adminSamuel Kadungure Senior Reporter
ZANU-PF youths will use the one million youths march to brief President Mugabe on the performance of elected officials as a way to build public trust in democratic institutions and consolidate a culture of holding them to account.
The national youth commissar, Cde Innocent Hamandishe, on Tuesday told the Manicaland provincial youth executive that those elected into office on the party ticket and appointed to ministerial portfolios must be held accountable for their daily actions, not just at election time.
He said acting now would save the party of troubles in 2018.
“Our candidate for 2018 will be President Mugabe and we want the ministers to be held accountable considering that they are crucial to the delivery of services and the general state of governance.
“Reports of alleged corruption in various spheres of Government are worrisome and have also compounded concerns that the responsible officials are not being held accountable.
“We need to shake the tree now and start gaining public trust so that by 2018, the burden on our shoulders as youths will be less.
“We do the donkey work campaigning for these people during elections – which opens the doors for their appointment into various ministerial positions by the President.
“We cannot continue to labour for non-performers. We have the power to hold them to account.
“We cannot afford to do this during elections, we have to start and hold these elected officials accountable now,” said Cde Hamandishe.
The youths decried a plethora of interrelated factors like poor financial management, lack of control measures and lack of political leadership, among others vices in parastatals and local authorities – whose impact impinge on public trust.
Cde Hamandishe said a combination of these factors provides fertile ground for opportunities of corruption at Government level, hence the need for effective mechanisms to monitor non-performance in the interest of enhancing transparency.
“You have ministers in Manicaland and what are they doing to push Zanu-PF and Government programmes ahead.
“You have diamonds and vast tracts of land, what are they doing to ensure that youths and women in this province have a stake?
“We have agreed as the party that the remaining farms should be allocated to youths and since that resolution was made, how many youths have benefited?
“Where and who is the problem? What has Manicaland to show for its diamond wealth and can we honestly say we do not know where the problem is?” asked Cde Hamandishe.
Cde Hamandishe warned elected officials deliberately throwing spanners in empowerment initiatives meant for youths.
“They know that for as long as youths remain poor, we remain pawns in their hands.
“That is why they have come up with machinations to suppress initiatives meant to benefit the generality of our youths.
“The idea is to have poor youths under their armpits. The only person serious about youth empowerment is President Mugabe, the rest are pretenders.
“We will support President Mugabe’s candidature in 2018 and we will serve no any other interest and this is why as youths, we are taking an audit of the performances of elected officials so that we can brief the President, in their presence, at the one million youths march.
“We will call a spade a spade because if we do not do this, they will continue lying to the President on the situation on the ground.
“We are not witch-hunting, but merely setting the record straight,” said Cde Hamandishe.
Meanwhile, the Manicaland youth executive has anonymously agreed to elevate Cde Mubuso Chinguno as its substantive chairperson.
Cde Chinguno, who has been the acting chairperson since last year, replaces Mr Kelvin Manyengavana, who alongside, Ms Getrude Mutandi (secretary for finance) and Mr Washington Ziwiwi, were ousted through a vote of no confidence for contravening the party’s constitution among a host of allegations.
Vacant youth executive posts will be filled after Sunday’s inter-district youth meeting scheduled for Sunday at Marymount Teacher’s College – which will serve as the launch pad to mobilise 100 000 youths from Manicaland to attend the one million youth march to be held in Harare in May.
The one million youths march is meant to show support to President Mugabe.
Online Reporter