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Ellen Chasokela Herald Reporter
Government has called on citizens, development partners and the private sector to support local Junior Chamber International (JCI) presidential candidate Mr Itai Manyere.

Mr Manyere is the managing director at Bluedot Technologies.

Addressing the media yesterday, Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation Minister Kirsty Coventry said Mr Manyere needed financial and other resources to successfully run his campaign.

“I would like to assure him and the JCI that the Government of Zimbabwe is fully behind him and is committed to supporting him in every way possible to make this election campaign successful,” she said.

“My Ministry is working with relevant Government departments to facilitate the necessary diplomatic and financial support to ensure that our candidate is successfully elected at the JCI World Congress in Tallinn, Estonia, from 4 to 8 November 2019.

“I have directed Zimbabwe Youth Council (ZYC) to engage the National Youth Councils from the region and the World Assembly of Youth (WAY) based in Malaysia to rally behind our candidate, Mr Itai Manyere.”

Minister Coventry said the nomination was not about Mr Manyere, but Zimbabwe.

“The JCI world presidency is the ultimate diplomatic honour afforded to any particular country,” she said. “More than being a source of national pride, this nomination is a unique opportunity to raise our country’s profile and influence a positive narrative to foster goodwill and understanding as we re-engage the international community in line with our ‘Zimbabwe is open for Business’ policy.

“The nomination creates an opportunity to engage youth in the Diaspora to support national investments efforts to grow the economy through remittances. If successful, our candidate will be the most visible face of the JCI Global Network and our national flag will be hoisted the entire year of his tenure of office at the JCI World Headquarters in St Louis, Missouri, USA.’’