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Conrad Mupesa in MHANGURA
The Affirmative Action Group has urged youths to push for quota system so as to stand a chance in benefiting in all sectors of economy.

AAG national secretary-general Mr Clifford Lupepo told journalists in Chinhoyi recently that many youths failed to access financial assistance because they had no surety, although President Mugabe and First Lady Dr Grace Mugabe have defined youths as the force around which to spin the economic turn- around.

Mr Lupepo said AAG believed the youth policy should be incorporated into the law so that youths benefited economically.

“Youths should push for the approval and adoption of the youth policy into law,” he said. “Once the youths are protected by law, a lot of economic benefits will come their way.”

Mr Lupepo said access to Government-funded programmes like Command Agriculture remained restricted only to farmers who owned land, thereby depriving most youths as they did not own the resource.

“Last cropping season saw many youths aiming to benefit from the Command Agriculture failing to access inputs as they had no collateral,” he said. “As AAG, we have been advocating that youths be granted access to Government-funded programmes without hustles.

“We hope to see Government honouring youths in the Command Agriculture programme by giving them access to inputs even if they do not own resources like land, livestock and many other that can be used as collateral.”

Mr Lupepo said AAG had conducted various surveys in provinces around youth empowerment and discovered that they are interested in various income- generating projects like tobacco and potato farming, chicken rearing, mining and many others, but their lack of capital, land, offer letters and equipment hampered their quest to have access.

AAG Mashonaland West Province chief executive officer Mr Tapiwanashe Chikondowa said youths were being deprived economically.

“We are coming from an colonial era which deprived everyone economically and socially, so as AAG we are advocating for a level playing field for the youths to freely participate in economic programmes for the betterment of the country’s economy,” he said.

“We have engaged a couple of companies that have come on board to make sure youths access inputs, I am not, however, at liberty to disclose the names of those companies. “

Mr Chikondowa said youths should constitute 25 percent of every aspect of the country, from politics to the economy.

“A quota system should be effected in youths as well so that they occupy political positions,” he said. “We should have youths occupying 25 percent of Members of Parliament seats and that way it becomes easy to craft and table laws that are of interest to youths.”

AAG is touring the nation, gathering information from the business community which they will present at the Zanu-PF Extra-Ordinary Congress slated for December.