By Trevor Namenda
Whilst the common post-colonial phenomenon focused its attention on education for employment by the colonial masters, an epoch has emerged where the Zimbabwean Second Republic Administration focuses on education for production.
In the same stratum, whilst the same phenomenon focused on politics of the stomach, the Second Republic Administration shifted the thrust to politics of empowerment and production.
The plunge of production had widened from the socio-economic through to the political sphere. The young generation were being regarded as political slaves, where they would do grassroot mobilisation for the political elites and be dumped.
The Second Republic has challenged the young generation to take up the skills imparted through education to increase production.
The announcement of the 2020 national budget which saw a significant amount being allocated towards the development of youth projects is itself is a clear indication that Zimbabwean youths are being empowered from political slaves to masters of production.
Taking further into consideration, the association of graduates’ students from various disciplines have heeded the call by President Mnangagwa to create employment rather than seeking employment.
To note is the recent introduction of the Coalition of Agriculture Graduates Organisation, which have received support from the government where the youths are taking their skills to soil productions in farms.
The challenge is not to seek employment among these talented youths, but to create employment to their counterparts.
According to one prominent Catholic Priest, Father Mukonori, in one of his sermons, he said, “This is not the time for the young generation to take up arms neither against the leadership nor against themselves in fighting for control of the system. This is the time for coming together as one citizenry to ensure an increase in the output of our soul, mind and spirit.”
More so, in one of his speeches, President Mnangagwa indicated that, “empowering the youth is empowering the future.”
The Second Republic has in its capacity proved to be an administration which focuses on empowerment for production.
Production has not only been revealed in the economic sector. In the political sector the administration has widened the scope of the democratic sphere by involving the young generation in decision making.
The recently gazetted Constitutional Amendment Bill, will see the number of youth seats being increased to 10 is clear testimony to that effect.
The opposition fraternity has been calling for leadership renewal, where the proposition was to have youthful leaders. Of cause times are changing but the same youthful leaders need experience and guidance from the said ‘old guard’. What the Second Republic is simply doing is to ensure that the youths slowly get into the system to acquire necessary skills, which positions them as future leader with production as the mainstay.
“There is a need for mental reform along ethical lines that would produce in its turn an economic reform to benefit everyone. This would require a courageous change of attitude on the part of political leaders to enhance development”, Pope Francis once stated.
