Online Reporter
Farirai Machivenyika
Senior Reporter
THE Speaker of Parliament, Advocate Jacob Mudenda, has challenged youths to demand political space in the governance of the country as provided by the Constitution.
The Speaker said this last week at the launch of the Youth Model Parliament, an initiative by the Parliamentary Youth Caucus in conjunction with the Zimbabwe Institute and the Zimbabwe Youth Council, at the new Parliament Building in Mt Hampden.
“It is evident, therefore, that these constitutional provisions empower the youth to demand political space in our democracy as they advocate for inclusivity in the political body polity by wanting to actively participate in shaping their future, Adv Mudenda said.
Furthermore, section 67 of the Constitution guarantees the inalienable right of every Zimbabwean citizen to participate in the political affairs of the country either directly or through freely chosen representatives. The Youth Model Parliament represents a decisive implementation of these constitutional imperatives by establishing a structured forum where young citizens can engage and influence the country’s political discourse.
Advocate Mudenda said he expected that the Youth Model Parliament will uphold identical principles of procedural propriety, disciplined engagement and rigorous intellectual exchange as mandated in the Standing Rules and Orders in order to ensure that this platform authentically replicates parliamentary processes in Zimbabwe.
Chairperson of the Parliamentary Youth Caucus Cde Stanley Sakupwanya urged youths in the Model Parliament to rise above party politics.
“We cannot effectively come to parliament and bring up youth-positive policies if we’re not engaged with the young people themselves, who are affected by these policies that we introduce.
‘So, this is a platform where young people from across the political divide can come and debate issues that affect them, can come and debate policies that they feel they can tweak to make better or policies that they feel that maybe they can introduce something new,” he said.
