Online Reporter
PRESIDENT Mnangagwa has urged beneficiaries of the Government’s empowerment schemes to produce tangible outcomes that change their livelihoods and impact their communities positively.
Speaking when he handed over equipment that included tipper trucks and front-end loaders to youth groups under the US$2 million Presidential Youth Fund on Tuesday, President Mnangagwa said he expected visible outcomes from beneficiaries of empowerment schemes.
He said he looked forward to beneficiaries coming back to show him results of the empowerment schemes.
“I hope that down the line, the youths and other beneficiaries of the Government’s empowerment schemes will come back to say here are the results of that empowerment,” said President Mnangagwa.
Early this year Government availed US$17 million to jump-start youths projects. The beneficiaries included youths in agriculture, mining and those involved in other income generating projects.
A total of US$10 million was allocated to youths in agriculture, US$5 million went to youths involved in mining while the remaining US$2 million was used as seed money to start a revolving fund.
President Mnangagwa has since handed over 72 tractors, 10 combine harvesters, 10 vehicles and 10 borehole drilling rigs to be shared by youths from the country’s 10 provinces. In March this year President Mnangagwa launched another empowerment scheme meant to benefit war veterans.
The scheme included farm mechanisation and a US$2 million Presidential War Veterans Empowerment Revolving Fund.
President Mnangagwa also availed US2 million to war veterans dependants, war collaborators, non-combatant cadres and ex-political prisoners and detainees. These empowerment schemes, as the President has emphasised, should have visible outcomes and this is only possible if the beneficiaries work hard.
It is our fervent hope that Government on its part has put in place mechanisms to guard against abuse of resources meant to empower citizens. There is a need to ensure that those that access empowerment resources have the capacity to put the availed resources to good use. Individuals given the responsibility to distribute the empowerment resources should be men and women of integrity whose conduct is above reproach.
Many unscrupulous individuals have in the past taken advantage of incompetent or corrupt Government workers given the responsibility to distribute such resources to benefit themselves at the expense of deserving beneficiaries.
