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Written by YouthForum   
Tuesday, 07 May 2013 11:43
Whatever
Whilst the youths of Zimbabwe were exhilarated on the launch of a number of youth development funds including the Old Mutual/CABS and the Stanbic ones, they have been naturally and expectedly disappointed at the rate of and requirements for disbursements of the money. This has led to many young men and women of Zimbabwe asking the befitting question, ‘Did we celebrate too early?’ a question which needs no answer, and so I am not going to dwell on that, but on another very important question: ‘Are the bank loans enough for empowering and developing the youth?’
The notion of the government pleading/asking/forcing the private players to offer loans (Financial assistance) is not and will never be enough to meaningfully empower the youth of Zimbabwe. Underpinning the implementation of youth economic empowerment strategies should be the principle that it is a shared responsibility, which entails the idea that youth economic empowerment can be accelerated meaningfully if all key stakeholders contribute their part by laying specific critical roles and responsibilities.  The above principle also encourages these stakeholders to partner with each other and synergize, where possible, to ensure effective youth economic empowerment.  
The aforementioned principle also entails the recognition that the role of promoting youth economic empowerment is not only the responsibility  of  the Ministry of Youth Development through the National Youth Council, nor all the tiers of government, but it also includes, development agencies, state owned entities, private sector, labour, civil society, youth formations and international organizations.  Broadly, the roles and responsibilities envisaged from the stakeholders are varied and they involve coordination, facilitation, and implementation, monitoring, review, and reporting on performance and progress. In this article I’m going to look at the 3 main players: the Government, the institutions of learning and the private sector.
Youth economic empowerment can only succeed with the support of government creating conducive environment through the formulation and implementation of a national youth economic policy instrument.  These instruments should be aimed at mainstreaming youth in all existing policies, programmes and institutions.  The support programmes given to the youth should cover the entire spectrum of support from non-financial to financial support. Government prioritizing youth economic empowerment has a positive spin-over effect of increasing entrepreneurs, and solves the problem of unemployment and poverty in the country.  Government must actively encourage all funding institutions and banks to design funding products aimed at supporting youth.  Through nonfinancial support, emphasis must placed on encouraging big business to mentor young people for a minimum of two years during start-up period.  On the financial aspect, character and viability of business plan must be used as a basis for lending as opposed to collateral as it is intended for youth who would otherwise not qualify for funding using conventional lending approach.
The government should introduce a youth enterprise scheme that will seek to help youth to establish, grow and sustain their enterprises.  It should assist us to develop business plans, provide market research, access to finance, financial planning and management and on-going mentoring. Please note that the assistance the government should provide surpasses just financial assistance, but also include technical assistance. The government can also look at instituting policies to protect youth-led enterprises formed under such policies through things like reserving a quota of all public tenders to such organizations, having established enterprises partnering youth-led organizations for mentoring, financial assistance, training, technical skills, mainstreaming into their value chains among other things.
It is in this vein that the government should look at involving the institutions of learning, from high schools, colleges and universities in providing technical assistance in the form of skills to write business plans and financial planning and management. This sub-programme referred to as in-school and tertiary entrepreneurship education must form part of the formal curriculum in all schools and tertiary institutions.  It is meant to be a foundation for the development of the entrepreneurship culture, introduces learners to the concept of entrepreneurship and to promote self-employment as the sustainable option in life.  It targets in-school going learners from Form 1-6 through to tertiary level. Acquiring such skills in formal education will help a lot of young people to start and run their own business after completing their studies, better than the current situation where students are taught to seek for employment. Entrepreneurship studies should be offered as a mandatory course at ALL levels of ALL programs in ALL institutions of higher learning.
The private sector will also be brought onto the wagon through the creation and enhancement of Public Private Partnerships (PPP) that will seek to provide both financial and non-financial assistance to the youths of Zimbabwe. Whilst the Old Mutual/CABS partnership with the government reserved US$1m of the 11 million for technical assistance, it is important that all beneficiaries of the loan first go through training on starting up and running a business so that the monies given to the youths remains revolving and continues to benefit more youths. 
Private players can also be encouraged to provide a minimum quota procurement opportunities and enterprise development support and corporate social investment to youth.
In conclusion, it is important for the government and other stakeholders to accept that the potential in the country’s most important and abundant resource, the youth, can only be fully realised if the assistance offered to us is not limited to financial assistance only, but technical assistance as well as mainstreaming young people in the economy by ensuring that all policies, strategies, legislation and agencies and/or institutions related to the economic development integrate economic empowerment of youth. 

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Last Updated on Tuesday, 07 May 2013 11:47
 
Former Student Leader Thrown in Jail . . . PDF Print E-mail

 . . . as several activists go into hiding

Jailed Swazi Student Leader Maxwell Dlamini
Swaziland- The autocratic Tinkhundla Regime in Swaziland has plunged the pro-democratic movement in Swaziland into a frenzy following the detention without trial of Maxwell Dlamini, a former student leader and secretary general of the Swaziland Youth Congress (SWAYOCO), a banned youth organisation in Swaziland.
 
Maxwell appeared before an Mbabane magistrate on 24 April at 0900hrs and was condemned to jail without charge or trial until May 2, 2013.  The Swaziland National Union of Students indicates that police called Maxwell ahead of a SWAYOCO rally that coincided with the King’s birthday on April 19 demanding that he calls off the rally in his capacity as the secretary general. 
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Last Updated on Friday, 26 April 2013 10:07
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Call to Hon. Senators to stand against the Zimbabwe Youth Council RSI Act 4/2013 PDF Print E-mail
Written by Administrator   
Wednesday, 27 February 2013 09:43

On Monday 25ft of February, The Youth Forum has sent a letter to all Hon. Senators to ask them to protect Freedom of association of Youths.

Hon. Senators have been asked to oppose Zimbabwe Youth Council Regulations (ZYC) Statutory Instrument Act 4/2013, by adopting the Adverse Report from the Parliamentary Legal Committee (PLC) on SI 4/2013

This the content of the letter:

At the beginning of year 2013 the Zimbabwe Youth Council Act (general) Regulations Statutory Instrument 4/2013 was gazetted. Whilst we recognize the principle of coordinating youth activities, we are also aware that over-regulation through SI 4/2013 is intrusive and  may suffocate these youth groups.

Below are some reasons the regulations should be struck out:

  1. It is against the spirit of the current Draft Constitution.
  2. It disables young people to organize and mobilize for the upcoming key national processes i.e. Referendum and Elections.
  3. The regulations go much further than the Zimbabwe Youth Council Act permits. The function of regulations is to supplement the provisions of an Act, not to spell out a stand alone set of rules!
  4. The SI seeks to levy $3,00 for every member of a youth association criminalizing those who don't comply without recognizing that most young people will not afford.
  5. The regulation restricts donations to youth associations whereas the Act is silent o this.
  6. The regulation provide for a CEO of the Zimbabwe Youth Council when the Act provides a Director - A CEO for a Youth Council burdens tax payer.
  7. It seeks to reintroduce the NGO Bill to the youth

The Parliamentary Legal Committee has issued an adverse report on the Statutory Instrument, we therefore urge you to adopt the report to protect the youth and save the future.

Yours Sincerely, Coordinating Committee

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Why you MUST know the Constitution! PDF Print E-mail
Written by Youth Forum Information and Publicity   
Monday, 11 March 2013 09:15
Well … I could start from theory telling you stuff like: “Because the Constitution is the fundamental document containing the supreme law of the Country, which is expression of the values and beliefs of the people who voted it and blablabla…

Or I could tell you: “Because you must take an informed decision on 16th of March, you must understand what a YES or a NO imply for yourself, for your family, your community, your Country and so on.

Yes, these and many others definitely are good reasons to know your Constitution, but is this the point?

Let me try to explain…

While the Lancaster House Agreement is widely recognized as a bad Constitution, it actually has quite a number of positive provisions:

It provides for the Right to Life; “It will be forbidden to deprive any person intentionally of his life save in execution of the lawful sentence of a court after conviction of a criminal offense”.
Has this ever been the case of our history as an independent Country?

It provides that “every Zimbabwean citizen shall have the right to free, fair and regular elections to the office of President” […] who “shall exercise his/her powers subject to the provisions of the Constitution”. Was this the case of 2008 election?

It provides Freedom from torture and Inhuman treatment: “it will be forbidden to inflict torture or inhuman or degrading punishment or treatment on any person”. Was this provisions ever respected by our security services, who should be entitled to uphold them?

Impunity is not in the list of provisions, so why has it been accorded to all the perpetrators of violence, who since 1999 have been trampling the rights of Zimbabweans?

It provides Freedom of Expression: “it will be forbidden, except with the consent of the person concerned, to interfere with anybody’s freedom of expression. This freedom will be defined as including freedom to hold opinions without interference, freedom to receive ideas and information without interference, freedom to communicate ideas and information without interference and freedom from interference with one’s correspondence”. Did this provision stop the police, who should again uphold our rights, from arresting and beating journalists?

Amendments provide that “State organs and institutions do not belong to any political party and should be impartial in the discharge of their duties. For this purposes […] the parties have agreed that the following steps be taken: […] ensuring that all state organs and institutions strictly observe the principles of the Rule of Law and remain non-partisan and impartial […]” and that “Every public officer has a duty towards every person in Zimbabwe to exercise his or her functions as a public officer in accordance with the law and to observe and uphold the rule of law”. Is this avoiding our public officers from adopting a discriminatory behavior at voter registration offices? Is it avoiding our top policemen, from indoctrinating their subordinates and deliberately trample the provisions of which they should be the guardians?

It even provides for the Security of persons and prevention of violence as “the parties hereby agree:
(a) to promote the values and practices of tolerance, respect, non-violence and dialogue as means of resolving political differences;
(b) to renounce and desist from the promotion and use of violence, under whatever name called, as a means of attaining political ends;
(c) that the Government shall apply the laws of the Country fully and impartially in bringing all perpetrators of politically motivated violence to book;
(d) that all political parties, other organizations and their leaders shall commit themselves to do everything to stop and prevent all forms of political violence, including by non-State actors and shall consistently appeal to their members to desist from violence;[…]
(i) to refrain from using abusive language that may incite hostility, political intolerance and ethnic hatred or unfairly undermine each other.
Is this the case of our politicians screaming slanderous and racist slogans to each other?

Sadly these are not all of the examples, but let me jump to the what I believe to be the most important provision, without which any other is nothing but wasted ink: “The Parties hereby agree that it is the duty of all political parties and individuals to respect and uphold the Constitution and other laws of the land and adhere to the principles of Rule of Law”.

Did you get the point now?

The question is not whether to vote yes or no or whether the draft is good or bad. The point is any provision, any law, is nothing but a bunch of words on a piece of paper if not supported by respect for the rule of law.

Around $45 million have been spent to draw up a Constitution of questionable value and many others will be spent for the Referendum. So if you propend for a Yes or a No, then campaign and act coherently, but as soon as the results are made available, all of us should respect the rule of law and make sure that everybody else does.
If Yes wins, who voted Yes should respect and ensure what he has voted for is respected, while those fighting for a No will have to embrace the democratic outcome and do their best to give the new Constitution the best possible chance to succeed by supporting and highlighting its positive aspects while working to improve its negative ones.

If leaders have no consideration for the rule of law and we really want this antidemocratic culture to stop, we all should build and share a strong culture of rule of law based on our Constitution.

It is taxpayers’ money that has been spent to draw up the draft, and we have accomplished the duty of paying taxes, reason why we must pretend the respect of the rights that come with such duties!

How could we pretend to protect our rights if we do not know them? How could we recognize our rights being trampled and therefore rise up claiming its enforcement knowing the Constitution?

So do you understand why you must know the Constitution?

To avoid it becoming the most expensive toilet paper ever!
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Take Charge: Vote no in the Referendum (NCA Press Statement) PDF Print E-mail
Written by Administrator   
Thursday, 07 February 2013 09:46

On Tuesday February 5th, Professor Lovemore Madhuku, NCA's Chairperson, gave a press conference in front of Civic Society at Bumbiro/Isisekelo House. He called for a NO vote at the Constitutional Referendum expected for the end of March and gave a thorough explanation of his reasons, dividing them into two main arguments; Process and Content. Prof. Madhuku stated that either argument alone is sufficient. Here is the official transcript of NCA's Press Statement:

 

TAKE CHARGE: VOTE NO IN THE REFERENDUM

SAY NO TO A CONSTITUTION BY POLITICAL PARTIES: THE PEOPLE MUST WRITE THEIR OWN CONSTITUTION

1.      The mission of the NCA has remained unchanged over the years. It is to advocate for a new, democratic and people-driven constitution in our country. By a people-driven process, we mean a process led by an independent Constitutional Commission not answering to the dictates of politicians of the day. It is on the basis of this approach and its mission that the NCA rejected the COPAC process and vowed to urge the people of Zimbabwe not to accept any constitution authored for them by three self-serving political parties. It is now clear that COPAC is exclusively an affair of three political parties. The COPAC Draft Constitution is neither people-driven nor democratic and must be rejected. The NCA is campaigning for A NO VOTE in the envisaged referendum.

2.      The NCA calls upon the inclusive government to ensure that the referendum is credible and that the people be afforded a free and fair framework to exercise their choice in the matter. The following are the conditions we demand:

  • Making the Draft available as widely as possible in the major languages.
  • Adequate period for the campaign to enable all voters to have a full grasp of the provisions of the Draft Constitution before making their choice. A minimum of two months is required. Our lawyers have been instructed to make an urgent challenge in the Supreme Court should a shorter period be given.
  • Suspension of the provisions of POSA for campaign meetings. If this is not done, the NCA reserves its right to campaign without being restricted by POSA.
  • Equal access to the public media by both the YES and NO voices.
  • Impartial civic education on the contents by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and civil society (other than NCA). The NCA regards any outreach programmes by COPAC on the draft as partisan.
  • Peaceful campaigns and in this regard call upon the political parties in the inclusive government to desist from any forms of violence and intimidation.

3.      The NCA recognises that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission is an independent body. We call upon it

  • to provide training to polling agents for both the YES and NO sides. The NCA has no resources to train its agents.
  • to announce details relating to eligibility to vote(whether its by IDs only or there is a voters roll) and polling stations at least two months before polling day.
  • to monitor provisions on equal access to the media.

4.      The NCA`s main campaign strategy will be door to door and small group meetings.

5.      Here are our reasons for the VOTE NO CAMPAIGN.

A.    PROCESS

1.      This is not a democratic and people-driven constitution. A democratic constitution must be people-driven.

2.      This is a constitution being imposed on us by three political parties, yet the people are bigger than these three political parties.

3.      No political party or group of political parties must be allowed to give the country a constitution. A constitution must come from the people.

4.      It is not about what people wanted or said but about the selfish and personal interests of politicians. We need a constitution that will survive the test of time and not a deal for current politicians.

5.      Politicians spent 4 years and squandered over US$50 million to produce a constitution which is not good for the country but for themselves.

6.      If people say YES to a constitution being imposed by political parties, they will be giving away their power permanently and politicians will never respect the people and the country will not develop.

7.      A NO vote is the answer. It will allow people to write their own constitution after the elections through an INDEPENDENT CONSTITUTIONAL COMMISSION.

B.    CONTENT

8.      The constitution leaves all power in the President, who is allowed to do what he/she wants. Here are the powers of the President:

  • The President is head of state, head of government and commander in chief.(sec 89).
  • The powers of the President as head of state are unlimited.(sec 110(1)).
  • The president appoints all Ministers and Deputy Ministers on his/her own without the approval of Parliament.(sec 104).
  • There is no maximum limit on the number of Ministers and Deputy Ministers. It is up to the President.(sec 104).
  • The President alone constitutes the Cabinet.(sec105). The statement in the Draft Constitution saying the President exercises executive authority “through cabinet” has no value because the Cabinet is the President`s baby. All Cabinet Ministers are hired and fired by the President at his/her pleasure.
  • The President is allowed to appoint up to three Ministers from outside Parliament. This is bringing back appointed non constituency MPs. (sec 104(3)).
  • The President appoints all ambassadors without consulting anybody.(sec 204).
  • The President has the final say over the appointment of all permanent secretaries.(sec 205).
  • The President appoints all security chiefs (Army Commanders, Commissioner of Police, Director of CIO etc). In making these appointments, all the President is required to do is to consult one of his/her Ministers.(Chapter 11).
  • The President has the final say over the appointment of all judges. (sec 180). Although there is provision for interviews, the President has power to refuse to appoint any of those recommended and order the Judicial Service Commission to start afresh.
  • The President has the final say over the appointment of all Commissions including the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission. (chapter 12).
  • The President approves salaries, allowances and benefits for all civil servants from the lowest to the highest worker. (sec203(4)). The President still has this power after appointing a Minister for the Public Service and the Civil Service Commission.
  • The President has power to dissolve Parliament if it refuses to pass his/her government`s budget.(sec 143(3)).
  • The President also has power to dissolve Parliament if it passes a vote of no confidence in his/her government. (sec 109(4)).
  • The Constitution does not impose a duty on the President to answer questions in Parliament. It leaves this to be decided by a future Parliament so that the political party controlling Parliament will shield the President from answering questions.(sec 140(3)).
  • The President has unlimited immunity while in office and is allowed to plead “good faith” after leaving office.(sec 98).
  • The President has power to declare war. The role of Parliament in this regard is useless.(sec 111).
  • The President has power to pardon his/her political allies. (sec 112).
  • The President has power to declare a state of emergency. (sec 113).

9.      There are 2 Vice Presidents.(sec 92). We no longer need 2 Vice presidents in a new constitution.

10. The size of Parliament has been increased to a total of 350 MPs( 270 National Assembly and 80 Senators).(sec 120 and 124). We have no resources for such a huge legislature.

11. The increase in the size of Parliament is coming from an additional 60 seats for women. The quota for female MPs should be taken out of the existing number of MPs without increasing the size of Parliament.

12. Despite its huge size, Parliament remains very weak. It is just a talk shop. So why increase the number of MPs to join a talk shop. The political parties are just creating employment for their supporters at the expense of the people.

13. There are no term limits for Members of Parliament.

14. Except for the Bill of Rights, this constitution can be amended by Parliament without a referendum.(sec 328). This means that all provisions including those on term limits will be amended by future Parliaments, thus maintaining the current problem where the constitution has been amended several times.

15. For the next ten years, if the President resigns or dies, there are no by-elections for the President. The country is given a President by the political party of the former President, yet people elect a person and not a political party as President.( see paragraph 14, schedule 6). This means that if there are internal fights in the political party concerned, the country will have to go without a President until the political party sorts itself out. Is this not making political parties more important than the country? Further, does this mean that a citizen not nominated by a political party cannot stand for the office of President? The issue of running mates which will apply after ten years did not come from the people.

16. There is no devolution at all. There are very weak Provincial Councils composed of the same people who are in Parliament. MPs will have two jobs: the province and Parliament. The provincial Councils do not govern anything in the Province.(chapter 14).

17. There is no provision compelling the State to allocate a specified minimum percentage of the nation`s revenue to deal with the needs of the poor. A people- driven constitution will allocate specific funding for food, health, education and water.

18. Most rights in the Bill of rights are listed for decoration as there is no mechanism for their realisation.

19. For workers, the right to strike is very restricted and will not be available, while government workers will continue to be subject to conditions of work different from those of other workers, such as with collective bargaining.

20. There is no right to vote for Zimbabweans in the diaspora.

21. The Zimbabwe Media Commission established by the constitution(sec 248) will be an instrument used by the state to undermine freedom of expression.

22. The winner-take-all electoral system is still intact despite the demand by the people for a mixed electoral system, allowing proportional representation for half the MPs.

23. The death penalty does not apply to all female murderers and males above 70 years. This is undesirable. If the death penalty is retained, it must not be applied in this discriminatory way. (sec 48).

24. There are provisions which will apply after several years ranging from seven to ten years. Why have them in the constitution now? The idea is to have a constitution which will not affect the political leaders promoting this constitution. Some provisions will disappear after ten years.

SIGNED:   LOVEMORE MADHUKU

NCA CHAIRPERSON (5 FEBRUARY,2013).

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