President, youths indaba date set

PRESIDENT Mugabe will start meeting youths throughout the country next month, beginning with Mashonaland East Province on June 3, The Herald has learnt.

ZANU-PF First Secretary and President, Cde Mugabe will start meeting youths throughout the country next month, beginning with Mashonaland East Province on June 3, The Herald has learnt.

Zanu-PF Youth League secretary and Politburo member Cde Kudzanayi Chipanga said preparations for the inaugural meeting were ongoing and the host province yesterday held a provincial inter-district meeting in Marondera.

The meeting was attended by thousands of youths from all the districts in Mashonaland East.

Cde Chipanga said meetings that would be held in all provinces were an opportunity for the President to have an appreciation of the challenges facing youths.

“President Mugabe will be in Mashonaland East on June 3 to interact with the youths,” he said.

“This is in line with our party constitution and a 2014 resolution where we agreed to have one centre of power in the party, who is our President.

“We want to have these regular meetings whenever possible.”

Cde Chipanga added: “Youths will reaffirm their loyalty and confidence in their Presidential candidate for 2018. They will also raise some issues which have got to do with their political, social and economic affairs and afford the President an opportunity to respond directly to these concerns.”

Yesterday’s meeting was also attended by Youth League national executive members, legislators and Central Committee members.

Cde Chipanga said from Mashonaland East, President Mugabe’s next stop would be Manicaland.

“We will have a similar meeting like we had today on June 13 before we announce the date when the President will visit Manicaland province,” he said.

“Of importance to note is that we are emphasising on the need for discipline to our youths. We have also told them to stop electioneering and stampeding for incumbent leaders.

“Concentration for now is on the President and that’s where all the support should go.”

The engagements will run until October as the revolutionary party’s youth

wing heightens preparations for the 2018 harmonised elections.

Cde Chipanga said socially, the Youth League would be promoting young artists, while economically, they were advocating for young people to have access to land, agricultural inputs and participate in mining activities.

He said the meetings came after a realisation that most youths failed to meet with President Mugabe during the One Million Man March organised by the Youth League last year.