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.

We Are Not Motivated To Vote: Binga Youths

Youths in Binga have cited several reasons for their lack of interest in electoral processes, key amongst them being the fact that political parties usually field candidates who are not from Binga and therefore do not understand and prioritise their needs.

As such, these leaders have made little or no efforts in contributing towards community development. They said that the elected leaders are not accountable to the electorate but only go back to their constituencies to solicit for votes towards elections. These sentiments were raised by youths at a leadership training workshop organised by National Youth Development Trust (NYDT). The youths told the meeting that Lusulu is one of the most underdeveloped areas of Binga and their elected leaders have done little to improve the situation.

“Lusulu seems like a forgotten area, as it is we have no idea who our Member of Parliament is. They only come to our constituencies when they want us to vote for them,” said a participant at the workshop.

The area suffers from a poor road network that has crippled all other avenues of development. The youths applauded the NYDT for making efforts of bringing civic activity to their area, saying that they have minimal engagements with NGOs probably because their area is remote. As such, this has led to a situation in which the youths have been starved of information on contemporary affairs. The youths stated that bad roads and geographic location of Lusulu was said to be part of the reasons why the youths there have limited access to information. 

 “One of the reasons why we do not participate in these processes is that we have no source of information or any knowledge of what is happening in the country. By the time we get to hear about some things they would have long been completed. We desperately need a way of bringing such information to us in time so that we can contribute effectively,” said Cynthia Nhomwe.

The youths further appealed to the organisation to set up a library at Lusulu High School and to regularly supply them with information material that will keep them up to date on Zimbabwe’s socio-economic and political affairs.  

Contrary to the Government stipulation that there must be a primary and secondary school within a five kilometre radius, the closest school to Lusulu High is 12 kilometres away. This is adversely affecting the quality and levels of education in Binga, thus negatively contributing to their poor pass rates and ultimately participation in key processes.  Young people at the workshop also expressed ignorance about the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) which is meant to develop the area cannot be accounted for as youths have little to no knowledge of how it was used.

 “It is difficult for us to go and vote as most people who want to be our leaders are not interested in developing our area. As it is, we have no knowledge of what the constituency development fund was used for. It is evident that Lusulu has never been prioritised in terms of development as shown by the poor road network and few schools,” said Toonse Mutale a youth from the area.

Of the forty (40) workshop participants, only six (06) were registered voters despite the fact that the registration centre is accessible to them.

Statement by NYDT on the International Women’s Day

As the world commemorated International Women’s day in 2012, under the theme “Connecting Girls, Inspiring Futures”, opportunities remain bleak for the young women in Zimbabwe.

 The celebrations come at a time when young women are facing challenges in accessing basic services that have an impact not only on their day to day lives but on their futures development as well. Access to identity documents remains a hustle for young women who have to spend nights in long queues in an effort to obtain the documents which are a right not a privilege. These young women, are left at risk of being swindled their hard earned cash by con men and corrupt officials who promise swifter services at a price, yet it is the duty of the office of the registrar to ensure that these young women gain access to IDs, passports and birth certificates without incurring extra costs.

This year’s International Women’s Day happens at a time when Zimbabwe is undergoing a landmark in its history because of the constitution making process. Participation of young women throughout this process so far has been minimal and no effort has been made to address to even understand the factors contributing to such trends and address them.  On the other hand, limited strides have been made to promote the participation of young women in critical political decisions an element that has seen them being left out of all decision making processes.  There remains therefore a need for a new constitution that guarantees the up-liftment of young women, particularly the rural young women.

Lack of assistance economically is a challenge that faces young women in Zimbabwe and is potentially a threat to their futures. The number of young women who are benefitting from the youth empowerment projects for instance is pitiable, owing to lack of information, gender insensitive selection criteria and lack of transparency in implementing the projects.

 It is therefore the view of the NYDT that as a way of providing opportunities for the young women, to inspire their futures, the Attorney General’s office, COPAC and the Ministry of Youth, Indigenisation and Empowerment, make all the necessary strides to empower the girl child.

The Ministry of Youth Indigenisation and Empowerment should revise the method used to administer and distribute the youth fund as well as the requirements as they are limiting particularly to the disadvantaged youths who should be the priority beneficiaries of the fund, with particular reference to the young women.

The Office of the Registrar General should ensure that their service delivery is reorganised to equally meet the needs of young women. Attempts should be made at improving the service delivery so that women can have an easier and efficient access to the basic registration documents. Additionally, leniency should be underlined in voter registration procedures to eliminate the element of the whole procedure being stifling and cumbersome. Such a move presents a potential in promoting young women’s participation in the various national processes in the country.

The COPAC together with the Ministry of Constitutional and Parliamentary affairs should promote the supreme law of the land to encapsulate the aspirations of young women. As such, the COPAC and the Ministry of Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs should ensure that the new constitution allows for a conducive environment to build the capacities of young women to take up leadership in all developmental spheres alongside with their male counterparts. 

NYDT Zimbabwe: Youth call for transparency about the Youth Fund

NYDT Zimbabwe: Youth call for transparency about the Youth Fund: Young people in Matobo are calling for equal and fair distribution of the Youth Fund across districts by the ministry of youth, developmen...

NYDT Zimbabwe: Youth call for transparency about the Youth Fund

NYDT Zimbabwe: Youth call for transparency about the Youth Fund: Young people in Matobo are calling for equal and fair distribution of the Youth Fund across districts by the ministry of youth, developmen...

Youth call for transparency about the Youth Fund

Young people in Matobo are calling for equal and fair distribution of the Youth Fund across districts by the ministry of youth, development, indegenisation and empowerment after the realization that US$250 000 has already been distributed but none of the youths in the district have benefitted from the fund so far.

They expressed discontent with the way the fund is being handled saying that there was a need for the ministry to capacitate the youths in project proposal writing and project management before distributing the fund. They emphasized that it is possible for some of them to fail to write convincing project proposals even if they know exactly what they want to do and their projects are viable.

“A number of us here applied for the loans through the representatives of the ministry here in the district, they are the ones who helped us write the project proposals but we are surprised to date we still have not received any response,” said Lethukuthula Ndlovu, one of the youths in Silozwi, Matobo.

Ndlovu also lamented the lack of information that exists in their communities about the youth fund saying that it was affecting their chances of accessing it.

“A lot of us would like to access the money because we are unemployed and have no ways of generating income unless if we engage ourselves in income generation projects. The fund would go a long way in guaranteeing most of us a means of living but the problem is that very few people know about the fund,” she said, adding that even the officers from the ministry in their district seemed not to have sufficient information about the fund to share with the rest of the young people.

The ten million United States dollar fund was launched last year in an effort to assist young people who are hardest hit by unemployment. Each province is expected to receive one million dollars each and so far $250 000 has been distributed although it is unclear how each of the provinces have benefitted from the fund so far. The concern so far has been the fact that the requirements for accessing the fund are limiting especially to rural youths who are also affected by lack of information about the fund. 

Statement by National Youth Development Trust on the distribution of the youth fund so far.

The Ministry of Youth Indigenisation and Empowerment in partnership with Cabs and Old mutual have, over the past few stays, been releasing statements on the progress made thus far in distributing the Old Mutual Kurera/ Ukulonda Youth fund. Through the statement, the partners announced that so far $250 000. 00 out of a possible Ten million dollars has been distributed under the Youth empowerment fund.

Such progress by the ministry is very much commendable and is indicative of the step in the right direction towards promotion of youth entrepreneurship in Zimbabwe.

However, through various consultations with young people, NYDT has concluded that there are still a number of critical issues that need to be addressed to ensure equitable distribution, transparency, fairness and gender sensitivity in the distribution of the Youth Fund.