GOVERNMENT has expanded the Junior Parliament to include a Junior Senate, which will occupied by former members of the lower house, President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said.
Speaking during the official opening of the 32nd Junior Parliament and Commemoration of the Day of the African Child in Mt Hampden yesterday, Mnangagwa said the Junior Parliament had become a strategic institution among the youth of the country.
He said the Junior Parliament had not only served as a leadership development and advocacy arm, but a vehicle through which representatives of the youth from all provinces can participate in the governance of Zimbabwe.
“It is worth noting that this year’s 32nd session of the Junior Parliament has been expanded to include a Junior Senate, which is made up of former child parliamentarians.
“This has enriched the quality and scope of debates within the august House. As such, we believe that you, our young people, have a role to play in building our motherland by bringing to our attention, the challenges faced by the children of Zimbabwe,” he said.
Mnangagwa said the school feeding scheme had been rolled out to various schools in response to the El Niño-induced drought to ensure the nutritional well-being of children from vulnerable communities.
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He added that more than two million youths had the potential to be empowered with relevant skills through vocational training centres.
“These can, in turn, help grow, modernise and industrialise our economy. Many more young people must be given the opportunity to learn and acquire trades to improve their livelihoods,” he said.
Mnangagwa called on the Youth Empowerment, Development and Vocational Training ministry to accelerate the transformation of vocational training centres in terms of both the quality of facilities and skills offered.
He said the National Youth Act should be speedily finalised to facilitate the promotion of youth empowerment, development and wealth creation.
He also bemoaned that a notable number of Zimbabwean young people, together with their families, are being negatively affected by the menace of drug and substance abuse.
Mnangagwa challenged the youths to raise their voices and scale up activities to fight and reject drug and substance abuse.