Government accused of earmarking Z$250 billion for youth militia training

By Lance Guma

28 July 2006

Finance Minister Herbert Murerwa’s supplementary budget has ear-marked Z$250 billion for what it terms a youth development fund but the opposition MDC says it’s meant for youth militia training. Nelson Chamisa the party spokesman for the Tsvangirai MDC says the fund ‘is a ploy to seek parliamentary approval to provide funds for Zanu PF’s notorious merchants of violence, through the Border Gezi youth programmes.’ Murerwa on Thursday asked parliament to approve a Z$327.2 trillion supplementary budget, twice the Z$123.9 trillion that made up last years budget.

It’s the Z$250 billion youth fund that has set tongues wagging. Chamisa, a former Youth Assembly Chairman himself, says the government has no record of coming up with real projects that benefit the youth. Despite this Murerwa now wanted Parliament to endorse overt corruption through diverting government funds for Zanu PF youth programmes. Chamisa says the fund is an abuse of taxpayer’s money and Zanu PF was clearly trying to prepare its youth militia for forthcoming rural district, urban council elections and a possible presidential election in 2008.

Several elections have seen the deployment of the ‘green bombers’ as they are known, into opposition strongholds with the intention of intimidating those opposed to Zanu PF. Most colleges are thought to be under instruction to give first preference to graduates from these camps under a system designed into coercing desperate youths to join. The youth camps achieved high levels of notoriety with a BBC documentary exposing how some of the youths are trained how to torture or kill opposition supporters.