4 - 23 March 2014 - The Observer
Officials grilled over lack of transparency
T
Danmore Chuma
here was a tense atmosphere
as young people from various
organisations took turns to
verbally maul representatives
from the National Youth Council over what
was alleged to be gross abuse and partisan
distribution of the Youth Fund/Enkhundleni.
The National Youth Fund, an annual grant
set aside by the government, ostensibly to
empower young people’s entrepreneurial skills,
is reportedly being abused by top government
officials and politicians at the expense of the
poverty-stricken youths.
These fears were raised at a workshop,
organised by the Youth Empowerment and
Transformation Trust, that saw over 30 young
people from various organisations around the
country attending.
Youth Dialogue Action Network director
Catherine Mukwapate, whose organisation
champions social and economic justice,
asserted that the fund that has become a
campaign tool for the ruling party, had been
heavily abused, hinting that those who often
benefited were not in the youth category.
“It is worrying that top government
officials and politicians have abused the fund,”
said Mukwapate. “We further question the
partisan distribution of the fund. In Chipinge
and many parts of Matebeleland, only Zanu
PF card-carrying members have benefited.”
Such accusations seemed to authenticate
widely-published claims by opposition
political parties that their members had not
benefitted from this national grant and that
most of those from vulnerable communities
have been left out.
The revelation 2WBF