Chronicle Editor
Joseph Madzimure, Harare Bureau
PRESIDENT Mnangagwa has urged Zanu-PF members to always abide by the provisions of the party constitution, saying he is a constitutionalist himself.
The President said youths, as the vanguard of the party, should never be spectators in the development of the country but must always defend and promote the ruling party’s policies and programmes to accelerate the realisation of the country’s development goals.
Addressing the Zanu-PF National Assembly of the Youth League in Harare yesterday, President Mnangagwa said the ruling party will always deliver on its promises, no matter the obstacles thrown in its way by detractors in the form of illegal economic sanctions and other restrictions, particularly from the Western world.
“As you gather here to formulate policies that are aimed at scaling up youth development and ensuring Party membership growth, be mindful that the Second Republic is proudly premised on upholding constitutionalism.
“As a League, you must be guided by the vision; mission; aims and objectives, values as well as duties of all members as clearly outlined in the Party Constitution. Ngatichengetedzei Gwara re Musangano”.
“We are members of the Party first before we assume leadership positions. Therefore, you are reminded that every member must be loyal to the Party and its leadership. You must observe, respect, and abide by the constitution, policies, rules, and regulations of the Party,” said the President.
He added that besides being a soldier, he was also a trained lawyer.
“I am a constitutionalist. I want our party, our leadership, and our people to be constitutionalists. We must abide by the provisions of our constitution to the letter. When it is time to go, just go.”
On the other hand, President Mnangagwa charged the youth to increase production and productivity, putting shoulder to the wheel in the journey towards Vision 2030, to become an upper middle-class economy.
“As young leaders of our revolutionary Party, the responsibilities upon you are weighty. You must forge and scale up the implementation of sound strategies to positively impact the youth, those within the Party and throughout the nation in general.
“Under the Second Republic, I have repeatedly declared and shown that we are about action and results that benefit our people, leaving no one and no place behind. This is our indelible character as Zanu-PF, under this dispensation,” he said.
The President said the ruling party will always deliver on its promises, no matter the obstacles thrown in its way by detractors in the form of illegal economic sanctions and other restrictions, particularly from the Western world.
“I also challenge us to be aware that we are in Party positions and in the governance architecture of the country because the people of Zimbabwe, especially the youth, emphatically endorsed our revolutionary mass Party. The people, and the youth in your case, expect us to discharge our mandate with humility, honesty, a high sense of servant-hood and impeccable integrity. Anything less is unacceptable.
“You are a strategic cog in our Party leadership structure and have the burden and responsibility to live up to the expectations of the young people of our Party and nation. I, therefore, call upon you all to continue to lead from the front as we grow, modernise, develop and industrialise our economy. Never be spectators in the development and implementation of the policies and programmes of our Zanu-PF-led Government”.
At all times, added the President, youths must always be active and productive.
“Month by month; quarter by quarter and year by year; I want to see more concrete results, increased production and productivity, specifically from members of the Youth League; ward by ward, district by district and sector by sector. This must ultimately feed into provincial economic GDP growth”.
He said Zimbabwe will not achieve its goals of becoming an upper middle-class economy by 2030 by mere talk or magic.
“Hapana feja-feja apa. We should work hard on a disaggregated and deliberate basis to realise our goal to improve the quality of life of our people”.
President Mnangagwa urged young people to grab opportunities availed by the Second Republic for the betterment of communities, calling on those in positions of authority to serve the people first.
“The strategic positions the youth hold in Cabinet, Parliament, local authorities or as board members of various organisations are not designed so that you have clout in your social circles, “kuti muremere ma-streets”; Kwete! You have a duty to leverage those portfolios to wholeheartedly serve the young people of Zimbabwe. So far, I commend the majority of those appointed for showing the zeal to learn and serve. Well done,” he said.
The President also urged the youths to join forces with law enforcement agents to expose companies that are refusing to trade in the country’s currency, the ZiG, saying the law will take its course against such elements.
“To sustain the current growth trajectory and further accelerate our country’s modernisation and industrialisation, it is critically important that the Youth League promotes and inculcates a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, driven by science and technology.
“To this end, you have a task to lead conversations, projects and programmes among the young people, both within the Party and across the nation. You should not be found missing in this ongoing national development agenda”.
President Mnangagwa said the youth must always nurture principles of Ubuntu/Hunhu, be disciplined even in their interactions on social media platforms like WhatsApp.
“Anchored by our Heritage-Based Education 5.0 philosophy, we want young people who produce goods and services for use in our communities and the economy. I want to see greater visibility of the Party Youth League in this Science, Technology and Innovation space.
“The Zanu-PF Government will not back down in our onslaught against immoral and irresponsible acts of sabotage, such as money laundering and other forms of white-collar crime that are derailing our economic progress. There are no sacred cows. Pasi ne corruption; pasi nehuori,” he said.
The National Assembly of the Youth League was attended by Zanu-PF Vice-Presidents Cde Constantino Chiwenga and Cde Kembo Mohadi, National Chairperson Cde Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri and top ruling party officials.
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