“The fund will go a long way towards alleviating poverty among the youths and empowering us, and this has far reaching results,” said a spokesperson for the youth group.
Zimbabwe, which is internationally lauded for producing highly qualified graduates, has one of the highest unemployment rates in Africa. Some economists say the alarming levels of unemployment have resulted in the mushrooming of groups such as Chipangano, a shadowy militia group.
Youth Forum said that the move by Old Mutual which availed the money to youths from across the political spectrum was indeed a step towards empowerment of the youths.
“For the first time in the country, someone has made sense of the fact that by virtue of being young, we are impoverished and marginalized and therefore do not have access to collateral. The collateral, in the form of movable or immovable assets, had become a prohibitive factor in applying for loans for many astute young men and women of Zimbabwe,” said the spokesperson.
Youth Forum said that for the initiative to work there must be a fair and transparent non-partisan distribution of the $11 million.
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