Minister of Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment visits ILO Supported Projects in Mashonaland East Province
The Minister of Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment, Honourable Christopher Mushohwe, in his national familiarization tour as Minister of Youth, visited two projects under the “Skills for Youth Employment and Rural Development Programme” in Murehwa, Mashonaland East Province, Zimbabwe
9 July 2015
The ILO Harare Director, Ms. Hopolang Phororo joined the Minister during the visit and the Minister expressed his gratitude to the ILO for the wonderful work that is being done through the various projects under the “Skills for Youth Employment and Rural Development Programme” being implemented in the ten provinces of Zimbabwe He quoted the adage that “If you give a man a fish, you will feed him for a day but if you teach him how to fish, you will feed him for the rest of his life” with reference to the skills being imparted to the young men and women through the Programme, which ultimately facilitated opportunities for job creation.
The Honourable Minister Mushohwe, together with the ILO Harare Director were the first guests to pay a courtesy call to the newly appointed Minister of State for Mashonaland East Province, Honourable Ambrose Mutinhiri on his first day in the office at the Provincial Government offices in Marondera.
Horticulture plays a key role in income generation and food security in Mashonaland East. Honourable Mushohwe expressed the need for value addition to the agricultural produce to create employment opportunities and to increase the shelf life of the products, which would have a spin off effect of fetching higher incomes for the youths. His desire is to have a processing plant in the province that will add value to the tomatoes and other crops and fetch higher prices rather than the tomatoes and vegetables being sold at Mbare Musika market, in the capital city, Harare. The Honourable Minister Mushohwe and the ILO Harare Director, Ms. Phororo, led the entourage to tour the two sites - the tomato growing project and the greenhouse construction. At the former, they met the beneficiaries, Mr and Mrs Botse. The Botse family thanked the ILO for the support through the Programme and highlighted the challenges they face, namely in drawing water from the nearby river, as the cost of diesel for the water pump is high.
The Murehwa district is prone to frost during the winter months, which results in a decline in production and leads to reduced incomes for the youth beneficiaries, so to avoid such a situation, production would need to be continuous. A request had been made by the District Implementation Committee (DIC) for greenhouses and
Ms. Phororo indicated during the tour, that the ILO had responded favourably to fund the construction of five greenhouses in the Murehwa district. As part of empowering the young people, the ILO is facilitating the provision of skills through local service providers, to the beneficiaries who will construct the greenhouses and thereafter will be trained to grow tomatoes and other high value crops throughout the year. The Minister and the delegation visited the first greenhouse construction site, which was 75 per cent complete. Fifteen beneficiaries will grow horticulture crops in one greenhouse, with 75 young people benefitting from the project when all five greenhouses are constructed, which is on state land, close to a water source and accessible to the main road network.
The Honourable Minister Mushohwe, together with the ILO Harare Director were the first guests to pay a courtesy call to the newly appointed Minister of State for Mashonaland East Province, Honourable Ambrose Mutinhiri on his first day in the office at the Provincial Government offices in Marondera.
Horticulture plays a key role in income generation and food security in Mashonaland East. Honourable Mushohwe expressed the need for value addition to the agricultural produce to create employment opportunities and to increase the shelf life of the products, which would have a spin off effect of fetching higher incomes for the youths. His desire is to have a processing plant in the province that will add value to the tomatoes and other crops and fetch higher prices rather than the tomatoes and vegetables being sold at Mbare Musika market, in the capital city, Harare. The Honourable Minister Mushohwe and the ILO Harare Director, Ms. Phororo, led the entourage to tour the two sites - the tomato growing project and the greenhouse construction. At the former, they met the beneficiaries, Mr and Mrs Botse. The Botse family thanked the ILO for the support through the Programme and highlighted the challenges they face, namely in drawing water from the nearby river, as the cost of diesel for the water pump is high.
The Murehwa district is prone to frost during the winter months, which results in a decline in production and leads to reduced incomes for the youth beneficiaries, so to avoid such a situation, production would need to be continuous. A request had been made by the District Implementation Committee (DIC) for greenhouses and