Zimbabwe: Abuse Fears As Zanu PF Seeks Youth Service Revival

Wongai Zhangazha

15 July 2011

Harare — IF ordinary Zimbabweans were asked to define the national youth service, terms such as “green bombers” and “Zanu PF militia” would come to mind.

In an ideal society the national youth service is uniquely suited to effectively address many of the social issues facing young people in a country, such as academic underachievement, the lack of training opportunities for young people and their escalating trend toward anti-social behaviour.

The programme is meant to contribute quality personnel at the entry level to public and private organisations as well as to tertiary institutions.

This type of model has worked in countries such as the US, Jamaica, Kenya, Nigeria, Germany, Denmark, Malaysia and Mexico, but in Zimbabwe youths are trained on a politically partisan basis.

Instead of being oriented with life skills, youths enrolled at the Zanu PF manned training camps are schooled in intolerance and violence toward opponents.

Graduates of the programme have earned global notoriety and are widely associated with all afflictions Zimbabwe went through in last decade.

When the youth service programme was initially suggested, Zimbabweans were made to believe that it was premised on five core values, which were to promote national identity, unity, oneness, patriotism, self-reliance, discipline and vigilance against crime.

The nation was told the programme would impart the youths with productive work culture through on-the-job experience and meaningful exposure to the world of work.

But Zimbabweans were exposed to the brutality the 80 000 youths, who graduated between 2001 and 2007, were trained in. The training centres were officially closed in 2007 owing to financial constraints.

Youths have expressed interest in participating in a national youth service training programme that seriously practises self-reliance, entrepreneurship and imparts the true history of Zimbabwe without disseminating Zanu PF’s ideology and promoting marginalisation as an ideal way to empower them.

This follows plans by Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment minister Saviour Kasukuwere to reintroduce the national youth service this year.

The proposal awaits cabinet approval.

In a document titled “National Youth Service Training Programme in Zimbabwe”, Kasukuwere proposes the immediate implementation of a massive training of youths from pre-school to tertiary institutions.

The document says the programme should be re-launched to reorient young people so that they learn about Zimbabwe’s “revolution, pre-colonial political systems, colonialism, Chimurenga wars and the post-colonial state”.

His aim is to churn out 300 000 graduates annually.

Kasukuwere says the youths would be recruited voluntarily and trained to acquire survival skills and do community service, while preaching “peace, tolerance, justice, equality and democracy”.

He says the ministry would “use its structures, district and ward youth officers, schools, churches, clubs and communities” to ensure the programme succeeded.

Social commentator David Takawira supports the idea of national youth service only if it embodies the true virtues of patriotism and remains non partisan.

Takawira said: “An ideal national youth training is one that personifies true virtues of patriotism at the same time equipping young people with essential knowledge, skills and competencies for national development and sustainable livelihoods. But equally important, the training should not be a para-militia hoax nor should it be exploited as machinery for propagating hatred.”

According to the National Association of Non-Governmental Organisations (Nango) report titled “A Critical Review of The National Youth Service Programme in Zimbabwe 2011”, the weakness of the service was that language used is subject to manipulation.

Recruitment was done through Zanu PF district party offices, the curriculum discriminated against marginalised and other interest groups, there was a militarised style of running the programme, widespread allegations of sexual and drug abuse, lack of funding and the absence of exit opportunities.

Innocent Katsande of Zimbabwe Youth Council, which represents over 200 organisations, said politics should stay out of the national youth service.

“Youths spoke extensively of demilitarising the national youth service and the need of some form of liberty. They were totally against being treated like a military academy. Most importantly, they want it to focus seriously more on capacity building skills and sexual reproductive health. They want real survival skills that are current to real life issues and to enable them to participate, and for it to incorporate Zimbabweans from all backgrounds,” Katsande said. Nango recommends that an independent commission to facilitate the delivery of the curriculum with guidance from the two education ministries should be set up.

“Experts are supposed to be identified by the commission to design and deliver the publicly accepted curriculum with input coming from young people and other stakeholders. There is also need to introduce productive activities such as agriculture at training centres which will ensure supply of produce as well as income for the camp.”

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