MDC-T youth planning nationwide mass actions

OPPOSITION MDC-T's youth assembly is planning nationwide mass actions to demand jobs promised by Zanu-PF in its election manifesto ahead of last year's general elections.

But police chief spokesperson Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba said law enforcement agencies would not entertain illegal demonstrations.

She said there were channels to follow if the youths wanted to demonstrate.

"Whenever you want to demonstrate you have to approach the district commander of a particular district," Charamba said.

"If it's in Harare, you approach the Dispol then you notify them that you want to demonstrate and give your reasons.

"If the police are not busy or they are not engaged with other commitments, it is the discretion of the Dispol to say yes you can go ahead, but if police are committed with other business they also have a discretion to say no.

"So if people demonstrate without following that procedure definitely they are assured that we will arrest them."

The MDC-T youth wing, describing itself as the vanguard of the party, said it would demand more than 2,2 million jobs from President Robert Mugabe's government.

The youths said Zanu-PF was responsible for massive job losses due to its populist policies that have scared away investors.

"The MDC-T youth assembly is set to stage nationwide demonstrations to demand for jobs. Zanu-PF in its July 2013 manifesto promised 2,2 million jobs to the people, but the reverse is true," youth assembly spokesperson Clifford Hlatywayo said.

"To date more than 400 000 jobs have been lost. This is gross human rights violation and the failure by the government to provide decent jobs for its citizens as enshrined by the new charter is a severe infringement of the Constitution."

He said the call was necessitated by the assembly resolution of March 30 that questioned the failure of the Zanu-PF government to provide for employment.

"Realising that the Zanu-PF illegitimate regime has failed to provide even a single job out of the 2,2 million jobs that they promised to the people, instead thousands have lost their jobs in the last eight months, the assembly resolved that the current government must leave office immediately and pave way for free and fair elections," Hlatywayo said.

"As young people of this beloved nation, we are tired and our patience has warped.

"Zanu-PF has been lying to us since 1980 about heaven on earth. This has to stop.

"The time has come to demand what rightfully belongs to us.

"It is an open secret that Zanu-PF is tired and directionless.

"What they plan and do daily is to plunder and disgustingly ransack our national God-given resources, this has to stop now."

He said the assembly has taken heed of the nationwide call by MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai to "take corrective action against few people who want to enjoy the fruits of our nation while the majority is struggling to sustain a living."

Hlatywayo said now was the time to take over and reclaim the country's destiny as current and future leaders of this nation.

"To those who may think demanding for our jobs is a joke, they are lost and they will soon realise the seriousness of this national outcry.

"We will not be intimidated or shaken by threats since we have two options i.e. to suffer or to take action now," he said.