Online Reporter
Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, Mat South Bureau Chief
CHIEF Mathema of Gwanda District in Matabeleland South has called on community members to refrain from engaging in immoral activities that are hindering local development.
Speaking during a National Aids Council health outreach programme held recently at Mtshazo Business Centre, Chief Mathema highlighted several anti-development behaviours prevalent in the area, including alcoholism, drug and substance abuse, child abuse, gender-based violence and other criminal offences.
“As a community, we are grappling with a rise in unscrupulous activities that threaten our development,” Chief Mathema stated. “Alarmingly, both the youth and adults are involved. A prime example is alcoholism. We have elderly individuals, who begin drinking early in the morning and remain intoxicated throughout the day. How can we be productive if we are constantly inebriated? How can we develop our area if we are not in the right state of mind?” he questioned.
Chief Mathema expressed concern that young people —who should be at the forefront of driving development —are instead being lost to drug and substance abuse. He also criticised some business owners for contributing to the problem by selling alcohol to minors.
“If our youth are not productive, they may resort to crime, to make ends meet. This is why we are seeing a rise in robbery cases, most of which involve young people. We need our youth to unite, not for criminal activity, but to pursue business ideas that will bring the development we so desperately need,” he said.
He also raised alarm over the increasing cases of teenage pregnancies and child marriages, noting with concern that some parents and guardians are complicit in these practices.
The chief urged parents and guardians to prioritise education and ensure that children are protected and given the opportunity to build a better future.
“As parents and guardians, we must prioritise our children’s education. How can we develop as a nation and as a community if our young girls are being impregnated and denied the chance to fully participate in development?
“Let us send our children to school and protect them from teenage pregnancies and child marriages. In doing so, we will raise a generation of productive young people, who will drive the development we seek. The youth are our future — let us not destroy that future,” he said.
To counter these challenges, Chief Mathema further encouraged the community to embrace various Government and development partner initiatives aimed at fostering growth and well-being, citing the “Not in My Village” campaign as a key example. This Government-led programme, in partnership with development organisations, specifically targets teenage pregnancies and early child marriages as part of the broader fight against HIV and Aids.
The campaign is spearheaded by adolescents and young people through the Young People’s Network on Health and Wellbeing (YPNHW), in collaboration with the National Aids Council.
Launched last year during World Population Day commemorations at Nzvimbo High School in Mazowe District, Mashonaland Central, the campaign has since been extended to Matabeleland South, Manicaland, Mashonaland East and Mashonaland West.
The “Not in My Village” campaign is a grassroots initiative designed to raise awareness, mobilise action, and empower community gatekeepers to end child marriages in rural Zimbabwe. It is built on the belief that change begins at the community level, where people can influence their own cultural and social norms.
The campaign actively involves traditional and religious leaders — such as chiefs and headmen — who hold the authority and respect necessary to challenge harmful practices and attitudes that perpetuate child marriage.
Eliminating child marriages and teenage pregnancies aligns with Zimbabwe’s National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1), which envisions a prosperous and empowered upper-middle-income society by 2030.
