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NewsDay

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2013 elections: Does the future belong to youths?

Politics
A FLOOD of youths from Zanu PF and MDC parties has declared intention to run for parliamentary and council seats in the forthcoming general elections, challenging party bigwigs in polls that could witness the fall of many giants.

A FLOOD of youths from Zanu PF and MDC parties has declared intention to run for parliamentary and council seats in the forthcoming general elections, challenging party bigwigs in polls that could witness the fall of many giants.

Report by Everson Mushava

With elections expected this year, youths across the political divide have thrown their hats into the political ring, leaving many wondering what could be triggering the stampede.

Is it for the money or a determination by the youths to be masters of their own destiny?

Parliament had been predominantly dominated by the old guard, while the youths formed a campaign reservoir in post-independent Zimbabwe under President Robert Mugabe’s reign.

But a new crop of politicians branded by the media as “Young Turks” or “Generation 40 (G40)” aged between 25 and 40 years, have caused headaches to bigwigs, particularly in Mugabe’s party. Although a majority of the fighters during the liberation war were young people, few of them were elevated into political offices after independence in 1980.

The youths, who now make up the majority of voters, have also created problems for Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC-T where the youth assembly is demanding a quota of seats in the next parliament.

More than 20 MDC-T youths are gunning for seats, while Zanu PF Young Turks could be more than 10. In MDC-T, party national youth president Solomon Madzore, secretary-general Promise Mkwananzi and national spokesperson Clifford Hlatshwayo are among parliamentary aspirants. In Zanu PF, Harare youth leaders Jim Kunaka and Jason Passade among others, have also thrown their hats into the ring.

However, Pedzisayi Ruhanya, director at Zimbabwe Democracy Institute, a political research centre, said the youths were jumping into politics mainly for monetary gains.

“The State is the biggest employer due to the country’s high unemployment rate,” Ruhanya said.

“At 80%, Zimbabwe has one of the highest unemployment rates in the world. Youths are joining politics so that they have access to loot State resources once they are in government. They are motivated because they have seen several ministers who are now mega rich yet they had nothing when they entered government.”

But Hlatshwayo said the youths were keen to influence public policy and turn around the country’s economy. Hlatshwayo, who is eying a seat in Chimanimani, said the future belonged to the young. “As youths, we want to control our destiny,” he said in an interview with NewsDay yesterday. “Zimbabwe is currently suffering from unemployment, poverty and social and economic inequalities. The youths are the biggest victims. As youths, we feel we can remedy these ills.”

Hlatshwayo said Tsvangirai’s MDC-T party had a policy of grooming youths to leadership positions and would not face the kind of crisis in Zanu PF, which is battling with succession.

Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe for 33 years, suffered his first electoral defeat at the hands of Tsvangirai in presidential elections in March 2008.

Tsvangirai, however, failed to garner the constitutional mandatory 50% plus one to assume the presidency. Mugabe went on to win a sham run-off election in June 2008 after Tsvangirai withdrew from the race citing violence against his supportersMugabe’s loss was partly attributed to divisions in Zanu PF where some of its officials apparently campaigned against the president under a campaign now popularly known as Bhora Mudondo, loosely translated as “kick the ball into the wilderness.”

Psychology Maziwisa, deputy director for information in Zanu PF, said youths had been involved in politics since time immemorial, but they ran the risk of being viewed “as irrelevant and inconsequential in as far as serious national issues are concerned”.

“But perceptions are changing. Facebook was started in a garage by a young man and today it counts amongst the world’s leading social networks,” Maziwisa said. Maziwisa denied Zanu PF had been stifling youth participation in politics, arguing that youths were trooping into politics because Mugabe had created a conducive environment for them.

“President Mugabe recognises the need to include young people in all spheres of life. That’s why he has placed a lot of emphasis on education over the years,” said Maziwisa.

“Zanu PF is pushing for a quota system aimed at reserving 25% of participation in social, political and economic affairs to the young people. Zanu PF also insisted that the draft constitution should focus on such rights for young people as the right to education and economic empowerment.”

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