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Pamela Shumba Senior Reporter
ZIMBABWE’S constitution has created opportunities which young people should take advantage of, Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa said yesterday. Addressing higher and tertiary students from different institutions at the Bulawayo Polytechnic during a public lecture, VP Mnangagwa said the government was committed to uplifting young people’s lives as enshrined in the country’s constitution.

The public lecture was organised by the Zimbabwe Congress of Students’ Union (Zicosu).

The VP, who brought copies of the constitution to the youths for their reference, spoke on the constitution as an instrument for sustainable socio-economic development in the country.

He cited a number of sections from the constitution that protect and promote the rights of children and youths.

“The government is committed to ensuring that youths and children have opportunities in the social, economic, political and cultural spheres of life. Sections 28, 29, 30 and 32 provide for shelter, health services, social welfare and sporting and recreational facilities. We’re obliged by the constitution to facilitate the provision of all these to the young people.

“Apart from the constitution, Zimbabwe has a robust legislative framework that helps to operationalise the provisions of the constitution. To cater for the welfare of children, persons under the age of 18 were put under the Children’s Act, the Education Act, the Guardianship and Minors Act, the Maintenance Act, the Child Abduction Act, as well as the Birth and Registration Act,” said VP Mnangagwa.

For the youths, he added, the government put in place the Zimbabwe Youth Council Board which is a creation of the Zimbabwe Youth Council Act that ensures that all youths’ issues are dealt with in a sustainable manner.

“This can be through deliberate policies such as quota systems for the youths in administrative structures created by the constitution and other empowerment initiatives such as land redistribution, small scale mining quotas, timber harvesting concessions and many others,” said the VP.

He encouraged the youths to take advantage of the opportunities ushered by the recently introduced Special Economic Zones to exploit opportunities in the tourism sector.

“I believe that as youths, you can make use of various platforms in the sector, especially in promoting domestic and foreign tourism products.

“You may also be aware that our youths can partake in the politics of our country by contesting as councillors, members of the National Assembly and even appointments as ministers.

“All these are the opportunities that’ve been availed to us and you can consolidate these gains by freely partaking in them in order to carry forward the aspirations espoused by our new found constitutional dispensation,” said VP Mnangagwa.

The public lecture was attended by government officials, students and educationists.