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Cde Mushohwe

Bulawayo Bureau
THE government has re-launched the National Youth Service making it a leading youth empowerment programme focusing mainly on economic education using the productive Psychomotor Training Model.

Officially launching the re-branded NYS programme at Dadaya Training Centre in Zvishavane on Thursday, the former Minister of Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment, Cde Chris Mushohwe, who was yesterday appointed the new Minister of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services, said the NYS was now going to produce economically productive youths who can defend and protect the country’s legacy.

Cde Mushohwe said the NYS had effectively dealt with the political phase and was now proceeding to incorporate the economic phase as an industrial revolution in its participation in Zim-Asset.

He said President Mugabe had endorsed the re-launch of the re-branded youth service.

“We are gathered here to witness the re-branding of the youth service and we want it to be accepted by both blacks and whites like it is in countries like the USA and Britain,” he said. Cde Mushowe said he was happy to note that the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education was in the process of introducing the NYS curriculum from Early Childhood Development (ECD).

He said it had been noted that some of the NYS recruits were enrolling not because they loved their country, but saw great opportunities that came after graduating.

In that light, the Minister said, introducing the NYS curriculum at primary school level was going to be very effective since pupils would be oriented in national ethos at a tender age and grow to love their country which came after a protracted armed struggle against colonialism.

“We want the NYS subject introduced from as early as ECD. We want our children to appreciate the national flag before going to grade one. They must understand the colours and what they mean for the country. If that is achieved, we will build our nation which has youths or a people that can stand for it, that can fight for it,” he said.

“If this programme had been introduced in 1980, we wouldn’t be having youths who are being used by Britain and her allies for regime change. Every Zimbabwean should be proud of his or her country no matter the current situation.”

He said gone were the days when people looked at the youth service with scorn while others referred to it in derogatory terms.

“From this group, we are producing a youth that is capable of creating employment and defending the country against any forms of threats,” said the minister.

“67 percent of our population are youths and they are our future, they are our leaders and should be developed so that they work towards economic empowerment which is the backbone of our ministry.”

Cde Mushohwe said it was sad to note that the likes of former Vice President Joice Mujuru and her cabal, some of whom were involved in the liberation struggle of the country, had chosen to go to bed with MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai. He, however, said their move was ill fated and their project would die a natural death just like other failed political projects.

Zvishavane-Ngezi MP, Cde John Holder, urged the recruits to desist from risky sexual behaviour saying Zvishavane was a hot spot when it came to HIV and Aids.

NYS deputy director Cde Francis Potai said the Dadaya 2015 intake had 113 youths coming from the 10 provinces and the training was going to last 20 weeks.

He said the NYS programme was introduced by the Government in 2001 to combat rising delinquency and loss of nationhood values.

Cde Potai said from 2001 when the programme was launched to 2008, 80 230 youths had been trained. “The current intake focuses on productive and entrepreneurial skills education, national orientation, physical training and career guidance,” he said.

Cde Potai said in response to transforming national youth work, education and training environment, the NYS had worked with the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education and Zimbabwe Educational Qualifications Authority to register its certificate on the national grid.

“This resulted in a sustainable livelihoods promoting curriculum designed to bring positive behaviour change among youths. Subsequently, we went on to develop a training syllabus and teaching content module in order to operationalise the curriculum, which we are piloting now,” said Cde Potai.

The centre runs a poultry project, animal husbandry, horticulture gardening and is on course to opening a garment construction production unit, carpentry and metal fabrication courses.