By Wilton Mutepfe and Naledi Maunganidze

“A COUNTRY, a movement, a person that does not value its youth and children does not deserve its future,” South African revolutionary Oliver Tambo once said.

And as Zimbabwe celebrated National Youth Day, President Emmerson Mnangagwa could not have been more clearer with regards to the importance of the youth in the development agenda.

“I urge you, the youth, to ready yourself for the emerging economic prospects,” said President Emmerson Mnangagwa addressing thousands of youths during the National Youth Day celebrations, in Lupane.

“All these projects in the province and across the country, coupled with the overall growth of the economy means that there will be no need for our young people to go to Egoli (South Africa) in search of employment.

“Young people are also urged to exploit the opportunities in the agriculture, mining, tourism and manufacturing value chains as well as in renewable energy sectors. 

“You must not be spectators, think outside the box, innovate, collaborate and partner with each other.” 

President Mnangagwa’s ‘Leaving no place and no one behind’ mantra has ensured that no sector of its population is overlooked or left behind.

Constituting over 62 percent of the population, the welfare of Zimbabwe’s youth has been at the centre of  the Second Republic’s policies.

Not only has attention been paid to youths but to gender disparities which has put Zimbabwe on the map not only for youth empowerment but practical protection of the girl child in legal, parliamentary, humanitarian, educational and cultural scenarios.

The atmosphere in which this year’s commemorations were held spoke volumes of the growing significance of this occasion.

That President Mnangagwa, himself, was the guest of honour at the celebrations added weight to the significance of the commemorations.

And the President’s call to completely eradicate the drug scourge is evidence of a leadership that deeply cares about its youth.

“Zimbabwe is not a drug and illegal substance producer or peddler and trends to do so will be expunged to defend our country and youth who are our future,” he said.

“It is imperative that we scale up our national responses to the developing trends associated with the use and abuse of drugs.”

It is unfortunate that drug and substance abuse appears fashionable among our youth.

And the violent behaviour, vandalism, unprotected sex and mental disorders, some of the outcomes of drug and substance abuse, threaten to retard the growth which the country is enjoying.

Fortunately our law enforcement agents have taken off the gloves in the war to curb this abuse and save our youth through arresting peddlers and raiding known bases where these substances and drugs are available.

The Second Republic, has managed to instil in our youth a sense of nationhood and to make them proud of the ethos of patriotism and unity bequeathed from the liberation struggle.

With this as their armour, the youth should be able to proudly assume their role as leaders in our development thrust.

After all, youths were at the forefront of the struggle to rid the country of white settler-rule.

That is probably why President Mnangagwa emphasised the zero-tolerance to indiscipline.

“Unruly behaviour related to drug and substance abuse must be dealt with decisively within our educational institutions,” he said.

National Youth Day should be a day for introspection for this critical demographic group.

President Mnangagwa has challenged our young people not only to be active participants in the rebuilding process through being employed but also creating industries as espoused by the “Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo/ilizwe liyakhwa ngabanikazi” philosophy.

The education system has been revamped to produce youths equipped with skills relevant to the development agenda.

Since the ushering in of the Second Republic in 2017 the country’s knowledge sector, dominated by state universities and polytechnic colleges, has been seized with the practicalities of a modern day state.

With the illegal sanctions still in place President Mnangagwa has made it no secret that the country’s tertiary institutions must proffer solutions to bust the more than two decades long embargo. 

Cuba has had more than five decades under sanctions and they chose to look in to solve their national problems and produced innovations in medical research. 

In 1985 the country pioneered the first and only vaccine against meningitis B. 

The country’s scientists developed new treatments for hepatitis B, diabetic foot, vitiligo and psoriasis. 

They also developed a lung cancer vaccine that is currently being tested in the US. 

Cuba was also the first country on earth to eliminate the transmission of HIV and Syphilis from mother to child, a feat recognised by the WHO in 2015. 

In Zimbabwe, the Second Republic’s Education 5.0 is about problem-solving and value creation through the creation of innovation hubs to push industrial modernisation agenda which has so far seen the registration of over 500 patents in various fields.

The nation’s higher and tertiary education sector is no longer just about teaching, research and community service but is now heavily involved and leading innovation and industrialisation efforts.

With Education 5.0, our youths are heavily involved in activities making the country competitive, modern and highly industrialised.

“If your idea excels, the Government will invest in it,” President Mnangagwa has said.

The support for the youth has been implemented in full lieu of gender equity goals of the country’s constitution  and policies.

With agriculture being one of the mainstay of the country’s economy, contributing up to 18 percent to the gross domestic product, the youths have not been left behind.

To bolster youth participation in agricultural production President Mnangagwa launched Provincial Integrated Youths Skills Development Centres (PIYSDC) to be set up in the county’s 10 provinces where over 500 youths will be recruited at each centre annually to be equipped with agriculture skills.

Speaking during the launch of the incubation centres at DCK Farm in Kwekwe, the President described agriculture as one of the major pillars of the economy, hence the move to empower youths who constitute 62 percent of the total population.

Under PIYSDC, the President directed each provincial minister to identify a 500-hectare piece of land which would be dedicated to youth projects as part of the Government’s policy to ensure youths participate in national building programmes.

“Today’s launch of the Provincial Integrated Youths Skills Development Centres will also see the handover of 698 heifers to young people drawn from all rural districts of the country,” said President Mnangagwa. “This is in line with my Government’s policy to mainstream participation of the youths in national programmes, across all sectors, as well as in politics and governance architecture.”

President Mnangagwa said youths should take keen interest in agriculture, taking advantage of the new Government’s policy of a 20 percent youths quota under the Land Reform Programme.

Being future leaders, he said, youths had to be equipped with resources to achieve a productive agricultural economy.

The progressive youth in Zimbabwe, who will not be lured into drugs and other shenanigans stands a chance not only to develop themselves but help the country attain an upper middle-income economy way before 2030. 

And as rightfully put elsewhere in this issue, drug and substance abuse must not be allowed to derail efforts to attain Vision 2030.