Pearl of the Gulf vs the Jewel of Africa

When I first arrived in Qatar, I didn’t quite know what to expect. Like many people, my only visual reference was the spectacle of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, flashy stadiums, an immaculate airport, and curated global coverage. But I wondered: What does a place like that look like on a regular Wednesday morning? What is the rhythm of everyday life in a country that had, seemingly overnight, become a global destination?

I landed at Hamad International Airport, and even coming through OR Tambo in South Africa, which is impressive in its own right, I was stunned. Hamad felt like a portal into the future: calm efficiency, clean design, and a sense of intentionality that echoed throughout the space.

As we drove from the airport to my hotel, I was captivated by the seamless infrastructure. Towering buildings, wide expressways, and the sheer ambition cast in concrete. But what impressed me more was what this physical order implied: a vision well executed. That prompted me to go looking for the blueprint.

That’s when I stumbled upon the Qatar National Vision 2030 and its latest implementation document, QNDS3. As someone who had once worked in the public sector, contributing to national strategy frameworks like ZimAsset, Programme-Based Budgeting, and Results-Based Management, I was instantly drawn to the familiar structure of the document and also to its refreshing frankness. Qatar didn’t hide from its weaknesses. The document laid them bare:

  • 1.5% annual decline in labour productivity (2010–2022)

  • Over-reliance on low-wage business models

  • Immature innovation ecosystems

  • Challenges in attracting high-skilled expatriates

  • Lagging STEM education outcomes

  • Rising fiscal sustainability concerns

And yet, it didn’t stop there. There was a roadmap for economic diversification, public sector reform, private sector development, and social cohesion. Every challenge had an identified solution.

By contrast, Zimbabwe has long had national vision documents too, ZimAsset, Transitional Stabilisation Programmes, and now NDS1 and NDS2. I was part of the system when Programme-Based Budgeting was introduced. On paper, it was designed to align government spending with intended results, an excellent reform, if truly implemented.

But here’s the truth: our hearts were in the right place, but our hands were tied. Many of us in the public sector spent more time chasing travel and subsistence allowances through endless workshops than executing ground-level deliverables. I remember years that went by in a blur of PowerPoint decks and retreats, without a single project reaching real impact.

And yet, I don’t blame the people. Economic stress demotivates even the best intentions. People did what they could to survive. What Qatar Did Differently; it took a hard look at its model and chose deep reforms:

  1. Restructuring state-business relations

  2. Simplifying judicial processes

  3. Liberalizing trade and privatizing target clusters

  4. Rolling out digital governance to achieve 85% G2C (government-to-citizen) transactions

  5. Setting KPIs like “1 day to start a business” and 0.2–1% GNI per capita cost of starting one

  6. Promoting pension reform, asset management, and savings culture, and

  7. Unlike many developing nations where health is often treated as a reactive service rather than a proactive national pillar, Qatar approached health as a strategic asset. The country invested heavily in state-of-the-art infrastructure, human capital, and preventive care as part of its long-term development goals.

Through its National Health Strategy (2018–2022) and now in the updated 2023–2030 vision, Qatar’s model is centered on:

  • Universal access to quality healthcare through Hamad Medical Corporation and a growing private sector

  • Building centers of excellence like Sidra Medicine and the National Center for Cancer Care and Research

  • Strong emphasis on digital health records, telemedicine, and health data systems

  • Integration of mental health, occupational health, and public health preparedness

  • Initiatives aimed at tackling non-communicable diseases (NCDs) , such as diabetes, obesity, and heart disease, through education, screening, and lifestyle interventions

These are not just economic reforms, they are mindset shifts. A country choosing to grow from within, not just from oil or gas and to average 4% annual economic growth by 2030 while maintaining population sustainability, social fabric, and environmental impact.

A national vision isn’t just a document, it’s a contract. It’s a shared story of where a country wants to go. And what sets effective visions apart isn’t just the writing; it’s the political will, institutional capacity, and cultural buy-in to implement them.

Qatar has challenges, plenty. But the difference is how it confronts them. With clear targets, budget alignment, inter-ministerial coordination, and visible milestones. One could argue that even failure becomes progress when it’s tracked, audited, and corrected.

In Zimbabwe, we often start big, but lose steam. The Trabablas Interchange is a welcome development, but it’s not nearly enough. It shouldn’t be the exception, it should be the rule.

I write this not just as a policy communicator, but as someone who has sat in government rooms where plans were made. I’ve seen what happens when there is vision without alignment, or strategy without systems. That’s why seeing Qatar’s implementation of Vision 2030 struck me deeply. It reminded me of what’s possible when ambition meets accountability.

National vision documents matter because they give countries a north star. They give civil servants a reason to wake up with purpose. They help attract investors, assure citizens, and instill discipline in decision-making.

If you are a leader, strategist, or public servant, whether in Harare or Hanoi, ask yourself: Is your country’s vision merely a PDF, or is it a playbook being executed? We need to dream, yes. But even more, we need dreams with dashboards.