Junior MP urges youths to utilise

GWERU – Junior Member of Parliament for Gweru Urban Constituency, Runako Nicole Mundondo
has urged youths to be resilient in tackling problems they face as youths.
The Junior MP said this while addressing a workshop convened by Ministry of Youth, Sports, Arts and
Recreation recently, to promote interaction between the Ministry and its various stakeholders.
The purpose of the workshop was to highlight and address issues and concerns regarding the
welfare of youths in Gweru, with a protracted trajectory of improving their needs.
“The youth have been prone to quite a number of forms of abuse such as sexual, physical, financial
and emotional. Also drug and substance abuse as well as cyber bullying are also prevalent.”
Mundondo said children’s rights should be promoted, fully disseminated and defended, with a view
of raising responsible adults for the future.
She urged youths to refrain from drug and substance abuse as well as other vices and become
responsible and productive members of society.
The Gweru Urban Junior MP encouraged youths to embark on income generating projects and
pursue their education for a better future.
She also encouraged parents and guardians to obtain birth certificates for their dependants so that
they can enrol in schools and be able to sit for their exams without problems. It is difficult for
children without proper documentation to acquire National Identification documents if they do not
have birth certificates.
“Failure to acquire these documents often leaves them vulnerable to abuse,” she said.
Mundondo has been actively involved in various activities in her constituency, including advocacy
work in deaf awareness campaigns with a local NGO, Let’s Make A Difference Disability Zimbabwe
which is headed by Nigel Tahwa.
She thanked government for its insight in creating the junior legislators’ programme so that the
voice of children can be heard.
Zimbabwe demonstrated its commitment to protect children's rights through the ratification of
international and regional convections on the rights of children.
Policies and programmes to enforce the legislative framework have been developed and
operationalised. They include National Action Plan for Orphans and other vulnerable children, the
National Action Plan to end child marriages and also the National Social Protection Policy
Framework.