President Emmerson Mnangagwa yesterday gave a rare personal insight into his early life, during which he was involved in subversive activities after seeing his dreams of becoming a pilot frustrated by the racial politics of the time.<\/p>\n
The 76-year-old Zanu PF leader also told youths who attended a two-day conference in Harare how his family had subsequently been banished from Zimbabwe by the minority Rhodesian government that was in power then \u2014 which saw them settling in Zambia.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s when I changed from wanting to be a pilot and joined Unip (the United National Independence Party) of Kenneth Kaunda in 1959.\u201c Yes I am a lawyer, but I never designed to become a lawyer, circumstances forced me to become a lawyer.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do not say it\u2019s good to be expelled, but I was expelled from college in 1960 because we had burnt a house of one of the lecturers.
\n\u201cSo, I became a political activist at that age and my desire was to become a soldier and indeed (this happened) in 1962,\u201d Mnangagwa said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was taken by Zapu to go to Tanganyika, Tanzania now, where we were sent for training in Egypt and subsequently China, and then graduated in 1964. \u201cSo, that was my desire to be a soldier and I achieved that … Down the line I got arrested \u2026 sentenced to death, survived because of technicalities in terms of age.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the time, the legal age of majority was 21 … and at the time I was under 21. So, I was saved from hanging and my colleagues were executed,\u201d Mnangagwa added. He later joined other nationalists such as ousted former president Robert Mugabe in the liberation struggle, which led to Zimbabwe\u2019s independence from Britain in April 1980.<\/p>\n
During this latter period, the Zanu PF leader was a personal assistant to Mugabe in Mozambique. And until the increasingly frail nonagenarian fell from power through a military coup in November 2017, Mnangagwa had known and worked with him for nearly 55 years.<\/p>\n
Mnangagwa also told the gathered youths yesterday that his government was working hard to create opportunities for them to play prominent roles in the government\u2019s ambitious 2030 vision, which would see the creation of a thriving middle class in the country.<\/p>\n
During the meeting, which was attended by Finance minister Mthuli Ncube and vice president Constantino Chiwenga, Mnangagwa also said the government was alive to the many needs and challenges facing the youths. \u201cSince the advent of the Second Republic, I have pronounced that I am a listening president and that I am open for dialogue.<\/p>\n
\u201cI continuously encourage us to live in harmony, peace, unity, love and tolerance … no matter our differences or our persuasions.
\n\u201cIn addition, one of the values under vision 2030 and also enshrined in the Constitution is participatory decision-making, where citizens participate on issues that affect them,\u201d the president said.<\/p>\n
Mnangagwa also said the establishment of the Empowerment Bank and the Zimbabwe Women\u2019s Microfinance Bank was meant to achieve a \u201cjobs revolution\u201d in the country. He further referred to the recently launched India-Africa Incubation Centre as being aimed at equipping young people with entrepreneurial skills to start their own companies.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy administration is revamping vocational training centres, which together with polytechnic colleges must be the engine rooms for artisans who will practically drive industrialisation in our country.
\n\u201cThis will further ensure that school leavers and graduates of tertiary institutions acquire appropriate entrepreneurial skills.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose young people in our universities should also fully utilise incubation hubs established in these institutions to nurture and grow innovative ideas,\u201d Mnangagwa said. Zimbabwe is currently in the throes of a debilitating economic crisis which has deepened poverty levels and also limited employment opportunities, particularly for first time job seekers.<\/p>\n
Since winning the country\u2019s hotly-contested elections last year, Mnangagwa and his government have battled to put the economy back on track. The frustrations of long-suffering Zimbabweans boiled over in January this year when tens of thousands of people flooded the streets after heeding calls for a stay-away by labour unions.<\/p>\n
As a result, police and soldiers engaged in running battles with protesters, which saw up to 20 people being killed in the ensuing mayhem. Property worth hundreds of thousands of dollars was also destroyed and looted in the chaos.<\/p>\n
At the same time, security forces subsequently unleashed a brutal crackdown against the protesters, the opposition and civil society leaders, in a move which received wide condemnation in the country and around the world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
President Emmerson Mnangagwa yesterday gave a rare personal insight into his early life, during which he was involved in subversive activities after seeing his dreams of becoming a pilot frustrated by the racial politics of the time. The 76-year-old Zanu PF leader also told youths who attended a two-day conference in Harare how his family […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":2269,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,10],"tags":[38,152,83,55,31,149],"class_list":{"0":"post-5750","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-all-news","8":"category-parties","9":"tag-zanu-pf","10":"tag-crisis","11":"tag-economy","12":"tag-government","13":"tag-mnangagwa","14":"tag-president"},"yoast_head":"\n