peter
Sunday News Reporter
Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Hon Nqobizitha Mangaliso Ndlovu has urged youths to identify opportunities that come with the Coronavirus pandemic and start doing business.
Addressing youths in his constituency at Dingumuzi Hall in Plumtree on Thursday, Minister Ndlovu, said despite the challenges facing the country youths should look at what solutions they can provide.
“We will be judged by what we changed or what we started which will create long lasting benefits for the generations to come despite the problems and the challenges. What solutions can we provide?
“We didn’t know we had the capacity to make masks, to make our own sanitizers, primary schools and secondary schools today are manufacturing sanitizers.
“Young people including our own youths are manufacturing masks. I saw abanye (others) complaining bathi ama masks ayadula (they are saying masks are expensive) but that’s an opportunity to get into business.
“We didn’t know that we have capacity to repair our own ventilators until NUST (National University of Science and Technology) stood up and said let’s see if our engineers can do it.
“Already in Mpilo hospitsl and UBH (United Bulawayo Hospitals) they have revived those ventilators.”
Unpacking the Youth Fund stimulus package unveiled by Government, Minister Ndlovu urged youths around the country to unlock opportunities.
“We are importing goods including amazambani (ground nuts), we are importing ground nuts to do peanut butter, we are importing potatoes, we are importing baked beans, onions. I saw a 30 truck with onions at the border so I’m saying let us take this opportunities to identify what we can do not look at only Plumtree.
“I dare you to look at the entire country, even look at the region. I think at this point we are much closer to be supplying the whole region with hand sanitizers because in Masvingo we are getting ethanol which we use to manufacture (sanitizers) but beyond that we now have entreprenuers who are now doing the actual manufacturing.”
Deputy Minister of Youths Hon Tino Machakaire who attended the meeting said they were looking at addressing problems facing the youths.
“Government is fully aware that some youths had not yet received relief funds and they will soon be getting their share.”
He, however, urged more youths to register for the funding.
Minister Ndlovu also toured Climate Adaptation for Rural Livelihoods (CARL) Project which is being funded by Swedish International Development Agency and a joint undertaking of Oxfam Zimbabwe, Zimbabwean organization SAFIRE, the University of Zimbabwe and Swedish Meteorological Hydrological Institute (SMHI).
The project aims to improve socio-economic well-being of Zimbabwe’s rural population by reducing poverty and food insecurity in the face of climate change.
Bongani Ndlovu