YOUTH Advocacy for Reform and Democracy (Yard) is expanding its recruitment campaign to schools, while also seeking to foster strong ties with South Africa’s militant Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).
BY OBEY MANAYITI
Founder, Temba Mliswa said Yard would soon roll out a number of programmes in partnership with EFF, including the recruitment of secondary school-going children.
“We have a student command, which will be at secondary schools targeting O and A Level students,” he said.
“What we want are true statistics that in this ward, we have this number of schools and voters have increased by this margin. We should build our statistics as Yard.”
Mliswa said it would be prudent to politically drill the cluster of school- going children to encourage more people to vote during elections.
He said less than half of registered voters cast ballots on election day.
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The former Hurungwe West MP said his organisation was making inroads in both rural and urban areas and their focus on schools was expected to bring desired results.
Mliswa then claimed the 2013 elections were not rigged.
“Can I tell you one thing? The 2008 elections were rigged, but the 2013 elections were not. You cannot rig a Zimbabwean election. The only rigging that happens is through intimidation and violence and that is what we have to deal with,” he said.
“That is what happens because you have your agents here and the boxes are shown. In 2013, there was no rigging. Zanu PF was smart enough from 2008 by keeping war veterans on the ground and they were leading the intimidation.”
The main opposition MDC-T has repeatedly claimed the Zanu PF government has been rigging successive elections in Zimbabwe.
Yard national commander for external affairs, Tariro Daphne Senderayi has since written to EFF seeking ways to facilitate the creation of a vibrant independent students’ body.
