Youth Decide Zimbabwe (YDZ) has called for the enactment of the National Youth Bill and the implementation of the five-year National Youth Policy to promote and protect the rights of young people in the country.
In a statement commemorating the Robert Mugabe National Youth Day on Wednesday, 21 February, YDZ said:
We are deeply concerned by the lack of implementation of the National Youth Policy (2020 – 2025) which was launched with much fanfare in 2020 but has not been translated into concrete actions and programmes that benefit the youth.
We are also dismayed by the lack of progress towards the enactment of the National Youth Bill, which would provide a legal framework for the promotion and protection of the rights and interests of young people.
We call upon the government, the private sector, the civil society, and the international community to recognize and support the potential and agency of young people as key drivers of change and development.
Addressing thousands of people who gathered at Mushagashe Training Centre in Masvingo for the celebrations, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said the youths have a role to play in the development of the nation.
He also said his administration will create opportunities for youth empowerment through programmes such as the Presidential Heifers Pass-On Scheme, Integrated Youth Schemes Development and Agriculture Mechanisation Schemes.
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