AfCFTA, modernizing trade systems, and advancing Heritage-Based Education 5.0. Our apprenticeship model, combining classroom instruction with supervised industrial immersion, has shown how theory and practice can be fused to produce competent technicians. Yet our story is but one among many. Nigeria's TVET expansion, Ethiopia's industrial parks, South Africa's renewable energy sector, and countless other initiatives remind us that Africa's strength lies in collective action and resolve.

This week has produced tangible commitments. We have launched policy advisory notes, validated industry partnerships, and mapped country actions. We have agreed on financing pathways, inclusion frameworks, and accountability mechanisms. Most importantly, we have committed to sustained continental governance through the roadmap towards an annual Africa Education and Skills Summit.

Let us be clear, Africa Skills Week 2026 must not end here. The Harare Declaration must be more than words on paper. It must be a living framework and testimony that guides our ministries, parliaments, industries, and skills training institutions. Accountability must be continental, but action must be national and local. Each Member State must leave Harare with a clear plan to operationalize the Continental Education Strategy for Africa 2026-2035 and the Continental TVET Strategy 2025-2034.

Excellencies, Colleagues and Friends!

We stand at a turning point. Africa's destiny will not be written by others, it will be built by us. With shared vision, strong political will, and unwavering investment in our people, we will build resilient, competitive, and transformed African industries. Together, step by step, we will shape the Africa we want: prosperous, self-reliant, and industrial, driven by the skills, integrity, and hard work of its citizens. Let Africa Skills Week 2026 be remembered not only as a gathering of ideas, but as the moment Africa resolved to act boldly, together, and decisively.

The architects of our future are here in this room. Let us leave Harare with one united conviction: Africa's skills are the currency of our integration, the engine of our industries, and the promise we deliver to our youth.

With these remarks, it is now my singular honour and privilege to declare the African Union Africa Skills Week 2026 officially closed.

On behalf of the Government of Zimbabwe; His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Dr E D Mnangagwa and indeed on my own behalf, we wish everyone a safe journey back home.

God bless Africa.

I thank you.