Chief urges political parties to unite.

Chief Sigola from Umzingwane district has encouraged young people from different political divides to unite and to desist from perpetuating violence that is usually rampant during the election period.

Most of this violence he said, is a result of political bickering between ZANU PF, the two MDCs and other political parties in Umzingwane district.

Chief Sigola with young people at Sihlengeni Hall.

“What you children should realize is that whether you are from ZANU PF or MDC you are still people of Umzingwane and beyond the elections you will still have to face each other as neighbours. How are you going to relate to other people knowing very well that you are responsible for the loss of their property, their relatives’ lives and harassing them  during elections?” asked chief Sigola. 

The chief said this at a youth meeting organized by National Youth Development Trust (NYDT) at Sihlengeni where young people were discussing youth participation in elections. Most of them admitted that young people are active in electoral processes but their participation is usually negative. They cited unemployment as the biggest contributory factor to their negative participation.

“Most of us are unemployed and have no means of making a living so when a  politician is offering $40 and free alcohol in exchange for number of nefarious political activities the choice is not too difficult to make,” said one of the youths.

They appealed for income generation projects that would alleviate their economic situation and reduce their vulnerability to political abuse. An outcry arose over the Mtshabezi water pipeline, with the youths saying that the project is within their community but they do not know who was employed to work there.

They however also cited challenges such as lack of credibility in Zimbabwean elections, violence and intimidation as well as lack of accountability by elected leaders.

“As it is, we have heard by other people and in the papers that there is the constituency development fund, but we have never seen any project being implemented in our community under the fund. To us it sends a message that even if we vote we do not benefit in any way from our participation,” said Thabani Ncube.

Most of them however indicated their determination to vote in the next election and referendum, after gaining a broader understanding of the importance of taking part in such key processes. The meeting was the first to be organized by the NYDT in the particular ward.