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President Mugabe

Felex Share, Harare Bureau
ZANU-PF First Secretary and President Cde Mugabe’s meeting with youths in Mashonaland East has been moved from Saturday to Friday because the President will be having some engagements elsewhere.

Zanu-PF Youth League secretary and Politburo member Cde Kudzanayi Chipanga yesterday confirmed the development.

“We would like to advise all the stakeholders that the date for the meeting is now this Friday in Marondera,” he said. “The President has other engagements, but in his busy schedule, he has decided to accommodate us on Friday.

“We are happy for the honour and we urge all our members to continue with the preparations such that the event becomes a success.”

Cde Chipanga said the meetings were now dubbed “Provincial Youth Interface Meetings”, as the youths would be afforded an opportunity to interact with the President.

Cde Chipanga said preparations for the Marondera meeting had reached an advanced stage.

“It’s all systems go and we are only putting final touches on one or two things,” he said. “We expect people to come in their numbers as we prepare the ground for elections next year.

“What is critical is that we will also be launching a campaign for voter registration for the youths. We want to have registered youths. This is also time for the youths to meet with their leader and I don’t think anyone would want to miss that opportunity.”

Mashonaland East has already held a provincial inter-district meeting in preparation for President Mugabe’s visit.

President Mugabe is expected to visit other provinces, with Manicaland being on the cards on June 16.

From Manicaland, President Mugabe’s next destination would be Masvingo.

Cde Chipanga said during the meetings, President Mugabe would have an appreciation of challenges facing youths.

“This will be an interaction meeting,” he said. “The youths have many challenges and we will table them before the President whom we know will take measures to have them addressed.

“The meetings are in line with our party constitution and a resolution we made three years ago that we should have one centre of power in the party, who is our President. These meetings should be done regularly. Youths 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.”

Legislators, Central Committee members and traditional leaders are expected to grace the youth meetings.

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 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 Million Man March organised by the Youth League last year.