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President Mugabe

Wesley Hungwe Correspondent

The ZANU-PF Youth League is called upon by the party to, among other things, mobilise the youth for full participation in the political, social, cultural and economic affairs of the country and promote and protect the interests of the youth.

Amidst the din that has been created around the Million Man March in solidarity with President Mugabe that is scheduled for Africa Day and is being spearheaded by the Zanu-PF Youth League, one thing has either been ignored or grossly understated.

This is the fact that this massive march is not just about a gesture of endorsement of President Mugabe and a political sideshow.

Some commentators, mostly out of misguidance or sheer malice, have accused the organisers of the forthcoming march of turning a blind eye to the problems facing the country such as unemployment and the under-performing economy.

It is such a simplistic view.

On the contrary, the Million Man March is about jobs and the economy — and everything else.

Zanu-PF cannot be divorced from these realities of Zimbabwe’s existence today.

Our point of departure, indeed, the raison d’etrre, is the belief that only President Mugabe is best placed to champion the country’s economic turnaround when he is given all the support from the party and the generality of Zimbabweans as the one centre of power and sole candidate in the forthcoming 2018 general elections.

Framework

The framework for development and the betterment of the country, and especially young people who today suffer unemployment, is there.

There are also policies that can drive this country and its citizens to prosperity.

Not least, the Government is instructed by the national Constitution to promote private initiative; foster the development of industrial and commercial enterprises in order to empower Zimbabwean citizens; and to take reasonable measures, including affirmative action programmes, to ensure that youths, that is to say people between the ages of fifteen and thirty-five years — are afforded opportunities for employment and other avenues to economic empowerment.

The Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act (Chapter 14:33)defines “empowerment” as “the creation of an environment which enhances the performance of the economic activities of indigenous Zimbabweans”, while the Act mandates Government to fulfil the objectives of the Act specifically on behalf of young people.

On April 11 this year, President Mugabe published a Presidential statement to clarify the Government’s position on the National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Policy, which brings to the fore economic empowerment, specifically directing that local content of no less than 75 percent of gross value of exploited resources in the natural resources sector be retained, including through community ownership schemes, procurement and linkage programmes; and that socially and economically desirable strategic objectives be undertaken by businesses to contribute towards sustainable transformation of the economy.

The National Youth Policy provides for strategies for youth participation and empowerment, including that Government ensures a 25 percent quota of all economic indigenisation and empowerment facilities in agriculture, mining, commercial, tourism, and industrial economic activity is reserved and available for youth.

The Minister of Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment has commissioned the Zimbabwe Youth Empowerment Strategy for Investment, to engage young people on how best Government must invest in their innovation and resilience to have us unlock empowerment and investment opportunities for economic growth and prosperity.

Philosophy

It will be useful at this juncture to share with the nation the Zanu-PF Youth League’s strategy and philosophy regarding the economy of Zimbabwe.

The league is fully behind the theme of “An Empowered Society And A Growing Economy” enunciated in the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (ZimAsset) document.

If one were to recall, the 6th National People’s Congress in December 2014 acknowledged that Zimbabwe’s population is a youthful one and urged the youth to play their vanguard role and that the party must put into place measures to achieve the socio-economic and political empowerment of the youth.

The congress went further to call upon the party to implement, through Government, holistic and inclusive youth development programmes that equip young people with functional skills and the ability to participate in national building programmes in aid to the accelerated implementation of Zim-Asset.

The ZANU-PF Youth League is called upon by the party to, among other things, mobilise the youth for full participation in the political, social, cultural and economic affairs of the country and promote and protect the interests of the youth.

This is the guiding philosophy and as we march on May 25 we will fully be aware of the framework that has been put in place by the party and Government.

The author of this framework and solid foundation for the prosperity of youths and the generality of Zimbabweans is none other than President Mugabe himself.

And make no mistake about it, we are aware of what Government has committed itself to and what needs to be done by the ruling party that won with a crushing majority in the general elections of 2013.

We note that it is the duty of ZANU -PF’s appointees to Government ministries and institutions to ensure the implementation of such economic empowerment electoral commitments by ZANU-PF.

We also will be making a statement to line Ministries within Government to immediately take measures and present frameworks for empowering young people across sectors of the economy. Each line Minister must present back to the Party clear indicators of progress made in empowering young people.

We also are calling for broad-based and line ministry-approach that ensures Government and the private sector effectively invest in the immense potential, innovation and resilience of Zimbabwe’s young people so that we may fulfil the vision of President Mugabe to achieve economic independence and prosperity for Zimbabwe.

Government must immediately pursue empowerment opportunities within the recent Presidential Clarification on Indigenisation, Zim-ASSET and the 10 point Plan.

At the moment, the Zanu-PF Youth League is fully behind the Ministry of Youth Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment’s Youth Feed Zimbabwe and Youth Build Zimbabwe initiatives that seek to empower the youth in agriculture and construction.

We hereby propose a Youth Industrialise Zimbabwe initiative, which must engage young people already engaged in manufacturing and value addition.

Economic sovereignty in our lifetime

It is a trite point to make that the current and continuing war in Zimbabwe is about the economy whereas the First and Second Chimurengas were about guns to gain national independence; and the Third about the land.

Today’s fight is for economic transformation and economic sovereignty and it is happening in an era where illegal sanctions have been imposed on the people of Zimbabwe by the

The ZANU-PF Youth League believes that it is now, in our life time, that the ZANU-PF Government has presented a real and tangible opportunity for young people to further the vision of President Mugabe for an economically independent and prosperous Zimbabwe.

We can achieve “An Empowered Society and A Growing Economy”.

It is only through achieving Zimbabwe’s economic emancipation and a prosperous indigenous economy that the vision of President Mugabe shall be a reality and his legacy secured.

In all this, it is critical to note that President Mugabe is at the centre of all the activities and the struggle that is taking place in Zimbabwe.

It is through his leadership that we can achieve the success that we require as a nation.

He is the leader of the ruling party and country and we all should rally behind him; the youths of Zanu-PF and members of other wings; and indeed all other parties and organisations are free to join the party on Africa Day as we rally behind the icon of Africa.