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Minister Patrick Zhuwao

Takunda Maodza, Harare Bureau
YOUTH, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Minister Patrick Zhuwao yesterday displayed ignorance when he slammed the Zimpapers stable for highlighting the success of Command Agriculture.

He said the stable should instead promote Zim-Asset. Command Agriculture as a component of Zim-Asset falling under the Food and Nutrition Cluster.
President Mugabe is also on record as saying Command Agriculture, a brainchild of First Lady Dr Grace Mugabe, was a massive success. The President tasked Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa to oversee the implementation of Command Agriculture.

Command Agriculture has been a success as evidenced by a Government ban on grain imports this season.

Addressing a youth seminar in Harare yesterday, Minister Zhuwao said: “Zimbabwe is not about Command. Zimbabwe is Zim-Asset. That is the agenda that we move with and unfortunately the media has tended to want to highlight Command as if Command is the only game in town. No. It is not.”

An attendee reminded the minister that Command Agriculture was part of Zim-Asset.

“It is a component. Unfortunately guys within the Zimpapers stable want to actually highlight Command because they have another agenda where you think that by highlighting Command you are elevating some people. No. It’s not true. You will be lost,” said Minister Zhuwao.

He went to claim that the Zimpapers stable was successionist and factional. “Zimpapers in particular should be called to order for its editorial policy, which is successionist and factional. It must desist from that. But anyway it’s not true that if you run a newspaper you are ruling.”

Minister Zhuwao did not elaborate what he meant by this.

“The Herald should desist from involving itself in politics. If they want to, they should leave the paper and join politics and we face each other not because you are the you think you big. No,” he said.

Minister Zhuwao claimed Zimpapers was sabotaging Zim-Asset.

This is despite the fact that Zimpapers has supported the blueprint since its inception.

“I think first and foremost we must recognise that Government has a programme called Zim-Asset and unfortunately the Zimpapers wants to relegate Zim-Asset to one component which is Command. No. That is wrong,” said Minister Zhuwao.

“Our approach as a ministry is that we must integrate young people within the framework of Zim-Asset. For example, in food security and nutrition we have established Youth feed Zimbabwe as a mechanism for integrating young people into food and security. We have also established Youth shape Zimbabwe to integrate young people within the framework of the utilities and infrastructure cluster, Youth make Zimbabwe within the framework of the beneficiation and value addition cluster and Youth employ Zimbabwe within the framework of poverty eradication and social services cluster.”