YA FM must challenge Zvishavane underdevelopment

Almost a month has elapsed since Ray of Hope media group was awarded a radio license to operate as YA FM in Zvishavane.  

 Zimbabweans and particularly youths from Zvishavane are waiting with understandable anxiety on what the Munyaradzi Hwengere led station will offer to the mineral endowed but economically marginalised community.

Zvishavane is the mining hub of Zimbabwe if not the whole of Southern Africa. The town is home to Shabani asbestos mine, Mimosa mines, Murowa Diamonds and other small to medium gold mines.

 The town has a single street and one wonders why given all these minerals and other lucrative activities such as sports which are done in the town.
 
Mimosa makes yearly profits of up to US $200 million and Murowa is also making staggering profits. This information is available on Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) for everyone who bothers to know their financial standings.
Why the town is dormant when it is home to best performing companies listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange? YA FM must stand up to this challenge and initiate dialogue around these pertinent issues.

Devolution of powers should now be put into practice.  Our mineral resources must benefit our communities. More schools need to be built, hospitals such as White hospital need to be refurbished and better doctors need to be hired.

From Buy Zimbabwe campaign, it is high time Mr. Hwengere kick start a "Develop Zvishavane" Campaign.  This campaign will go a long way providing answers to a myriad of challenges the town and its surrounding rural communities are facing.
People living around the town from Mberengwa, Mazvihwa, Mapanzure and Chivi are eager to know why their youths are not getting jobs at Mimosa and Murowa.

They also want to know what happened to the money which was allocated to the communities by these companies under the indigenisation policy. As far as they can commit to memory, the roads are still dust, marred with potholes and hospitals are not fully equipped.

The radio station also needs to give them a platform to ask the responsible authority on the feasibility of the Zim-Asset to their present situation. They want to know when the government will get investors for Shabanie-Mashaba asbestos mines, Buchwa mines, Sandawana and Sabi gold mine. 

If YA FM is to be a ray of hope as the name of the media group suggests, the radio stations must give the youths in Zvishavane a platform to air their grievances.

Youths want to know why Murowa diamonds and Mimosa Mines give apprenticeships to youths from other provinces outside Midlands and Masvingo while relegating their CVs to dustbins.
 
Zvishavane youths also want to know when these companies are going to come together and upgrade Zvishavane vocational training sector into a modern professional institution.

The availability of such an institution will allow the youths to acquire skills in boiler making, diesel and plant fitting thereby increasing their chances to get jobs at these companies.

Our people in Mberengwa also want to be assured that they shall never be another wave of political violence come 2018 elections. Yes, they know that Big Chitoro is dead, but the culture of violence he nurtured in 2008 is still intact.

Democracy is want should prevail in Zvishavane. Takafarira Zhou, Dennis Mudzingwa and all other aspiring parliamentarians from Zvishavane and surrounding communities need to be given the platform to sell out their manifestoes to the electorates.

Our memory is full of names of mediocre parliamentarians. Pearson Mbalekwa, Obert Matshalaga, Rugare Gumbo, Larry Mavhima and the list goes on. These MPs were bench holders in parliament and time has come now for people of Zvishavane to grill prospective candidates before they are given the key to Parliament.

Youths of Zvishavane are confident that with YA FM, the humdrum situation will never go unshaken.

Musavengana Hove is a youth activist born and bred in Zvishavane. Email soldierjournalist@gmail.com for feedback.