National youth service training - Solidarity Peace Trust

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Government policy statements 2000-2003 First training sessions 12
October 2000 policy statement on youth training A. Early official policy statements The creation of the Zimbabwean “National Youth Service” training programme is credited to Border Gezi, who was appointed Minister of Youth, Gender and Employment Creation after the 2000 Parliamentary elections. He proposed the introduction of youth training within months of his appointment to the ministry. A document entitled “National Youth Policy of Zimbabwe”, was released by Gezi in early October 2000. 8 On the face of it, the proposal was a straightforward one, with the training allegedly intended to instil a “sense of responsible citizenship among the youth” and to prepare them for “the world and for work in their country”. 9 The youth service would “contribute towards the eradication of poverty” and would “promote healthy life styles and personal well being of the youths, with particular emphasis on prevention of HIV/Aids”. The proposal laments “the impact of international media, the introduction of foreign cultures and the increasing urbanisation” which has “led to a diminished sense of national pride” in the nation’s youth. The age group to be included is all those between “10 and 30 years of a ge”. 10 The proposal goes on to promote what appears to be a constructive syllabus for the training, including such objectives as to: • Integrate youth issues into all government policies • Provide opportunities for youth employment and participation in deve lopment • Develop vocational skills • Reduce teenage pregnancies • Reduce spread of HIV/Aids • Reduce alcohol and substance abuse 11 • Promote gender equality and equity • Promote environmental education The proposal claims to be the product of “intensive consultations and discussions with stakeholders and opinion leaders from Government, non-governmental organisations, traditional leaders, youth, religious and women’s groups at national and district levels”. 12 It is noteworthy that there is no clear indication in this early policy document of the intention to include, much less prioritise, military training as part of the youth service programme. Throughout the 8 The Herald, Harare, 13 October 2000: “National service for all youths proposed”. This state controlled newspaper reviews the proposal at length. 9 The Herald, ibid; all information in paragraph following is from this Herald article. 10 The vast majority of those trained have effectively been teenagers, including those as young as 11 years. 11 On the issues of pregnancies, HIV, and substance abuse, the reality in the camps has tragically become the total inverse of the supposed aim of the training – see further ahead in this report. 12 A document on national service was produced by Brigadier Agrippa Mutambara of the then Ministry of Polit ical Affairs in 1992 which is not dissimilar to Gezi’s document: ZANU-PF has always been favourably disposed towards “youth training”, and created ZANU-PF youth brigades in the 1980s who campaigned violently on their behalf in the election of 1985. See Breaking the Silence, building True Peace: a report on the disturbances in Matabeleland and the Midlands 1980-1988, CCJP and LRF, 1997, for details on the 1980s youth brigades. 13
Page 1 and 2: National youth service training -
Page 3 and 4: “Those who seek unity must not be
Page 5 and 6: Appeal from church leaders of South
Page 7 and 8: CONTENTS Summary and conclusions 9
Page 9 and 10: Summary and conclusion 9
Page 11: implicit powers to mount roadblocks
Page 15 and 16: The youth training programme and th
Page 17 and 18: Photo 2: Graduates of the National
Page 19 and 20: State controlled newspapers at time
Page 21 and 22: unfilled until militia can fill the
Page 23 and 24: 30 instructors heading the youth mi
Page 25 and 26: A. Early indications of torture and
Page 27 and 28: Accounts of torture, theft and arso
Page 29 and 30: C. The role of the “Green bombers
Page 31 and 32: Photo 5: Interviewee reports assaul
Page 33 and 34: Road blocks and theft of ID cards O
Page 35 and 36: Figure 1: Map showing polling stati
Page 37 and 38: On 18 March, days after the electio
Page 39 and 40: Youth Militia and Rural District Co
Page 41 and 42: Parliamentary by-elections: Insiza,
Page 43 and 44: failed to place their nomination pa
Page 45 and 46: There were further reports of youth
Page 47 and 48: Rape in and out of the camps 143 Th
Page 49 and 50: commonly used both as voting statio
Page 51 and 52: Police, including reinforcements fr
Page 53 and 54: G. Youth militia accounts of their
Page 55 and 56: Camp conditions and activities Food
Page 57 and 58: H. Conclusion The implications of y
Page 59 and 60: 1. Selected case histories of tortu
Page 61 and 62: Quotation from hospital record card
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Left buttock, thigh and leg: 22 lin
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3. Two affidafits on role of militi
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4. Personal testimony from youth mi
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Training Centre. We were only 20 fr
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And to make matters worse, I though
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Zimbabwean references Zimbabwe Huma
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National youth service training - Solidarity Peace Trust

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