DIGNITY

UZA Manifesto Part 3 on Dignity 

ACCESS & OPPORTUNITY

ACCESS & OPPORTUNITY: Zimbabwe has a glaring imbalance in access to resources and the availability of opportunities in the different sectors of society. The ruling elite and their cronies have amassed wealth by grabbing resources that include land, mineral resources and entrepreneurial opportunities. Among the groups that are disadvantaged with regards to access and opportunity are women and girls, the youth, elderly citizens, people with disabilities and war veterans.

What UZA Will Do To Improve Access & Opportunities in Business For All Citizens: One of our long-term objectives is to reduce unemployment by creating and promoting productive opportunities in all sectors of Zimbabwe’s economy. We encourage Zimbabweans to recognize and value potential opportunities for locally earned prosperity.

The UZA government shall:

• Formalise most of the informal sector and grow the economy to reduce unemployment.
• Establish a functional end efficient, single-stop centre for business registration, NSSA clearances, council licenses and other business requirements to ease the process of doing business.
• Promote empowerment by ensuring transparency and fairness in access and opportunities.
• Encourage the utilisation of local resources and create local opportunities while discouraging reliance on support from outside the country. Citizens should exert their efforts in the development of Zimbabwe, rather than seek them in foreign countries.
• Develop policies on investment, training and job creation to stimulate the development of small businesses, which create jobs and potentially offer good employment opportunities.
• Review the tax regime to create a more conducive environment for ease of doing business
• Introduce programmes to increase food production locally, increase the export of food products and reduce food imports.
• Maximize the utilisation of locally produced construction materials for state construction projects.
• Train entrepreneurs and enable them to run their businesses properly.
• Create a viable system for import substitution.

What UZA Will Do To Improve Political Participation For All Citizens:

The UZA government shall:

• Promote non-partisan political awareness programmes and investing in political, electoral and constitutional education.

Gender Equality: 
The promotion of gender equality should be a priority issue for the government of Zimbabwe. At an international level, Zimbabwe is a party to a number of regional and international conventions and treaties that support gender equality. The importance of gender equality is also reflected in Section 56 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, which provides a strong framework for the protection and promotion of the rights of women and girls. It states that women and men have the right to equal treatment, including the right to equal opportunities in political, economic, cultural and social spheres. The Constitution defines equality for all persons and goes further to explicitly outlaw discrimination on the grounds of gender.

• Child Protection 2022 There are gendered patterns in violence against children, with boys more likely to experience physical punishment, while for girls, sexual violence or gender-based violence is a major concern at home as well as at school
  
  
• Education & Career Advancement: Women and girls constitute 52% of the population in Zimbabwe. They are a symbol of strength, perseverance and nationhood, yet they continue to lag behind in career advancement across key sectors of the economy. Despite progressive laws and treaties in support of gender equality, the biggest challenge has been the implementation of formal rights and their translation into tangible gains for women and girls.
  
  In Zimbabwe, nearly 78% of students complete their primary education, however the transition to secondary school remains a challenge. For girls, lack of access to school fees as well as early marriage and pregnancy are issues of concern. Almost one in three Zimbabwean girls aged 15-19 are married with 5% of girls marrying before the age of 15.
  
  
• Financial & Economic Inclusion: Women in Zimbabwe should be economically empowered yet their potential to advance is often limited.  At times this is due to cultural practices. Despite being the majority population in the country, women only benefited 10% from land reform and some still face patrilineal practices in which land is passed on to male heirs. All of this prevents women and girls from gaining access to land. They therefore typically are unable to access financial loans as they usually do not have collateral.
  
  
• Maternal Mortality: The maternal mortality ratio is the number of women who die from pregnancy-related issues while pregnant or within 42 days of pregnancy termination. Maternal mortality remains a cause for concern with 2020-2023 Zimbabwe data showing  458 deaths for every 100,000 live births
  
  
• Women in Politics: Women have a harder time establishing themselves as influential figures in politics. This is mostly due to gender stereotypes. In our Zimbabwe in particular, there exists a certain constituency that still believes that women do not belong in leadership. Such people have a “pull her down” mentality. They try so hard to discredit women’s candidature or they resort to name-calling and labelling. Some political outfits even engage trolls to churn out negativity.
  
  
• Women aspiring for public office in Zimbabwe are often denigrated and abused and this stands to discourage them from participating. Women in politics in Zimbabwe often face threats, abuse or online harassment which can cause women to feel intimidated or unworthy.
  
  
• Women also face the constant challenge of balancing work and family responsibilities which makes it difficult to devote the necessary time and energy to campaigning or performing the duties of a political office. All of these challenges, however, highlight the need for greater advocacy for the participation of women in politics and for policies that support gender equality and women's right to participate fully in the political space.

What UZA Will Do To Promote Gender Equality: The UZA government will strengthen the position of Zimbabwe's women as the cornerstones of our society. Our government will ensure women are given total and requisite support in their homes and the respect and advancement of their efforts in their workplaces and in nation building.

The UZA government shall:

• Develop and support women who aspire to lead.
• Promote gender equity in all aspects of our society and eliminate negative socio-cultural practices that discriminate against women.
• Ensure that an adequate number of high-level civil service positions are allocated to women.
• Support increased protection and access to education, health and employment for the girl child.
• Encourage and assist in the creation of income-generating activities and enterprises and by increasing access to funding especially for women and young people in marginalised and rural communities.
• Ensure that primary healthcare is well funded.

Youth: 
Youth (aged 15-35 years) have been deprived of opportunities due to the economic challenges bedevilling Zimbabwe. As a result of the failing economy, the once vibrant education and skills training programmes are now seriously compromised and ineffective. Additionally, millions of parents have been forced to migrate to the diaspora in search of jobs, leaving the youth behind without parental guidance. All of these factors have resulted in a significant increase in illicit substance use, promiscuity, crime and other problems affecting the youth. .

• Alcohol & Drug Abuse: Lack of employment, coupled with poverty and despair have led to a rising number of youth who turn to alcoholism and drug abuse. Drugs and alcohol are often supplied to young people by unscrupulous politicians and senior members of society in the political space. Zimbabwean youth are also being used as campaign tools to unleash violence on citizens by political parties.
  
  
• Jobs & Economic Inclusion: Zimbabwe is a nation that boasts of a high literacy rate, but currently over 90% of the employed youth in our country work in the informal sector where they are exploited.  They are typically exposed to poor working conditions and have no form of job security. Young people in Zimbabwe also lack the professional experience and skills needed to compete in today’s increasingly demanding and competitive job market.
  
  
• Political Decision Making: The youth in Zimbabwe have reported that the presiding political environment is crowded by gerontocracy, a system that favours the ageing population more than the young people. Youth are reduced to cheerleader positions and tokenistic offices of little or no power and have been excluded from policymaking. The constitutionally granted right for the youths to be fairly represented at all levels of governance from the district to national level platforms must be protected to ensure that the voice of youth is mainstreamed in all policymaking processes. 

What UZA Will Do To Promote Our Youth:

The UZA government shall:

• Carry out an extensive audit of all mitigation measures for drug and alcohol abuse and ensure that they are augmented as needed.
• Introduce leadership professional development programmes for youth.
• Invest in political, electoral and constitutional education for greater youth participation.
• Include youth when crafting policies so as to align youth priorities with government priorities.
• Create programmes that support the participation and empowerment of youth at all levels of society.
• Increase funding for youth projects.

Elderly: 

The elderly in Zimbabwe face challenges in accessing decent shelter and food. They have become largely dependent on handouts from non-governmental organisations and they hardly have access to health services. Adding to this, the pensions of most elderly citizens in our country have also been eroded by inflation yet they carry the greatest burden of caring for most of the orphaned children in Zimbabwe whose parents have died of HIV or have migrated to the diaspora.

Chapter 2, Section 21 of The Constitution of Zimbabwe states that the State and all institutions and agencies of government at every level must take reasonable measures, including legislative measures, to secure respect, support and protection for elderly persons and to enable them to participate in the life of their communities. 

The State and all institutions and agencies of government at every level must endeavour to encourage elderly persons to participate fully in the affairs of society; to provide facilities, food and social care for elderly persons who are in need; to develop programmes to give elderly persons the opportunity to engage in productive activity suited to their abilities and consistent with their vocations and desires; and to foster social organisations aimed at improving the quality of life of elderly persons.  None of these objectives of the Constitution is being upheld. 

What UZA Will Do For Our Elderly Citizens:

The UZA government shall:

• Put in place programmes that uplift the quality of life of Zimbabwe’s elderly citizens in accordance with the provisions clearly defined in Chapter 2, Section 21 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe. This mandate must be carried out regardless of resource limitations. 
• Work to amend Chapter 2, Section 21 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe to guarantee the provision of appropriate funding for government to effectively deliver upon its commitment to Zimbabwe’s elderly citizens. We recognise that language in Chapter 2, Section 21.2 may imply that responsibility to our elderly citizens is optional since it currently states that the State and all institutions and agencies of government shall “endeavour” to provide for, support and develop our elderly citizens, within the “limits of the resources available to them”. The responsibility to provide for our elderly citizens should not be an optional or limited endeavour. Delivery of support services for Zimbabwe’s elderly citizens should be guaranteed..

Persons with Disabilities: 
Chapter 2, Section 22 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe states that the State and all institutions and agencies of government at every level must recognise the rights of persons with physical or mental disabilities, in particular, their right to be treated with respect and dignity.

The State and all institutions and agencies of government at every level must assist persons with physical or mental disabilities to achieve their full potential and to minimise the disadvantages they suffer. The amenities which the public has access to are also to be accessible to persons with disabilities. In particular, the State and all institutions and agencies of government at every level must:

• develop programmes for the welfare of persons with physical or mental disabilities, especially work programmes consistent with their capabilities and acceptable to them or their legal representatives;
• consider the specific requirements of persons with all forms of disability as one of the priorities in development plans; 
• encourage the use and development of forms of communication suitable for persons with physical or mental disabilities; and
• foster social organisations aimed at improving the quality of life of persons with all forms of disability.

What UZA Will Do For Our Citizens with Disabilities:

The UZA government shall:

• Prioritise the inclusion of persons with disabilities in key decision making.
• Provide access to state-funded tertiary education for citizens with disabilities when they do not have the means to pay for their own education.
• Provide access to and health services education where they do not have the means to pay for it.
• Streamline disability issues in all government programmes.
• Review teachers' training on disability sensitivity, equality and awareness.
• Promote infrastructure accessibility by enforcing disability policies in workplaces, health facilities and educational institutions.
• Remove import and value-added tax on assistive equipment for people with disabilities
• Work to amend Amend Chapter 2, Section 22.2 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe to guarantee the provision of appropriate funding for government to effectively deliver its commitment to Zimbabwe’s citizens with disabilities. We recognise that language in Chapter 2, Section 22.2 may imply that responsibility to our citizens with disabilities is optional since it currently states that the State and all institutions and agencies of government shall “endeavour” to develop programmes within the “limits of the resources available to them”. The responsibility to provide for our citizens with disabilities should not be an optional or limited endeavour. Delivery of support services for Zimbabwe’s citizens with disabilities should be guaranteed..

War Veterans & Victims of War: 
Our liberation struggle will always be a part of us as Zimbabweans. We recognise the bravery, patriotism and sacrifices made during the liberation struggle which brought for our nation the attainment of independence. UZA stands proud on the shoulders of our national heroes. We do not take for granted their sacrifices for a better Zimbabwe. As we make our economy work, we shall make sure that war veterans benefit from the economy and are empowered to take part in economic activities.

What UZA Will Do For War Veterans and Victims of War:

The UZA government shall:

• Audit the records of war veterans and victims of war and without disrupting current programs and government commitments.
• Ensure the monthly allowances allocated to war veterans are aligned with the current cost of living.
• Provide free medical care for war veterans and victims of war.
• Create a government empowerment fund for projects benefiting war veterans and victims of war.
• Provide educational assistance to children of war veterans and victims of war.
• Review and correct for accuracy the historic records of the liberation struggle.
• Create military cemeteries in all provinces for all military personnel.