Youth League warns wayward leaders

Mutare Bureau
The Zanu-PF youth wing will not support any leaders undermining and neglecting them in empowerment programmes, the party’s national secretary for youth affairs Cde Pupurai Togarepi has said.

Speaking at the belated 21st February Movement celebrations held at DC Mutasa over the weekend, Cde Togarepi said all leaders should emulate President Mugabe who walks his talk.

“President Mugabe has remained steadfast despite the onslaught on him from the days of the liberation struggle up to now,” he. President Mugabe is on record calling for the empowerment of youths, but there are some of our leaders who appear to be undermining his directive and authority and we will surely work to decampaign such leaders in all forthcoming elections.

“All those in leadership positions should know that youths now constitute 70 percent of the voters and we do not want a situation where we will be forced to use our numbers to vote you out of office during primary elections.

“Let this be a warning to all those frustrating youth empowerment programmes. If you fight the interests of the youths, we are going to fight you too. We view all those undermining youths as sell-outs,”he said.

Cde Togarepi said 50 percent of the new land being identified for resettlement should be allocated to youths.

He criticised party officials involved in corruption. Speaking at the same occasion, Zanu-PF secretary for Transport and Welfare, Cde Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, warned power hungry leaders to desist from corruption.

Meanwhile, Cde Togarepi has said Zanu-PF is not a breeding ground for criminals and will not protect anyone caught on the wrong side of the law.

Cde Togarepi was responding to statements attributed to him in the press over the weekend in which he reportedly defended suspended Harare youth leader Godwin Gomwe, claiming he was being targeted for helping engineer the ouster of former Vice President Joice Mujuru.

Gomwe is on $1 000 bail after he was accused of using the First Lady Dr Amai Grace Mugabe’s name to extort $46 000 from housing co-operatives.