Staff Reporter

SADC youths have vowed to maintain cordial relations as it was during the days when their respective countries fought against colonialism.

This came out during the National Youth Day celebrations, held at Mushagashe Vocational Training Centre in Masvingo, yesterday. The festivities were attended by youth representatives from liberation movements from the region including the African National Congress (ANC) of South Africa as well as youths from ruling parties in Burundi, Tanzania, Namibia and Mozambique.

A representative, from Namibia's Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), applauded how youths in Zimbabwe have been awarded their own day to lead and express their concerns. He further reminisced that the relations between Zimbabwe and his own home country date back to the days of the liberation struggle and indicated that such cooperation should not be tempered with for Africa to progress.

The ANC Youth League (ANCYL) Deputy President, Phumzile Mgcina, noted that his delegation had learned a lot from the Zimbabwe Youth Day celebrations and highlighted that she would recommend that her organization adopt some of the things they had noted.

"We have learned a lot from these celebrations and from communicating with the local youth leadership. Some of the things, like in education and farming, we will definitely need to learn and adopt in my own country," said Mgcina.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa applauded the presence of the sister revolutionary representatives and promised that Zimbabwe would continue its close relations with them for the betterment of the region and its youths.

This call for closer cooperation comes at a time when Western nations are trying to, subtly and openly, phase out liberation movements in a bid to reclaim the control and dominance they lost when these nations fought for and attained their emancipation.