Zanu-PF youth resignation claims dismissed

ZANU-PF yesterday dismissed as mischievous a report in a private newspaper claiming that the party's provincial youth chairpersons had resigned en-masse citing harassment.

The party's national secretary for youth affairs Pupurai Togarepi said the article published in a daily paper on Wednesday was an attempt to sow seeds of divisions in the party.

"All youth chairpersons are still active and the report should be treated with the contempt it deserves," said Togarepi.

"Youths are people who are still growing up and with a lot of energy and bruise each other here and there but it's nothing big. We have structures to nurture our youth or correct where there are issues.

"Even after telling the newspaper in question that there was no issue, they chose to be alarmist as usual."

Speaking on the sidelines of First Lady Grace Mugabe's rally in Rushinga, Mashonaland Central on Wednesday, Togarepi said he had been in touch with all youth chairpersons who were mentioned by the paper and none of them had resigned.

Togarepi said if there was any truth to the newspaper's claims, he would be the first to know of the resignations as the provincial chairpersons fall under his department.

He said it was curious that the youths would trust a western-sponsored media outlet to discuss their grievances in the party.

Togarepi said the story was being peddled by enemies of the ruling party to create an impression that there were serious divisions in the party.

The paper cited Midlands provincial youth chairperson Edmore Samambwa and his Mashonaland West counterpart Vengai Musengi as having resigned from the party while their Matabeleland South colleague Washington Nkomo reportedly said he was considering stepping down.

The newspaper further "predicted" that more youth chairpersons were expected to resign from the ruling party in fear of persecution by "party hawks."