Stringent conditionalities placed on the recently announced government Youth Relief Fund meant to help youths whose businesses were affected by Covid19 lockdown makes it difficult for many youths to access the grant.

There is a whole lot of requirements like bank statements and Zimbabwe Youth Council affiliation fee that makes it difficult for ordinary youths to meet.

More so, the online application process marginalizes those who are in the periphery of the periphery where issues of internet connectivity is a major blow.

The MDC Youth Assembly also bemoans the information gaps as far as the Relief Grant is concerned especially to the ordinary rural youths.

As such, we call upon the government and relevant Ministry to unconditionally remove stringent conditionalities like bank statements if real youths are to benefit from the grant.

It is public knowledge that the majority of ordinary youths survive from hand to mouth and they operate informal businesses hence they do not have bank statements.

That the majority of ordinary youths operate informal businesses automatically marginalizes them from the grant as many of their businesses are not formally registered.

It is also our hope that political colour is not going to be the prime determinant as to who benefits from the Relief Grant.

As an Assembly, we also call upon for the removal of a discriminatory clause which states that only businesses that were in existence 6 months prior to the lockdown announcement should be sole beneficiaries to the grant.

It is also our major underlining that the stringent, cumbersome and discriminatory conditionalities and secrecy surrounding the whole grant makes it appear more of a political grandstanding by the ruling party to pacify the increasingly restive youths.

As such, the grant remains a pie in the sky and dead aid for the majority of youths in informal businesses!

Stephen Sarkozy Chuma
MDC Youth Assembly National Spokesperson