No Poverty in Zim rant by ZANU PF legislator riles youths

By Evans Dakwa

Tempers flared at recent youth employment conference organised by the Youth Forum at a Harare Hotel after ZANU PF legislator, Tionei Melody Dziva rubbished suggestions of high unemployment and poverty in the country.

Dziva, who represents ZANU PF under the women’s quota riled participants at the Youth Forum unemployment conference by here claim that there is no poverty in Zimbabwe.

  `If there is poverty in the country we would be seeing dead bodies all over` said Dziva much to the chagrin of many of the participants who were evidently in disagreement with her sentiments.

The legislator`s sentiments attracted a barrage of disapproval responses from the delegates who clearly felt she was not in sync with the reality facing the majority of Zimbabweans.

`I would like to know Honourable Dziva, do you want to see dead bodies all over to believe that we are suffering, ` asked one riled youth among the delegates.

A tense atmosphere engulfed the conference auditorium with youth activist from various organisations taking turns to question Dziva`s utterances.

Sally Dura of the Youth Forum and conference facilitator had to interfere and calm emotions that were visibly flaring as the situation threatened to get out of hand.

Honourable Dziva seem to be reading from the same script as the party she represents and government which has been accused of falsifying unemployment figures in the country in an attempt to cover up for its failures to deliver the over two  million jobs it promised the electorate in its manifesto leading up to the July 2013 harmonised elections.

Her statements are a reflection of some of the leaders we have in the country who are out of sync with the plight of the ordinary citizens they are supposedly representing. A nation that has more than half its populace leaving below the Poverty Datum Line (PDL), youths riddled by unemployment but still has leaders who dodge responsibility by refusing to accept the suffering of the masses for their own selfish gains.

While government and statistical office put the unemployment figure officially at 11 percent, independent economist have begged to differ pegging it at a staggering 86 percent