ZANU PF stalls a soccer tournament in Chipinge

A soccer tournament organized to bring together youths in Chipinge South’s ward 28 is now hanging in the air after Zanu PF youths threatened to disrupt the event, in yet another bold statement showing the party’s frantic efforts to close space for any gatherings outside their structures.

Ndomupeyi Mandhlazi, leading a team of Zanu PF Youth Officers is alleged to have told Mukanya Holdings, organizers of the Soccer Tournament to stop their plans for the event, threatening to disrupt it should they continue since it is not advancing Zanu PF interests.

Platform for Youth Development’s Forget Hlomani who is also the Ward Coordinator for the tournament expressed concern over the behavior of Zanu PF Youth Officers whom he said were politicizing a noble initiative that seeks to bring youths together.

“I am pained at heart with this level of ignorance being shown by ZANU PF youth officers. The youth officers are being partisan by taking instruction from ZANU PF leadership who themselves cannot allow young people to gather without sloganeering” fumed Hlomani.

The tournament which was scheduled for Mabee on the 13^th of November and Chinyamukwakwa on the 20^th of November 2016, but could not kick off as planned due to political interference.

“The preparations were already at an advanced level before facing this political interference since the final games were set for the first week of December 2016,” lamented Mukanya, the organizer of the tournament.

Mukanya has insisted that the tournament will proceed since it has nothing to do with ZANU PF or any of the opposition political parties, but the young people of ward 28.

“We have no allegiance to party politics but allegiance to young people” said Mukanya.

Platform for Youth Development Trust shares the spirit and confidence expressed by the sponsors like Mukanya who are helping communities by bringing young people together. Young people remain at the heart of PYD programming. The PYD Director Mr Claris Madhuku promised to intervene to ensure that the tournament is able to take place without drama.

“As a community based organization PYD believes that young people must be given opportunities to come together and create platforms to discuss their challenges and hopes. A soccer tournament is one such platform and we will intervene to positively explain the advantages of such forums which promote co existence” PYD Director said

Platform for Youth Development has remained very pivotal in the lives of young people in Chipinge having done peace building projects and currently implementing a community project to empower young women and girls to defend themselves against harmful cultural practices.

Inserted by the PYD Information Department

Elnino induced hunger causing early child marriages in Chipinge

Platform for Youth Development recently launched a community project aimed at strengthening young women and girls in building their capacities to defend themselves against harmful cultural practices. The project that is ongoing in Chipinge district is making impact in areas, especially those along the border with Mozambique where abuse of women and girls are rampant and uninterrupted.

According to statistics provided by Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA), 15 out of 20 countries with the highest rate of child marriages are in Africa with Sub Saharan Africa having 39 percent. Back home, PYD estimates that 1 in every 2 marriages taking place in Chipinge involves girls who are less than 18 years of age. This constitutes a serious concern that must involve strong advocacy targeted at key community stakeholders who can influence change. PYD as campaigners against child marriages believes the constitution, the recent Con Court ruling as well as other international legal and policy instruments at its disposal can be effective tools to fighting against the vice.

The ambitious youth group is committed to tackle ignorance and lack of proper education which has contributed in limiting existing efforts to deal with child marriages. The Gender and Advocacy Officer Ms.CynthiaGwenzi admits that the advocacy against child marriages is not a new project but an important one because of its impact to the rural communities such as Chipinge.

“It is on record that in Chipinge girls are married at a very young age thereby undermining their potential to contribute to the socio-economic value of their communities” said Gwenzi.

By marrying young, these girls are exposed to so many risks that involve dropping out of school, sexual and physical abuse, limited independence and high maternal mortality. Debra Dube agrees with Cynthia, confirming that girls who are less than 18 years are psychologically not expected to give free, prior and informed consent to their marriage partners or to the timing of their marriage.

“I am a victim having to drop out of school while in form three and becoming a mother at 15 years” said Debra.

Debra is now part of 20 gender activists working under the Platform for Youth banner in building the capacities of young women to defend themselves against harmful cultural practices such as the normalization of child marriages.

According the PYD Board Chair Sally Nobuhle Mlambo, Platform for Youth Development will succeed in its objectives to capacitate young women and girls to confront harmful gender based practices.

“Basing on the reception we are getting in the wards we have penetrated, the task before us is challenging but not insurmountable. PYD is strategic and we will involve other stakeholders with more experience to overcome some of the complicated cases” Nobuhle said.

PYD is concerned that this year alone, the numbers of child marriages and unwanted pregnancies have increased. The increase has been attributable to the desperation and hunger induced by the Elnino drought of the 2014/2015 farming season. Parents are struggling to raise fees and to provide food, making the situation untenable.PYD is handling cases of parents actually taking the initiative to offer their daughters to well off families, inorder to survive the drought. 

The other organizations working in Chipinge to deal with issues of children’s rights and welfare are Plan International and Child Line.

Inserted by PYD Information Department

P.Bag 5004, Checheche, Chipinge

platformtrust@gmail.com

For more Information Contact PYD Director on +263 773 010 331/ + 263 714 179 219 and PYD Board Chair on +263 772 896 458

PYD Press Statement to commemorate the International Youth Day 2016

“Older men declare war. But it is the youth that must fight and die”-Herbert Hoover

Platform for Youth Development Trust (PYD) joins the global world in commemorating the International Youth Day. The International Youth Day is an International event endorsed by the United Nations Assembly and celebrated yearly on 12 August since 2000.

PYD is convinced that 2016 is a year that is more compelling for young people to show leadership, particularly in Zimbabwe. The International Youth Day this year has come at a time when Zimbabwe has escalated into a debilitating crisis of leadership and governance. Zimbabwe is now high on the International platforms for mockery and derision due to endemic corruption and patronage of state institutions that has totally excluded young people. Young people in Zimbabwe are now relegated to the dungeons of poverty due to unemployment and lack of an enabling environment to use their talents and creativity for survival. Today, young people from Zimbabwe are scattered all over the world in search of greener pastures. The situation in Zimbabwe relates well with the conditions of other young people in Africa.

In keeping with the United Nation’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the theme for this year is: The Road to 2030: Eradicating Poverty and Achieving Sustainable consumption and Production and the leading role young people can play in that.

This is an excellent day to audit the intervention made by our government in the whole world towards eradicating poverty and for the empowerment of young people. The theme is emphasizing on the social, political and environmental linkage needed to achieve sustainable development, specifically Sustainable Development Goal number one (1) on ending Poverty and Sustainable Goal number eight (8) on Sustainable Growth.

Platform for Youth Development is still to benefit from the promises of the Zimbabwean government made through ZIMASSET.At PYD, we have raised our voice as much as we are on record having invited the government of Zimbabwe to intervene in improving the lives of young people in Chisumbanje, Marange and Chiadzwa communities. Levels of poverty in these communities are high and deplorable due to unmonitored promises of beneficiation through community share ownership trusts .The afore -mentioned communities are weakening and being taken for a ride by big business that are enjoying state protection at the expense of local communities.

Platform for Youth Development has therefore organized young people within these communities to use their backyard gardening as small scale farmers to address their livelihood challenges. Through partnership with other local civic organizations, PYD seeks to improve these small scale farmers to be linked with Agricultural financing, production and marketing. Training is being offered to not only promote good agricultural practices but also to improve nutritional and health seeking practices. Among other existing projects guided by our 3 year strategic planning, PYD continues to engage with stakeholders that help to create platforms for dialogue and interface between citizens and solution holders in our communities. Our work in the communities has always been objected to enhance accountable, democratic governance and citizen engagement.

In our concluding remark, Platform for Youth Development urges the government of Zimbabwe to take the grievances of young people seriously as a measure to guard against the restlessness that has been encouraged by exclusion and use of state apparatus to clamp down on voices of decent

Inserted by PYD Information Department

P.Bag 5004, Checheche, Chipinge

platformtrust@gmail.com

For more Information Contact PYD Director on +263 773 010 331/ + 263 714 179 219 and PYD Board Chair on +263 772 896 458

Green fuel Security guard shoots to kill in Chisumbanje

Own Correspondent

A Green FUEL security guard last week shot three villagers, who were stealing sugar cane, killing one of them in the process.

The guard, Bornface Shungwa (47) of Giri Village in Chivhu has since been arrested in connection with the shooting of the villagers and appeared in court on Monday facing murder charges.

Shungwa who was employed as a security guard at Chisumbanje Ethanol Plant was not asked to plead when he appeared before Chipinge magistrate, Mr Noah Gwatidzo facing murder charges as defined in Section 47 (a) of Criminal
Law (Codification and Reforms) Act, Chapter 9:13.

He was not asked to plead and the matter was remanded to July 4. Mr Gwatidzo advised him to apply for bail at the High Court as he was facing a serious offence. Shungwa is represented by Mr Langton Mhungu of Matutu, Kwirira and Associates.

Prosecuting, Mr Regis Mawarire told the court that on June 15, at Block J10, Macdom Sugar Plantations in Chisumbanje, Shungwa who was on guard duties armed with a Pietro Berretta shot gun, serial number A20045E fired three shots to scare away several unidentified people who had invaded the plantation to steal sugarcane.

"The accused accidentally killed Itayi Chikwasha Matevere, a male adult aged 35 on the spot.

"He slightly injured a female adult aged 23 on the nose and a male adult, Jairos Mapopo (19) on the lower left arm.
The three were stealing sugarcane.

"The late Matevere was shot in the chest from a distance of 60 meters . When Shungwa committed the crime he was in the company of his workmate, Laughter Garaudzo who was armed with a catapult," said Mr Mawarire

After shooting the three, Shungwa called for transport from his superiors to ferry the injured to hospital. His superiors swiftly responded and took Matevere's body to Chisumbanje Police Station.

"Post mortem was carried out on June 17 at Chipinge District Hospital and its findings were that the cause of Matevere's death was a result of bullet holes in his heart and lungs," he said.

When asked by the magistrate if he was the one who had fired the fatal shot, Shungwa admitted and said: "Your Worship, yes it is true that I told the investigating officers of this matter that I fired the shots to scare away people who were stealing sugarcane. Accidentally I shot three people who were hiding in the sugarcane field."