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Writes Clayton Masekesa
The government of Zimbabwe has been urged to open industries and create employment opportunities for youths to curb the incessant drug abuse and other vices.
This came out during a Mutare Peoples’ Assembly held in Mutare on Friday, initiated by Fight Inequality Alliance Zimbabwe (FIAZ), which is an initiative that is aimed at identifying and proffering solutions to inequalities within public service providers.
Residents’ groups, community-based organizations, and civic society groups in Mutare attended the discussion meeting that captured the everyday inequalities citizens are facing in their various communities.
In an interview on the sidelines of the meeting, Harriet Munyakwe, a resident and community leader from Mutare said it was the obligation of the government to create employment opportunities for the youths to fight drug abuse among other vices.
“As a citizen of Zimbabwe, I am saying the government must open industries and create employment opportunities for the youths. It is the duty of the government to see to it that the youths are well looked after. It is also the obligation of the government to create opportunities for its citizens including youths. The reality is that our children are now resorting to drugs because they do not have anything to do despite the fact that some of them are educated,” Munyakwe said.
”Yes there have been calls to stop drug abuse, but the mantra is not working because the children are just staying at home without doing anything. So the end result is that they will end up abusing drugs as a way to end their various stresses,” she said.
“Some of the children have become thieves and sadly they are now into robberies. Most of the robbers are youths and we are now living in fear of the unemployed youths within our communities,” Munyakwe said.
Civic youth leader, Preston Khumbula, said the government must prioroitise the employment of youths in its various institutions.
Said Khumbula: “The government is neglecting us. There are some job opportunities within its institutions that do not require certain qualifications. We have ZEC for example, where youths can be offered opportunities to become officers and enumerators during elections. There is general labour in those institutions and the youths must be given first priority.”
The government has established an Inter-Ministerial Committee that is addressing the substance abuse menace among the youth.
The government has intensified the prevention, harm reduction, treatment, rehabilitation, reduction of demand, and elimination of supply and availability of illicit and over-the-counter substances and drugs on the market.
The Cabinet has put measures to deal with the scourge of substance abuse among others.
These include the operationalization of the Zimbabwe National Drug Master Plan (ZNDMP (2020 to 2025) and Treatment and Rehabilitation Guidelines of Alcohol and Substance Use Disorder of Zimbabwe (TRGASUD ZIM), among others.