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TRADITIONAL leaders in Matabeleland North will now be responsible for selecting beneficiaries of the government youth fund administered by CABS with each chief being allocated $15,000, a official said.Matabeleland North provincial youth development officer Buthumuzi Ngwenya yesterday said a new policy framework was being worked on to involve traditional leaders in youth empowerment programmes.
“We were thinking to make the fund chief-based. That is our vision so that we move away from just disbursing the fund as that results in an unfair distribution,” he said.
“We are still trying to work out some issues and we can’t give you details for now as that can be inaccurate. It is still at policy framework stage.”
It has emerged that chiefs in the province have started working on identifying suitable youth beneficiaries in their territories with each traditional leader expected to identify 15 beneficiaries.
Matabeleland North has seven districts, Kusile, Nkayi, Hwange, Umguza, Tsholotsho, Bubi and Binga. Under the programme the country’s 10 provinces were allocated $1 million each and the funding is administered by CABS, CBZ and Stanbic.
Only $300,000 has so far been disbursed in Matabeleland North with more than $600,000 still unused.
Tsholotsho district youth development officer, Bongilizwe Gumpo, said letters had already been sent to six chiefs in the district, notifying them about the new development.
“We were told that each chief will get $15,000 as the fund will now be chief-based. We are busy informing chiefs and officers have delivered the letters. The chiefs are busy identifying deserving youths,” he said.
Gumpo said Tsholotsho district would get $90,000 because it has six chiefs.
He said his office would assist selected youths in drafting convincing project proposals and ensure that banks release the funding.
Ngwenya said the new approach was meant to ensure every part of the province, especially rural youths, benefited.
He, however, expressed concern that those who benefited on the first batch had not paid back yet the fund should be a revolving facility.
“Youths shouldn’t despair because the money is still there. We disbursed about $300,000 and Victoria Falls youths got about $60,000 while the whole district including Hwange Town got about $100,000. The problem is that people don’t pay back.
“If people were repaying we could be continuously disbursing the funds because it will be revolving and they would also have a chance to apply for the second time,” said Ngwenya.
“Youths should know that if they don’t pay they are killing the fund and it is them who suffer at the end of the day.
derick.khumalo