Online Reporter
Luthando Mapepa
Correspondent
THE Herbert Chitepo Trust has been hailed for promoting economic empowerment through investment and vocational training as part of efforts to advance the late national hero, Cde Herbert Chitepo’s vision of total emancipation.
Speaking on the sidelines of an Investment Lecture held at St David’s Bonda Girls’ High School in Mutasa, veteran legal practitioner, Advocate Simplisius Chihambakwe, said Cde Chitepo’s vision went beyond political independence to include economic empowerment and self-reliance.
He said Cde Chitepo, who was known for the phrase m: “We are all liberators”, believed the struggle had to continue beyond independence, with Zimbabweans taking control of the economy by producing goods and services, creating employment and contributing to national development.
Advocate Chihambakwe said the Trust should also build sustainable investments and income-generating projects to ensure its programmes continue even when donor support declines.
“Donations have their own lifespan. There will come a time when donors will become tired, and when they do, they may withdraw their support, leaving organisations struggling or even collapsing.
“What we need to do is take advantage of the opportunities available while the support is still there and invest in sustainable projects. By the time donors withdraw, we should have sufficient investments and income-generating projects to enable us to continue operating and survive,” he said.
ZANU PF Treasurer General, Cde Patrick Chinamasa, said the party established the Herbert Chitepo School of Ideology to promote the principle that Zimbabweans should be their own liberators, both politically and economically in honouring the late ZANU founding fathers, among them Cde Chitepo.
He said the Herbert Chitepo Trust was taking this principle further through vocational training aimed at equipping people with skills to create jobs.
“We are our own liberators. We are our own economic emancipators. The trust is now starting to expand vocational training so that people can create jobs. People must be trained to create jobs.
“There is no one who wants to go to England, Europe or America to work menial jobs. That is why we need to create these jobs,” he said
He added that ZANU PF fully supported the work of the Herbert Chitepo Trust, and expressed confidence that the organisation will continue to grow and contribute to economic development.
Mutasa Rural District Council chairperson, Councillor Pardington Nemaunga welcomed the Trust’s empowerment programmes, particularly those targeting young people.
He said the Trust established various initiatives in Mutasa, including vocational training programmes aimed at equipping communities with skills for self-employment.
“The Trust has various programmes in Mutasa District which empower communities, especially the youths. The Trust has a vocational training centre which teaches self-employment programmes. They also employ locals who are working at the farms,” he said.
Herbert Chitepo Trust Director of Trustees, Ms Victoria Chitepo, said the lecture provided an opportunity for communities to reflect on the expectations of the freedom that Chitepo and other liberation fighters stood for.
She said people should develop strategies to improve their livelihoods instead of relying solely on salaries and limited incomes.
“Many of us are stuck with our salaries and the little income we earn, without realising that we need a plan to get out of poverty.
“People can start thinking about joining clubs, setting up investment clubs, or finding ways to structure and invest the little money they earn so that they can make a difference in their lives and in their communities,” she said.
The Investment Lecture was held under the theme: ‘Promoting the Legacy of Advocate Herbert Chitepo’s Values of Freedom, Justice, and Social and Economic Empowerment’.
