IMPLEMENTATION OF YOUTH POLITICAL EMPOWERMENT POLICIES IN ZIMBABWE (2010-2017) (original) (raw)
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Youths in Zimbabwe constitute the majority of the population but are either sidelined or alienated from electoral processes, weakening the very ground-works of citizenship and democracy. Young people in Zimbabwe are facing different challenges ranging from unemployment, poverty, drug abuse, crime, prostitution, lack of funding for tertiary education, and HIV/AIDS. These problems have been exacerbated by an undemocratic and unyielding ZANU PF government which has been in power since 1980. Young people in Zimbabwe have been exploited by the ZANU PF party and made into ruffians responsible for attacking and hurting members and supporters of the opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). Factors such as political violence have contributed to the fear of politics among the youth in Zimbabwe, scaring them away from the electoral process. This has created a ―participatory crisis‖ in Zimbabwe which is weakening the very groundworks of citizenship and democracy. Against this backdrop, this study sought to establish the nature and extent of youth participation in electoral processes in Zimbabwe, using the case study of Kuwadzana, in Harare Province. The study used a descriptive research design and a combination of purposive and stratified random sampling techniques in order to choose the participants. Data was collected using questionnaires, interviews and the Internet. The results of the study indicated that young people in Zimbabwe wish to participate in electoral process of their country in order to change the economic, political, and economic conditions of their country, but they fear victimization. They are also distrustful of Zimbabwe‘s electoral process. The government of Zimbabwe, the political parties in the country, and the civil society, are encouraged to take measures in ensuring that young people in Zimbabwe participate in electoral processes. This is the only hope for consolidating democracy in Zimbabwe.
This study seeks to investigate the impact of youth empowerment programmes on the peace process in Zimbabwe. Demographers have revealed that the youth population in Sub-Saharan Africa is growing to become what is termed the youth bulge. This demographic phenomenon combined with elusive formal wage employment in many African countries has often resulted in youth becoming a de-stabilising force. As a solution to youth unemployment and vulnerability, Zimbabwe adopted youth development and empowerment programmes. The efforts have, however, suffered from a myriad of challenges including lack of political will, political interference and marginalisation of the youth in decision making. This is an empirical mixed-methods study that relied on primary and secondary data that was gathered through quantitative and qualitative means. The study presents comprehensive perspectives on how youth empowerment can be a mitigating measure against youth propensity to violence. The study argues that without proper and genuine youth development and empowerment, peace will continue to be elusive in Zimbabwe and the rest of Africa.
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Zimbabwe is a country that has been in the grip of conflict since the formation of its modern state in 1890. The attainment of independence in 1980 has not transformed the country to be peaceful but has continued on a violent trajectory epitomised by endemic political violence and egregious violation of human rights. In the aftermath of independence, the youth increasingly became actors in violent conflict, notably political violence. Literature is replete with cases of widespread role of young people in accentuating violent conflict across the world. This phenomenon has been attributed by scholars to the bulging youth demography. The United Nations and the African Union have advocated for holistic and comprehensive youth empowerment packages as solutions to averting the inclination of young people to violent conflict. Guided by the human needs theory and community-based approach to peacebuilding, this study seeks to add voice to the debate on how youth empowerment packages can provide strategic solutions to the complex challenge of peacebuilding in Zimbabwe. In pursuit of this broad objective, the study examined the youth empowerment programmes which are spearheaded by the government of Zimbabwe and civil society organisations. Using the mixed methods approach, this study interrogates the nexus between youth empowerment programmes and peacebuilding. Utilising in-depth interviews, survey questionnaires and observations, the study identified salient youth programmes and policies through which the state and civil society can address the underlying causes of violent conflict. Both civil society and the government have given nominal participation or what this study calls 'negative inclusion' to young people and this has not enhanced the empowerment drive meant for them. Lack of opportunities for young people occasioned by lack of requisite skills has aggravated their vulnerability in the process making them susceptible to recruitment into extremist youth groups. Extreme poverty resulting from limited or non-existent economic opportunities has, in the long run, jeopardised the fragile peace in the country. In a nutshell, the youth have been marginalised in programmes that affect their lives, and this has resulted in young people being out of kilter with programmes purported for them. The study among others recommends that government and civil society should embark on genuine youth empowerment programmes for peace to endure in Zimbabwe.
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This chapter explored the democratic rights awareness among the youth in Zimbabwe. The youth who live in urban and peri-urban spaces are relatively aware of their democratic rights and a significant number do participate in governance processes in the country, although their participation is largely defined by political party affiliation. There are those youths who are in rural and farming communities who have limited understanding of their democratic rights and responsibilities and most of them believe that participation in governance is simply about voting during national plebiscites and nothing more. The study also found that the development of rights awareness among the youths in Zimbabwe is state-centric and thus undermining the efforts towards effective youth participation. There are some civil society organizations in Zimbabwe that have worked to empower the youth in the country and to create awareness, but this has met with many challenges owing to the hegemonic influences of the ruling political elites and the general political polarization prevailing in the country.
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