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Zimbabwe's Elections 2013 - Index of Articles
Activity
update – 28 October 2013
National Youth Development Trust
October 29, 2013
Bulawayo
Constitutional
Feedback Meeting: The National Youth Development Trust (NYDT) conducted
a meeting with young people at the Small City Hall with the objective
of familiarising Bulawayo youths with the contents
of the new constitution. The meeting was facilitated by Godwin
Phiri of Instcha.com and Mehluli Ndlovu, a lawyer working with the
Bulawayo Magistrate’s Office. Ndlovu focused on the rights
of Zimbabwean provided for in the Bill of Rights, while Phiri concentrated
more on the governance side of the constitution.
Attendance at the meeting was 60 percent female and 40 percent male
participants.
Key issues raised
at the meeting were that the constitution stipulates that there
is need for youth empowerment projects. However, the norm has been
that funds meant for youth development are awarded on partisan lines
and the projects chosen are generally not innovative. Additionally
there was an observation that most of the freedoms awarded to young
people come with limitations that make them subject to misinterpretation
by law enforcement agents. These provisions are also currently not
in sync with existing legislation such as AIPPA
and POSA.
The youths also said that Government seemed to be avoiding most
of its responsibilities by using the phrase "within limits
of the resources available to it." This phrase is mostly used
in the sections on the rights to education, health care as well
as food and water.
The young people
also called on the NYDT to build the capacity of more young volunteers
who would then take up the challenge of sharing details of the constitution
with others in their communities. They said that in many instances
young people suffered abuse because of lack of knowledge about their
rights. The NYDT continues to conduct Constitutional Feedback meetings
in various wards in Bulawayo and other areas in Matabeleland.
Lupane
Constitutional
Feedback Meeting: The NYDT held a Constitutional Feedback meeting
in Jotsholo, a ward in Lupane. Participants in the meeting were
drawn from Manganganga, Ngondo and Gundwane villages. The meeting
was attended by more young women than young men. Mr Vumani Ndlovu
facilitated the meeting. The discussion dwelt mainly on the Bill
of Rights as the young people expressed great interest in knowing
their constitutional rights. They said that many a times they have
suffered violations of their rights due to ignorance, giving the
example of arbitrary arrests. The young people said the rights of
arrested persons were very important in their community because
of the unfair treatment they receive from police officers. They
also queried the exemption of women from the death sentence saying
it was contradictory to the constitutional provision of gender equality.
The chapter
on systems of government was also applauded by young people who
said the centralised system of governance was a disadvantage to
them. They however, raised a lot of questions regarding how the
provincial assemblies would operate and their relationship with
central government. The young people also called on the NYDT to
implement follow up activities to the meeting as one meeting could
not exhaust the entire constitution. The youths were also encouraged
to read the constitution and discuss it within their wards.
Umzingwane
Political Parties
Forum: The NYDT held a political parties forum in Umzingwane ward
2 on Saturday October 26, 2013. The forum was held under the theme:
“Setting The Youth Agenda: Priorities For The New Zimbabwe
Government.” Three political parties managed to send representatives
to the meeting, MDC, Zapu and MDC-T.
The young people
emphasised the need to unite when dealing with youth development
issues, regardless of their different political preferences. They
indicated the need to engage the Minister of Youth on a regular
basis since he is not young and might not be the best person to
represent the youth interests. The young women also expressed concern
over the fact that the minister is male hence young women’s
issues might be sidelined if they do not play an active role in
engaging him. They lamented the shortage of information about key
processes and opportunities such as the youth fund. Some of the
young people castigated the administrators of the youth fund saying
they merely rejected their proposals without indicating why. As
such they called on the NYDT to further intensify its efforts of
representing the youths even in terms of ensuring that they benefit
from national projects. The political parties’ forums have
proved to be an effective way of bringing young people together
to discuss common issues regardless of political differences. As
a result of such forums, young people are beginning to realise the
need to separate party politics from youth development issues.
Visit the National
Youth Development Trust fact
sheet
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