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President Mugabe

Felex Share Senior Reporter
President Mugabe has ordered the reinstatement of over 2 000 youths who had been retrenched from Government without Cabinet approval.

Most of the young people were employed as youth and gender officers.

It is understood that their salaries had been ceased by Treasury and they were awaiting letters confirming their retrenchment.

Speaking during the Mashonaland West Presidential Youth Interface Rally on Saturday, President Mugabe said the firing of the youths did not have the blessings of Cabinet.

“Zvino ndonzwa kuti mayouth amwe anga arikuhurumende achiita basa varikunzi vachadzingwa,” he said.

“Hatina kumboudzwa isu nyaya dzacho, and we don’t accept things like that.

“The economy is recovering: Is that the time we should be dismissing/expelling our youth? What are we demonstrating, treating young men like that? Tonzi tashaya mari iye zvino patiri kuti takuenda tichiva nehupfumi?

“Even kuma mines; our minerals are yielding now more and more revenue for us. More gold; more platinum; more chrome; more platinum, etcetera. Please, reinstate those youths. We never, never agreed on the issue of expelling so many youths, 2 000 of them. Saka, whether it is the Ministry of Finance or the Ministry of Labour, please stop it.”

President Mugabe thanked the youths for bringing forward their concerns, adding that his wish was to see the welfare of young people improving.

“On that note, I would like to say thank you for coming,” he said. “We are thankful. VaMugabe vanozvikudza netsigiro yakadai. Asi ndinenge ndichiziva kuti itsigiro yandirikupihwa semutungamiri, yorega kuenda kumusoro kwangu and spoil me. No.

“I am a leader of the people. I must listen to your recommendations, to your grievances and see that your life and the life of our children is getting better and better.”

President Mugabe said young people, as future leaders, needed maximum support.

“They will take over, not from us, but from the likes of anaChipanga (Zanu-PF Youth League secretary Cde Kudzanayi Chipanga), who, I hope, will live after us and continue our legacy,” he said.

“The Zanu-PF legacy must continue; history must continue. The achievements of Zanu-PF must continue and be protected. Hupfumi hwevanhu haubatwe-batwe nevauyi. Nyika ndeyenyu. Hupfumi ndehwenyu. Hausisiri hwemabhunu.”

Cde Chipanga yesterday thanked the President for the timely intervention.

“We welcomed this intervention with both hands because we don’t expect that (retrenchment of the youths) to be happening in our Government,” he said. “This is the time we are expecting more employment opportunities as youths, not retrenchment of any sort.

“To us, those youths are serving a purpose and we expect more to be employed. We are pushing that more and more youths be involved in Government programmes. It is our hope that the concerned Ministries will heed the President’s order.”

President Mugabe’s interface meetings with the youths have seen young people bringing to the fore the challenges they are encountering socially and economically.

The youths say they need land, agricultural inputs and participation in mining activities, among other issues.

The engagements with the President are expected to run until October, with five provinces out of the 10 yet to be visited.