Green Bombers: The return of National Youth Service

THE Green Bombers are back! How will they be different and how much will the programme foster the spirit of patriotism among the youth? It seems nothing changes, they remain a potent para-militia for the ruling party, Zanu PF.

The Green Bombers is the name given to the National Youth Service (NYS), a programme that was started at the turn of the century and its main proponent then was Border Gezi, the late then Zanu PF national commissar. It was a programme that turned our politics upside down and opposition activists became a target.

The NYS was a rushed idea. One could tell that Zanu PF was in a rush to save its bacon after the loss of the 2000 constitutional referendum and the subsequent 2000 parliamentary elections. It was the beginning of the end and some quick audacious action had to be taken to turn the tide.

What was the NYS and what was it expected to achieve? The short answer is; it was meant to “transform and empower youths for nation building through life skills training and leadership development”. This sounds noble, but in reality, it was something different.

The supposed national programme recruited 90% of its trainees from the Zanu PF Youth League, making the initiative blatantly partisan from the onset.

There was little life skills training and leadership development, but an overdose of political indoctrination and paramilitary drills. They came out an angry lot, ready to crush the opposition both literally and figuratively.

They became shock troopers for Zanu PF, creating the bloodiest elections in 2000, 2002 and 2008. Many opposition youth activists were murdered, many more maimed and an even larger number were internally displaced. Naturally, Zanu PF retained power, albeit through disputed and discredited elections.

Let us examine what the programme achieved in life skills training.

After training more than 30 000 people, the project does not have any discernible numbers of farmers, artisans or entrepreneurs to show for it. It only became known for “ghost workers” in government. Most of the youths were seconded to government departments and agencies even if they did not hold the minimum requisite academic qualification to work for the government.

On leadership development, it was another huge failure. We have no recognisable leader in both the public and private sector from that epoch. In other words, they were just cannon fodder for the ruling party and their function was to swing election results in favour of Zanu PF through use of crude force.

After local, regional and international condemnation of the programme, Zanu PF relented and disbanded the discredited project. It seems it has taken time to “reflect and refine” the project and now wants it back.

Cabinet, in its Tuesday briefing this week said: “The Youth Service in Zimbabwe training programme will start in June 2024 at Dadaya and Vumba training centres.”

The programme can do better in nation building if it in reality becomes a national project that aims to instil values of constitutionalism, civic duty, vocational skills and peace building. This is what Zimbabwe needs and needs it urgently.

NYS is not exceptional to Zimbabwe. The United States, South Korea and Israel have nearly similar programmes, but they are non-partisan and generally deal with military training for the youths to be able to defend their countries from external enemies. They become a reserve force of some sort, but they are never partisan. After training, trainees can be members of any political party.

Patriotism can never be legislated. A person has to feel the sense of belonging, strong enough to naturally push one to defend their nation against external forces without coercion.

It should be made loud and clear that criticising a government is not a criminal act. Actually, it is a patriotic act since the intended result is to have a better country that all are prepared to serve and develop.

So, what is Zimbabwe's biggest problem?

It is arguably the conflation of the State, government and party. Zanu PF thinks and acts as if it is all the three. The State is permanent. Governments are always changing, even if there may be different people from the same party after each election. A

Follow us on party is simply a party and its activities should not be extended to affect the operation of the State and government.

This is something Zanu PF has to agonisingly learn and unlearn its bad habits of conflation of the State. It is abnormal for a party district chairperson to be so powerful to the extent of giving directives to the officer commanding a police district. Everyone should be under the law, irrespective of your social or political station in life.

Cabinet, in the same Tuesday statement, promised to care for the youths. It said: “In addition, as a key measure to reduce indulgence, ensuring financial inclusivity is being heightened and a total of US$20 000 has been loaned to youths across the country for income generating projects through the Empower Bank.”

Someone in that office should be smoking something to issue such a statement. Honestly, availing on US$20 0000 for more than five million youths? The figure is not even enough to buy a single ministerial Mercedes Benz saloon car. It shows the disdain they have for the youths in the country.

That Zanu PF is set to implement this supposed national programme without consultations on the policy with national youth organisations and all political players points to the same old objective – a national youth programme for the benefit of only Zanu PF.

The return of the Green Bombers is a missed opportunity on national building, shared vision and inculcating a sense of patriotism and constitutionalism among the youths. I hope the minister responsible is listening and is willing to refine the NYS programme, to be real national.

I’m out!