GOVERNMENT has courted children of war veterans and their dependents to enlist for the National Youth Service (NYS) programme scheduled to begin in June this year.
The youth training programme which has struggled to gain traction over the years has been re-introduced with government saying it plans to recruit at least 10 000 young people for the programme, but starting with about 700 youths when it begins in over a months’ time.
The NYS programme, initially launched by the late Zanu PF political commissar, Border Gezi in 2001, was introduced with the aim of imparting revolutionary and patriotic ideologies into the country’s youths.
And to kick start the renewed programme, the Ministry of Veterans of the Liberation Struggle Affairs has approached war vets dependents in a statement signed by the ministry’s secretary Major General (Rtd) Everisto Dzihwema who said the dependents should honour war veterans, both living and deceased, for scarifying their lives for Zimbabwe’s independence by enrolling.
“Dependents of categories of Veterans of the Liberation Struggle who are aged between 18 and 35 years are encouraged to enrol for the youth training programme,” Dzihwema said.
“They should approach the nearest provincial and district offices of the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Development and Vocational Training throughout the country.”
The applicants have been requested to indicate that they are children or dependents of veterans of the liberation struggle when enlisting.
“After registering, they should also submit their names to the nearest provincial or district offices of our Minisry,” Dzihwema added.
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Some youth leaders have accused the government of misplacing its priorities.
They said funds earmarked for the programme should instead be diverted to fund important projects such as the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) or to develop industries for employment.
Former Zimbabwe National Students Union leader Tapiwanashe Chiriga said Zimbabwe was facing drought and the focus should be towards the national disaster.
“The reintroduction of the youth service is case of wrong priorities at the wrong time for the wrong reasons. The nation could use the resources meant for this programme in more productive and life-saving ways,” said Chiriga.
“Zimbabwe is facing a devastating drought that has since been declared a national disaster. The focus of the nation right now should be towards ensuring food security for the 2,7 million people facing acute food shortages.
“The money the government intends to use for this vehicle of violence could be used to better our education systems, particularly financing the BEAM programme which could improve access to education.”
Chiriga said youths in Zimbabwe need jobs, equal opportunities to succeed and basic social services.
“The youth service is not a solution to the problems any young person is facing. There’s no benefit to be gained by our country from the reintroduction of the National Youth Service. It is waste of resources with a huge potential to replicate its violent past,” he said.
Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe president Obert Masaraure accused the Zanu PF government of prioritising its power retention agenda as a national project, saying the youth service has no benefit to the youths.
“Zanu PF strangely confuses the party’s power retention agenda as a national project,” he said. “Zanufication of ecology of thought of young people should not be confused for youth service.
“The youth should be absorbed into the productive sectors of the economy not to spend valuable time assimilating fiction of Zanu PF’s supposed heroics. The nation is in a crisis because our young people are idle. The State should be seized with planning ways of absorbing all young people into the economy.”
The government is, however, arguing that youth service would equip youth through various skills training to create employment for themselves and others.
It says the training would emphasise on alleviating poverty by funding youth empowerment projects.
