Sakupwanya says young people must not be spectators as Parliament gathers 400 delegates to shape 2027 National Budget

Harare– The Chairperson of the Parliamentary Youth Caucus, Honourable Stanley Sakupwanya, has called on young Zimbabweans to move from the periphery of economic decision-making and take ownership of the means of production, as Parliament convened the Third Youth Inclusive Budget Conference at Mt Hampden on Thursday.

Addressing an estimated 400 young delegates drawn from every province, political parties, universities, community youth structures, and the Junior Parliament, Sakupwanya said the conference, now in its third year, has matured into an institutional practice mandated by Section 141 of the Constitution, which requires Parliament to facilitate public involvement in its legislative and budgetary processes.

“This year’s theme is centered around resilience towards effects of climate change and global shocks,” Sakupwanya said.

“We want to hear from the young people how they may be affected by climate change and what they propose that can be done to ensure that young people are not negatively affected.”

The conference, held under the theme of climate resilience, comes as Zimbabwe braces for a drought season. Sakupwanya said young people must be at the forefront of mitigating measures, including climate-resilient agricultural programmes and the Presidential Borehole Scheme.

“We don’t want young people to just play spectators,” he said. “We want them to feel that they must own the table of the economy. They must own means of production. They must own the identity that making Zimbabwe work starts with them.”

Tangible Results from Previous Engagements

Sakupwanya highlighted concrete outcomes from previous budget conferences, including the establishment of a Drug and Substance Abuse Fund and increased allocations for free sanitary wear for young girls in rural areas.

“After our previous budget conferences, one such thing was the establishment of a Drug and Substance Abuse Fund, which means more money was there to target the young people who are affected by the scourge of drug and substance abuse,” he said.

“The Minister also added more money towards sexual health and reproductive rights for young girls by adding finance for free sanitary wear for our young girls in the rural areas especially.”

The Caucus Chairperson said the contributions gathered over the two-day conference will be compiled into a report and presented to the Minister of Finance during pre-budget consultations for the 2027 National Budget.

“It’s not just about allocation of expenditure, but also ideas on how government can raise resources to supplement whatever expenditure that the youth want to propose,” Sakupwanya said.

Speaker Calls Budget a Modern “Zunde raMambo”

In a keynote address read on his behalf by Acting Deputy Clerk of Parliament, Lucia Nyawo, Speaker of Parliament Advocate Jacob Mudenda invoked the traditional Shona and Ndebele communal granary systems, Zunde raMambo and Isiphala seNkosi, to describe the National Budget as a collective resource that must be distributed with fairness and transparency.

“The National Budget is our modern Zunde,” Mudenda said. “It is gathered from the taxes and labour of every citizen, and it must be distributed with the same fairness, openness and compassion. When young people ask to be heard on the Budget, they ask for nothing foreign to our heritage. They simply ask to be counted among those who labour in the national field and who share in its harvest.”

The Speaker cited Section 298 of the Constitution, which mandates transparency and accountability in public finance, and Section 20, which obliges the State to ensure youth participation in economic life.

“Youth participation in the budget process is not a favour extended at the pleasure of authority. It is a constitutional entitlement, and Parliament bears a non-derogable duty to give it effect,” he said.

Mudenda noted that previous conferences had contributed to the establishment of the Presidential Youth Entrepreneurship Programme and the recent constitutional amendment providing for youth representation in local councils.

“Only two months ago, in this very Chamber, I watched the Youth Model Parliament celebrate the amendment of Section 277 of our Constitution, which now provides for the election of youth, aged eighteen to thirty-five years, to at least ten per centum of the ward-based seats in every local council,” he said. “That reform was not handed down. It was earned.”

The Speaker challenged delegates to interrogate how much was actually disbursed under youth enterprise facilities such as Empower Bank and the National Venture Capital Fund, and to propose reforms to collateral requirements and loan turnaround times.

“A facility that exists on paper but cannot be reached in Gokwe or Lupane is a promise only half kept,” he said.

Mudenda outlined three pillars for youth engagement: “Know the Budget, Shape the Budget, and Follow the Budget,” urging young people to track whether allocations reach their communities.

Machakaire: Youth Must Become “Economic Actors”

Minister of Youth Empowerment, Development and Vocational Training, Honourable Tinomudaishe Machakaire, challenged young people to move beyond dependency and present proposals for sustainable businesses that generate employment and tax revenue.

“We cannot continue to approach the Budget only with the question, ‘What can Government give young people?'” Machakaire said.

“We must also ask, ‘What can Government do to help young people build businesses that can grow, employ others and contribute to the national fiscus?'”

The Minister cited investments in vocational training infrastructure, including the E.D. Mnangagwa Vocational Training Centre at Igava and the Joshua Nkomo Vocational Training Centre at Maphisa, as evidence that youth advocacy yields results.

“If a Government-supported youth enterprise employs other young people, produces goods and services, grows its turnover and eventually pays taxes, then we have achieved something much greater than simply providing financial assistance. We have created an economic actor,” he said.

The conference continues Saturday with youth delegates segregated into various ministries to present sector-specific priorities.