MIDLANDS STATE UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF ARTS

DEPARTMENT OF DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

“REAL EMPOWERMENT OR MERE POLITICAL RHETORIC”: A FORMATIVE EVALUATION OF THE YOUTH EMPOWERMENT FACILITIES IN GWERU URBAN DISTRICT (ZIMBABWE)

A RESEARCH PROJECT 

BY 

FUNGAYI PROMOTE MARAIRE

REG NUMBER: R11225W

SUBMITTED TO MIDLANDS STATE UNIVERSITY IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE BACHELOR OF ARTS HONOURS DEGREE IN DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

GWERU, ZIMBABWE

OCTOBER 2013

APPROVAL FORM

The undersigned certify that they have read and recommended to the Midlands Sate University for acceptance a dissertation entitled “Real Empowerment or Mere Political Rhetoric”: A Formative Evaluation of the Youth Empowerment Facilities in Gweru District (Zimbabwe), submitted by Fungayi Promote Maraire (R11225W) in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Bachelor of Arts Honours Degree in Development Studies.

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SUPERVISOR                                                                                       DATE

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CHAIRPERSON                                                                                 DATE

RELEASE FORM
NAME OF AUTHOR:                                      FUNGAYI PROMOTE MARAIRE
DISSERTATION TITLE:                                “REAL EMPOWERMENT OR MERE POLITICAL RHETORIC”: A FORMATIVE EVALUATION OF THE YOUTH EMPOWERMENT FACILITIES IN GWERU DISTRICT (ZIMBABWE)

DEGREE PROGRAMME:                              BACHELOR OF ARTS HONOURS DEGREE IN DEVELOPMENT STUDIES
YEAR THIS DEGREE WAS GRANTED:    2013
Permission is hereby granted to the Midlands State University Library to produce single copies of this Dissertation to lend or sell such copies for private, scholarly or scientific research purposes only. The author reserves other publication rights and neither the dissertation nor extensive extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author’s written permission.

SIGNED:---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PERMANENT ADDRESS:			    588 Lillian Close 
						    Waterfalls Harare

DATE:					    OCTOBER 2013

DEDICATION
This research is dedicated to my lovely wife Tariro and my sweet children Tawananyasha Wesley and Tadisa

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank the Almighty for granting me this opportunity and for guiding me through some difficult times over the period that I was preparing this study. Thank you Lord for the guidance and protection.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor Mr C Munhande for the invaluable support and the guidance throughout the production of this academic piece of work. I also acknowledge the contribution of my lecturers at the Department of Development Studies especially Mr P Makaye, Mr D Munemo, Ms E Nciizah and the chairperson Dr J Matunhu. Thank you for the advice you gave me throughout the process of writing this dissertation.

I further extend my profound gratitude to the staff at the Ministry of Youth Development Indigenisation and Empowerment’s Gweru District Office for the assistance and contribution. Without their contribution it would not have been possible to produce this dissertation. 

To my colleagues and classmates especially Jones Chitsa, thank you guys for the encouragement and support.  Lastly to my whole family my wife Tary, my chidren Tawa and Tadi, my mother and father and my brothers Oscar Tapiwa and Wesley Garai, thank you for the support.

ABSTRACT
Zimbabwe embarked on a youth empowerment drive in 2009 through the setting up of Youth Empowerment Facilities. The Youth Empowerment Facilities are a partnership between the Government of Zimbabwe through the Ministry of Youth Indigenisation and Empowerment and various financial institutions that include CBZ Bank, Central African Building Society and Stanbic Bank. The Youth Empowerment Facilities are a micro credit scheme whose broad objective is to alleviate poverty amongst the youths in Zimbabwe through funding of income generating projects started by youths. It was hoped that the funded projects would result in employment creation and that technical entrepreneurial skills would be imparted to the youth through the programme. The study was a formative evaluation of the Youth Empowerment Facilities in Gweru District (Zimbabwe) which sought to determine how the programme was being implemented and the progress or lack of towards the achievement of the programme’s goals. The research established that some of the objectives of the programme were indeed relevant to the current challenges being faced by the youth in Zimbabwe. It was however suggested that other dimensions of empowerment such as the political and social empowerment be included in order for real youth empowerment to be achieved. The study noted that the implementation process was being hampered by inadequate funding, abuse of funds, non repayment of loans, high failure rate of the youth projects funded and the high rate of rejection of the youths’ project proposals by the financial institutions. There were however a few success stories noted by the study. In terms of progress made in achieving the objectives, the study noted that very little progress had been made so far. This was because very few youth projects had been funded as compared to the number of youths in the district that were in need of funding. The high rate of collapse of the youth projects funded coupled with the failure to sustain production levels achieved after accessing the loans have meant that chances of employment creation have been limited. The programme has so far had very little effect on youth poverty and unemployment in Gweru Urban District which remains high.

DEFINITION OF TERMS
In this study, the terms listed below are defined as follows:
•	Youth:   Any person aged between 18 and 35 years.

•	Empowerment:   The goal of enhancing the possibilities for people to control their own lives.

•	Youth Empowerment:   The process of ensuring that youths have the appropriate skills, capabilities, resources and access to secure and sustainable incomes and livelihoods through such measures as micro credit and employment schemes.

•	Youth Empowerment Facilities:   Funds jointly established by the Ministry of Youth Development Indigenisation and Empowerment and various companies to fund income generating projects by Zimbabwean youths. The facilities include the CBZ Youth Empowerment Facility, CABS Kurera/Ukondla Youth Fund and the Meikles Outgrower Scheme.  

•	Micro credit: The extension of small loans to the marginalised groups in society such as women and youths as a way of empowering them. 

LIST OF BOXES
Box 1: The Various Dimensions of Empowerment
Box 2.1: CABS-Kurera/Ukondla Youth Fund  
Box 2.2: CBZ, IDBZ AND ZABG Facilities (Youth Development Fund)

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Credit Investment Model

LIST OF APPENDICES
Appendix 1:   Questionnaire for Youths
Appendix 2: Photographs of some of the Youth Projects 

ABBREVIATIONS
AAG:   Affirmative Action Group 
ANC:   African National Congress 
AU:   African Union 
AYC:   African Youth Charter 
CABS:   Central Africa Building Society 
CBD:   Central Business District 
ESAP:   Economic Structural Adjustment Programme 
FYDP:   Five Year Development Plan 
FTLRP:   Fast Track Land Reform Programme 
GDP:   Gross Domestic Product 
GoZ:   Government of Zimbabwe 
IBDC:   Indigenous Business Development Centre 
IDBZ:   Infrastructural Development Bank of Zimbabwe 
ILO:   International Labour Organisation 
MDC-T:   Movement for Democratic Change –Tsvangirai 
MDGs:   Millennium Development Goals 
MSU:   Midlands State University 
MYEO:   Midlands Youth Empowerment Organisation 
MTP:   Medium Term Plan 
MYDIE:   Ministry of Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment 
NEPAD:   New Partnership for Africa’s Development 
NGO:   Non Governmental Organisation 
OECD:   Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development 
PAYE:   Commonwealth Plan of Action for Youth Empowerment 
RBZ:   Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe 
SEDCO:   Small Enterprise Development Corporation 
STERP:   Short Term Economic Recovery Plan 
TNDP:   Transitional National Development Plan
USAID:   United States Agency for International Development
UN:   United Nations 
VCTs:   Vocational Training Centres 
UNDP:   United Nations Development Programme 
WHO:   World Health Organisation 
ZANU-PF:   Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front 
ZIMPREST:   Zimbabwe Programme for Economic and Social Transformation 
ZTV:   Zimbabwe Television
Zimstats:   Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency 
ZYC:   Zimbabwe Youth Council 

CONTENTS
Approval Form ……………………………………………………………      2
Release Form………………………………………………………………      3
Dedication…………………………………………………………………       4
Acknowledgements……………………………………………………….        5
Abstract…………………………………………………………………….      6 
Definition of Terms………………………………………………………..      8
List of Boxes………………………………………………………………       9
List of Figures……………………………………………………………..       10
List of Appendices…………………………………………………………      11
Abbreviations……………………………………………………………...       12
Contents……………………………………………………………………      14

INTRODUCTION
Background……………………………………………………………………   17
Statement of the Problem………………………………………………………   22
Theoretical Framework……………………………………………………….     23
Research Objectives…………………………………………………………       26
Research Questions……………………………………………………………    26 
Significance of the Study……………………………………………………       27
Delimitation of the Study……………………………………………………       28
Limitations……………………………………………………………………     29
Assumptions…………………………………………………………………       30
Literature Review……………………………………………………………       30
Methodology…………………………………………………………………       44
Summary………………………………………………………………………    51

CHAPTER 1: AN OVERVIEW OF THE YOUTH SITUATION IN ZIMBABWE
1.1	The Physical and Demographic Context……………………………….   53 
1.2	The Political Situation of Youths in Zimbabwe………………………..   54
1.3	The Economic Situation………………………………………………..   54
1.4	The Social Profile of Youth in Zimbabwe……………………………..   58
1.5	Major Youth Challenges in Zimbabwe…………………………………  66
1.6	Youth Involvement in Past Economic Development Interventions……   69 
1.7	 Chapter Summary……………………………………………………      73  

CHAPTER 2: THE ADOPTION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE YOUTH EMPOWERMENT PROGRAMME IN ZIMBABWE
2.1	Why Youth Empowerment and Why Now? …………………………… 75
2.2	Private Sector Participation……………………………………………... 80  
2.3	Why Micro Credit? ……………………………………………………... 82
2.4	Legal, Policy and Institutional Framework for Youth Empowerment in Zimbabwe……………………………………………………………………….. 86 
2.5	The Implementation……………………………………………………..  91
2.6	Challenges Being Faced Youth Empowerment Facilities………………. 91
2.7	Chapter Summary……………………………………………………….. 95

CHAPTER 3: PROGRESS TOWARDS ACHIEVING THE OBJECTIVES
3.1	Funding of Income Generating Projects Initiated by Youths…………… 97
3.2	Employment Creation for Youths……………………………………….. 98
3.3	Technical and Entrepreneurial Training…………………………………. 100
3.4	Participation of Youths in the National Economy and in National Development Programmes……………………………………………………………… 101
3.5	Poverty Alleviation………………………………………………………. 103
3.6	Some Opportunities, Issues and Challenges……………………………... 105
3.7	Conclusion……………………………………………………………….. 109

INTRODUCTION
Background 
Current global trends indicate a growing international concern for the youth and their empowerment. This assertion is supported by Sukarieh and Tannock (2008:302) who aptly noted that, “youth have become, for the first time, a primary centre of concern for international development organisations: the often marginal social and economic conditions they have long faced worldwide are suddenly a topic of the utmost urgency.” This global concern for the youth has been replicated at the regional level with the African Union (AU) adopting the African Youth Charter (AYC) in 2006 which amongst other things recognises the youth as partners, assets and therefore a prerequisite for sustainable development (African Youth Charter, 2006:2).

 As a country, Zimbabwe has also embraced the youth empowerment and youth development drive. The establishment of a separate ministry responsible for youth which is the Ministry of Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment (MYDIE) is testimony of the Government of Zimbabwe’s commitment to youth development issues. Over the years several legal and institutional frameworks have been put in place to deal with youth concerns and youth issues. Such frameworks include the Zimbabwe Youth Council Act [Chapter 25:19] as amended in 1997 which established the Zimbabwe Youth Council (ZYC) (ZYC, 2011). ZYC is a quasi-government institution that among other things is mandated by the Zimbabwe Youth Council Act to register, coordinate and supervise the activities of national youth associations and clubs (ibid). 

Furthermore various policy documents on youth development issues have been adopted since independence. The most notable of these was the National Youth Policy which was first adopted in September 2000 (National Youth Policy, 2000). The National Youth Policy, a revised version of which was launched in June 2013 seeks to, “empower the youth by creating an enabling environment and marshaling the resources necessary for undertaking programmes and projects to fully develop the youths’ mental, moral, social, economic, political, cultural, spiritual and physical potential in order to improve their quality of life.” (National Youth Policy, 2013:1). 

The presence of what appears to be a comprehensive legal and policy framework guiding youth development in Zimbabwe has misled many into believing that the Zimbabwean youths could be an empowered group. However, close scrutiny of the situation of youths in Zimbabwe reveals that this statement could not be any further from the truth as Zimbabwean youths fall within the same context as youth elsewhere on the African continent, that of economic marginalisation. The situation of the youth in Zimbabwe has been summed up by Chipaike (2013:30) who asserts that the youth in Zimbabwe have been affected by economic alienation. Hamauswa and Manyeruke (2012:37) concur with Chipaike’s assertion by stating that, “Despite their immense contributions during the struggle against colonialism as well as after the defeat of the colonial powers youths in Zimbabwe continue to be marginalised in all spheres of society.”

The Government of Zimbabwe has since 1980 introduced various socio-economic reforms that were meant to redress colonial imbalances. Such reforms range from the widely praised education and health reforms of the 1980s (Auret, 1990:46) to the somewhat ‘controversial’ Fast Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP) of the post 2000 period (Chimhowu, Manjengwa and Feresu, 2010:40). The impacts of these reforms on the youths were varied with youths benefiting from some reforms whilst being excluded from others. According to Chimhowu, Manjengwa and Feresu (2010:69) youths were the major beneficiaries of the education reforms of the 1980s as the literacy rate of the 15- 24 age group rose to 98 per cent by 1990. Hamauswa and Manyeruke (2012:34) and Chipaike (2013, 30) concur that with regards to other programmes such as land reform programmes, the youth did not benefit significantly.  

In a bid to economically empower the youth in Zimbabwe the Government of Zimbabwe (GoZ) through the MYDIE engaged various financial institutions to set up empowerment facilities.  The MYDIE’s Report on the Performance of Youth Empowerment Facilities and Youth Development Fund for Period 2009-2013 (2013) explains that these facilities were meant to enhance access to micro financing for the youth in Zimbabwe. 

Access to credit has always been a challenge for the youth as they are considered to be a high risk group and do not have collateral. Therefore, Central Africa Building Society (CABS) through the Kurera/Ukondla Youth Fund, Stanbic Bank through the Wealth Creation Fund, CBZ Bank Limited, Infrastructural Development Bank of Zimbabwe (IDBZ), and Zimbabwe Allied Banking Group (ZABG) through their Youth Development Funds all agreed to support youth development in Zimbabwe (ibid). According to the MYDIE, the broad objective of these Youth Empowerment Facilities was to alleviate poverty amongst the youth. The facilities were specifically set up to achieve the following objectives:
•	To fund income generating projects initiated by youths.
•	 To create employment for the majority of youths in Zimbabwe who are currently facing huge employment challenges.
•	To empower the youth through imparting technical and entrepreneurial skills.
•	To promote participation of youths in national economic turn around and national development programmes.

Zimbabwe’s population is generally young, a scenario typical of countries with high fertility (Zimstat, 2012:16). In the 2002 Census 41 per cent of the population of Zimbabwe was below the age of 15, 55 per cent was between the ages of 15 and 64 whilst only 4 per cent was aged 65 and above (Zimstat, 2012:2). The Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey 2010-11 indicated a slight increase from the 2002 Census as it showed that the proportion of children aged 15 years and under was 43 per cent while those aged 65 and above was 5 per cent (Zimstat, 2012, 17). Though exact figures of the percentage of youths are not available, several scholars such as Chimucheka (2012:10390) affirm that the youth constitute a large percentage of Zimbabwe’s population.  Maruta (2012:2) has gone further and estimated the percentage of youths in Zimbabwe to be around 60 per cent of the country’s total population. 

Gweru District is an urban district whose local economy was to a large extent dependent on the manufacturing industry. However, the deindustrialisation that characterised the Zimbabwean economy beginning with the Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (ESAP) in 1990 (Chimhowu, Manjengwa and Feresu, 2010:7) adversely affected the country’s development.  The height of Zimbabwe’s economic crisis in 2008 saw the total closure of some companies that were Gweru’s major employers such as Zimglass and Zim Alloys.  Bata Shoe Company arguably the biggest single employer also scaled down operations resulting in massive retrenchments and loss of employment opportunities for Gweru youths. This situation worsened the plight of the already disadvantaged youths resulting in an upsurge in urban youth unemployment. Zhangazha (2012) estimated urban youth unemployment in Zimbabwe to have risen to about 80 per cent by December 2010 (Hamauswa, 2012:25).

The adoption of the Youth Empowerment Facilities whose objectives articulately captured pertinent development issues affecting contemporary youths in Gweru such as poverty, unemployment and economic alienation was thus hailed as a panacea for countering these challenges. A recent study on Zimbabwean youth empowerment by Hamauswa and Manyeruke (2012:40) affirmed that poverty, unemployment and economic alienation were some of the major challenges faced by present day youths in Zimbabwe. However, despite promises to address youth development challenges, the Youth Empowerment Facilities have been met with mixed feelings by Zimbabweans.

 Two conflicting opinions have so far emerged regarding the Youth Empowerment Facilities clearly indicating the polarized nature of contemporary Zimbabwean politics. Reports emerging from the state controlled media such as The Herald and the ZTV have so far portrayed the current youth empowerment drive as largely successful (The Sunday Mail, 9 June 2013). The private media on the other hand has been very critical of the current empowerment crusade dismissing it as mere political rhetoric largely meant to reward a few youths that are loyal to Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) and not the generality of Zimbabwean youths (Voice of America, 4 March 2013). The absence of an impartial and objective study on the performance of these facilities has made it difficult to validate the claims emanating from these somewhat biased media camps. 

Furthermore, the increased global debate on the role of micro credit as a poverty eradication and economic development strategy requires the Youth Empowerment Facilities in Zimbabwe to be put under scrutiny. While acknowledging several micro credit success stories such as Bangladesh’s Grameen Bank, Robinson (1998) and Morduch (1998) were critical of government centred micro credit facilities such as Zimbabwe’s Youth Empowerment Facilities (Olivares and Santos, 2009: 4). They argued that availing subsidised credit to the marginalised groups such as the poor, women and the youth was an unsustainable empowerment strategy as it tended to encourage corruption and looting by the politically connected and well off entrepreneurs at the expense of the intended disempowered beneficiaries. In Zimbabwe media reports have already suggested that as much as 70 per cent of the funds disbursed so far through the empowerment facilities have been abused further casting doubts in the programmes ability to meet its objectives (Bulawayo 24, 23 September 2012).   

Statement of the Problem
Youth Empowerment Facilities were established in 2009 with the primary objective of alleviating poverty among all the youth in Zimbabwe inspite of gender, ethnicity, political affiliation and race. However, several critics have emerged questioning both the sincerity and timing of such a programme at a time when ZANU-PF’s support was allegedly “waning” amongst the youth. In addition, Chipaike (2013:33) implies that there is something wrong with the current youth empowerment drive by suggesting that the government should embark on an aggressive and non partisan youth empowerment programme. 

The lack of credible information regarding the performance of Youth Empowerment Facilities has presented a need for an objective and impartial formative evaluation of the facilities. The few academic studies that have been done regarding the current youth empowerment drive in Zimbabwe such as Hamauswa and Manyeruke (2012) and Chipaike (2013) have failed to provide empirical evidence on the Youth Empowerment Facilities that is their performance and progress made so far. 

The growing academic debate on the viability of micro credit facilities as an instrument for empowerment has also created a need for an evaluation of the Youth Empowerment Facilities. This is more so because the Youth Empowerment Facilities are a government and private sector partnership programme. Therefore they present another approach to microcredit that is different from the government centred, Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) centred, donor centred or community centred approaches to microcredit currently being used in most developing countries such as Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana, Brazil and Bangladesh (United Nations, 1998). 

Theoretical Framework
The study was premised on the thinking of Muhammad Yunus founder of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh that, increased access to microfinance can result in empowerment of the marginalised groups in society (Bateman, 2012). Yunus (2003a) as cited in Siakwah (2010:16) argues that, “one single action which enables the poor especially women to overcome their poverty is microfinance. It empowers women beneficiaries socially and financially to access better health and educational facilities.”

 A survey conducted in Zimbabwe by the National Task Force on Microfinance between December 2005 and March 2006 indicated that, “ improved access and an efficient provision of savings, credit and insurance facilities enable the poor to be self-sufficient by providing them with self employment opportunities. The micro-enterprises accessing finance also create employment opportunities for other people.” (National Microfinance Policy, 2006:5).
 The National Microfinance Policy (2006:7) further states that there has been an increased global realisation that microfinance plays a critical role in economic development and poverty alleviation. Therefore with enhanced access to microfinance youths in Zimbabwe can be empowered resulting in poverty alleviation, employment creation and greater youth development.

Through the Credit Investment Framework, Siakwah (2010:14) tried to explain how microcredit can be used as an instrument for poverty reduction and greater empowerment of marginalized groups such as women and youths. Siakwah’s framework shows linkages between loans or credit, beneficiaries, incomes, productivity, job creation, growth, unemployment, poverty reduction, challenges of microcredit and improvement in living condition. According to Siakwah (2010), where the relationship between these factors is favourable there might be improvements in living conditions but where it becomes unfavourable, there may be no improvements in the living conditions of beneficiaries. This relationship is depicted in Figure 1.
 
Siakwah (ibid) in supporting microcredit as a means for empowerment of marginalised groups affirms that micro credit serves as startup capital for income generating activities or can be used to expand existing projects. It is argued that this leads to job creation, reduced unemployment, reduced poverty and better living conditions for whole communities as a result of improved incomes. On the other hand challenges to micro credit such as lack of market, poor transportation, poor branding of products, poor quality of products, poor record keeping, bad management, poor timing of credit, inadequate credit, weather failure and other risk factors could have negative consequences leading to lack of improvement in living conditions and lack of empowerment.  
Figure 1: Credit Investment Model

Income generating activities

Microcredit to beneficiaries induces production

Expansion in productivity

Livelihoods created

Reduction in unemployment

Improvement in income

Poverty reduction

Growth stimulation

Lack of improvement in living condition and poverty reduction

Challenges of microcredit market, transportation, branding of product, poor quality of products, poor record keeping, poor management, poor timing of  credit, inadequate credit, weather failure and other risk factors

Source: Siakwah, 2010
The study is to an extent based on the empowerment theory of Paolo Freire. According to Gutierrez (1990) as cited by Pearrow (2008), 
The construct of empowerment assumes that a society consists of separate groups that possess different levels of power and control over resources, and that social problems stem not from individual deficits, but rather from the failure of the society to meet the 
needs of all its members.

Research Objectives
The study sought:
•	To assess whether the objectives of the Youth Empowerment Facilities are relevant to the challenges being faced by contemporary Zimbabwean youths.
•	To establish how youth empowerment is being implemented and challenges that may be affecting the implementation process. 
•	To establish whether funding of youth projects through Youth Empowerment Facilities is leading to poverty alleviation and creation of employment opportunities for youths in Zimbabwe.
•	To ascertain the sustainability of Youth Empowerment Facilities as a youth empowerment intervention in Zimbabwe. 

Research Questions
The study was guided by the following questions:
•	How relevant are the objectives of the Youth Empowerment Facilities in addressing the challenges of contemporary Zimbabwean youths?
•	How is youth empowerment being implemented in Zimbabwe?
•	What are some of the challenges affecting the implementation process of youth empowerment? 
•	Do projects funded through Youth Empowerment Facilities result in employment creation for youths in Zimbabwe?
•	Are the projects funded through Youth Empowerment Facilities reducing poverty amongst youths in Zimbabwe?
•	How sustainable are Youth Empowerment Facilities in Zimbabwe?

Significance of the Study
It is hoped that the study shall proffer objective and impartial information regarding the early impacts of the Youth Empowerment Facilities on youth development. This data will form the baseline for future evaluations of the Youth Empowerment Facilities and similar programmes in Zimbabwe and beyond. Referring to the 2011 Evaluation of the UN-HABITAT Urban Youth Fund which began in 2008, the UN-HABITAT (2011:17) pointed out that though full impacts of the programme could not be established at that stage (less than 3 years on), an evaluation was necessary since it provided, “indications of potential impacts and sustainability, based on the outputs that have been achieved to date.” This is justification that an evaluation of the Youth Empowerment Facilities in Zimbabwe which began in 2009 is more than necessary at this stage. The study is meant to evaluate the implementation process of the Youth Empowerment Facilities and progress or lack of progress towards achieving the objectives of the programme.

Furthermore, the study will be beneficial to all stakeholders involved in the implementation of the Youth Empowerment Facilities that is the MYDIE, the financial institutions and the beneficiaries who in this case are the youths. This is through an objective formative evaluation that will enable adjustments to be made to the programme so as to ensure its overall success.

It is hoped that the study shall provide empirical evidence regarding the viability of government centred micro credit facilities such as Youth Empowerment Facilities as an empowerment strategy. The study helps to understand whether the government-private sector partnership achieved through the Youth Empowerment Facilities was based on mutual consent by both parties or there was an element of coercion used. 
Furthermore, the government-private sector partnership to microcredit is a relatively new phenomenon to Zimbabwe that needs to be explored. Most micro credit programmes in Zimbabwe were being solely run by government or by NGOs with very few if any government-private sector partnerships. Snow and Buss (2001: 299) in their analysis of microcredit programmes in Zimbabwe noted that most microcredit programmes such as Small Enterprise Development Corporation (SEDCO) were solely sponsored by government; the Barclays Bank (Small Business Unit) was a partnership between an international donor agency that is the United Agency for International Development (USAID) and Barclays Bank whilst the Zambuko Trust was solely sponsored by NGOs. Therefore this study will provide an insight on the performance and viability of micro credit as an empowerment strategy.

Delimitation of the Study
Youth Empowerment Facilities are a national programme and therefore are supposed to cover the length and breadth of the country. This study was however limited to an evaluation of the Youth Empowerment Facilities in Gweru District. Youth Empowerment Facilities were in existence since 2009, therefore this study covered the period from March 2009 to 18 October 2013. 

Empowerment has got various dimensions, that is human and social empowerment, political empowerment, cultural empowerment and economic empowerment (Luttrell et al, 2009:1). This study was therefore limited to the concept of youth economic empowerment as applied in Zimbabwe’s Youth Empowerment Facilities. The study did not wish to analyse the empowerment theories. For the purpose of this study the African concept of youth empowerment is applied which basically refers to youth empowerment as a range of activities that include but are not limited to micro credit and employment schemes meant to enable disadvantaged youths to be in control of their lives( Mohajer and Earnest, 2009:425).

Limitations
The researcher was subjected to several limitations amongst them the lack of credible baseline information from which to start the evaluation of the Youth Empowerment Facilities. Since the programme is still relatively new in Zimbabwe, academic literature on the programme is still very limited. To overcome this challenge the researcher consulted literature from elsewhere in the developing world where similar programmes had been conducted. In addition the researcher consulted literature on youth development programmes in Zimbabwe and other micro credit based development programmes. The use of primary data was also a way of countering the limitation of shortage of secondary sources of data. 

The current political environment made some of the intended participants skeptical about participating in the research as they feared being misquoted and also they were not sure where the information they give would end up. The researcher had to convince these participants that this was a purely academic study that maybe helpful to them in the long run. The research letter issued by the university was of assistance in this regard. With those that remained uncooperative even after such explanations, the researcher at times sought the assistance of the youth development officers from MYDIE to try and convince them to participate. 

Though several efforts were made to get the financial institutions to participate in the study, these efforts were futile as they refused to answer any questions or complete a questionnaire as was the case with Stanbic Bank which referred all questions to the Public Relations department in Harare. With CABS, the information was that only the manger was allowed to complete questionnaires or give interviews. He however was said to be out of office for more than 2 weeks and the questionnaire left for the manager to complete was returned blank. Therefore no primary data could be obtained from the financial institutions.

Assumptions
The study was based on the assumption that the stable economic environment prevailing in the country would not change even after the 31 July 2013 harmonised elections. The study was also based on the assumption that, the performance of the Youth Empowerment Facilities in Gweru District is reflective of the general performance of the facilities throughout the country. The study was also based on the assumption that the youth in Zimbabwe are a rational group that only lacks access to financial capital to enable them to participate in their own development and the development of their community. Therefore if provided with access to financial capital through a micro credit facility such as the Youth Empowerment Funds, the youth in Zimbabwe would invest the loans wisely in income generating projects.

Literature Review
As highlighted earlier, increased global concern for the youth has in turn led to increased academic interest on the youth and their empowerment. Since 2001 a mass of reports and studies have spilled forth from organisations such as the United Nations (UN), the World Bank, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and other similar organisations that proclaim youth as a developmental priority (Sukarieh and Tannock, 2008:302). Several studies have also been done on the concept of youth empowerment. However one apparent fact about most of the literature on empowerment and youth empowerment in particular are the different definitions attached to the term youth. Moreover, the concept of youth empowerment is also perceived differently by various scholars, disciplines and in different parts of the globe. 

The concept of youth is defined differently by different organisations and countries globally (Nandigiri, 2012 and Chimucheka 2012). This notion is supported by Kanyenze etal (2000:17) who note that, 
youth definition depends on which dimension of youth takes precedence: demographic (for example age), cultural (notions of adulthood), biological (attainment of puberty), social (attainment of maturity or marriagability) or economic (for example ability to sustain oneself). 

Most organisations and countries define the youth in terms demography. This means that they place a range comprising of a minimum and maximum age for a person to be considered a youth. For the UN this range is between 18 and 24 years of age while the Commonwealth places the maximum age at 29 (Moveh, 2010:7).  The Nigerian Youth Policy (2001) as cited in Tyabo (2013:149) defines youth as any individual who is between the ages of 18 and 35. In Sierra Leone, a young person is anyone between the ages of 13 to 35 years and in Zambia youths are those people from 16 to 30 years (Ijeoma, 2009:4). 

Wallace and Jones (1992) in Ansell (2001:184) argue that there is no singular point or maximum age for a person to make the transition from youth to adulthood therefore youth cannot be defined in terms of age. They assert that determining whether one is a youth or an adult can be done by looking at a number of boundaries that signify the transition from youth to adulthood and not age per se. These boundaries differ from society to society but generally include leaving school, starting work, leaving home, setting up an independent home and beginning a family. 

By citing Villareal (1998) Mohajer and Earnest (2009:425) seem to align with Wallace and Jones (1992) when they define adolescence as, “the transition period between childhood or immaturity and legal adulthood, and has different age ranges according to cultural, social and legal norms in each country, along with different cultural and social challenges.” Throughout their study, Mohajer and Earnest (2009) use the terms “youth” and “adolescence” interchangeably. 

While Mohajer and Earnest (ibid) use the terms “youth”, “young people” and “adolescents” interchangeably, Mitchell (2003:4) in her analysis of various studies on youth participation noted that the terms “youth”, “young people” and “adolescents” are sometimes defined differently with youth being those aged 15 to 24, young people those 10 to 24 and adolescents those aged 10 to19. It can be argued that such a scenario further adds to the ambiguity surrounding the operational definition of the concept of youth. 

Grant (1998:413) argues that, definitions of "child," "youth," and "adulthood" vary according to historical period, culture, social context and geographical region. According to Grant (ibid), “Official definitions of where childhood ends and adulthood begins differ between and within individual countries, and these definitions are contested by groups representing both children and adults.” Glaser (2000: 3) as cited by Grant (ibid) also asserts that youth should be understood more as a phase of socialisation rather than as a fixed age category.

The AU (2009) as quoted by Jalloh (2013:97) defines youth as, “anyone between 15 and 35 years old.” Zimbabwe’s revised National Youth Policy (2013:5) defines youth as persons between 10 and 35 years of age. According to the revised National Youth Policy (ibid), the age range is a combination of age definitions of the World Health Organisation (WHO) (10 to 24) and the African Youth Charter (15 to 35). This definition represented a slight deviation from the one that was suggested by the initial National Youth Policy (2000:8) which had defined youth in Zimbabwe as those persons between 10 and 30 years old irrespective of their gender, race, colour, religion, political affiliation, marital status, physical or mental disability. However both the initial and revised National Youth Policies acknowledge that the concept of youth has many connotations and meanings to different people and organisations.

Chimucheka (2012) also attests that youths are defined differently by different countries and people. In his study, Chimucheka (ibid) adopted a definition by Chirisa and Muchini (2011) who defined youths in Zimbabwe as, “the population in the age of 14 to 30, usually unmarried, out of school and/or in search of employment.” Chimucheka also contends with the idea of youth being a transitional phase of one’s life cycle, between childhood and adulthood. This view is supported by Ijeoma (2009:3) who affirms that youth is a transition period that falls between childhood and adulthood.

Haanyama (2011:9) argues   that, “the inclusions and exclusions from a ‘youth’ bracket have very real and lived consequences for many, including access to certain services, policies and spaces.” Hamauswa and Manyeruke (2012:31) concur with Haanyama (2011) by giving an example of ZANU-PF which for a long time did not enforce age limits for its youth wing a scenario that saw the ‘real youths’ being excluded from holding influential youth positions within the party such as the Secretary for Youth in the Politiburo. For this reason often adults who were well in their 50s and 60s have been leaders of the ZANU-PF Youth League examples being the late Chief Air Marshall Tungamirai and the current youth leader Cde Absolom Sikhosana who is in his 60s.

With all this confusion and ambiguity surrounding the concept and definition of youth, Nandigiri (2012:114) questions whether a youth category is really necessary for development given that the age limits for youths are constantly shifting and that there is no universally accepted concept of who constitutes youth and why. Nandigiri (2012) further argues that categorising youth in terms of age often misleads stakeholders into believing that youths are a homogenous group thereby prescribing ‘one size fits all policies and programmes’. By doing so, the socio-political, historical, and cultural experiences, inequalities, and identities of youth are often ignored.  

It can be noted while the official definition of youth in Zimbabwe is those individuals between 10 to 35 years old, the Youth Empowerment Facilities targets youths aged between 18 and 35 years (MYDIE, 2013). For the purpose of this study youths shall be those individuals aged between 18 to 35 years.

In order to gain a clear understanding of what youth empowerment really implies there is need to first understand what different scholars say about the concept of empowerment in general. Just like youth, the concept of empowerment is also embroiled in confusion and ambiguity as there is divergence of opinion amongst scholars as to what empowerment is. According to Rappaport (1981:15), ‘‘empowerment is the goal of enhancing the possibilities for people to control their own lives’’. Zimmerman (2000) as cited in Russell etal (2009:893) explain that empowerment occurs on psychological, organisational and community levels with psychological empowerment which focuses at the individual person’s construct being the most common. 

Luttrell etal (2009) in their study of the different definitions of and conceptual approaches to empowerment argued that while empowerment is a term that has been embraced by a diverse range of institutions such as the World Bank and Oxfam, very few of these organisations share a common definition. According to Luttrell (ibid), some of these organisations such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Save the Children even leave the term undefined. Empowerment also has various dimensions that is economic, human and social, political and cultural empowerment (Luttrell, 2009) as indicated in Box 1. 

Luttrell etal (2009) further assert that the roots of today’s empowerment philosophy lie in feminist theory and Paolo Freire’s popular education, which stressed the personal and inner dimensions of power. Luttrell etal (2009:16) argue that despite the multiple approaches, empowerment can be defined as, “a progression that helps people gain control over their own lives and increases the capacity of people to act on issues that they themselves define as important.”

Mohajer and Earnest (2009) posit that all empowerment should be based on the pedagogy of Freire. They however observed that most empowerment programmes do not fully integrate the theory or pedagogy of empowerment as described by Freire. Freire’s pedagogy used the power generated from knowledge to bring about social or cultural action. Freire believed that for an individual to be empowered, then one had to be concientised of his/her position in the world by a facilitator. This knowledge would in turn enable the individual to have the power and control to take action that transforms him/her (Freire, 1999). 

Box 1: The Various Dimensions of Empowerment

Economic empowerment
Economic empowerment seeks to ensure that people have the appropriate skills, capabilities and resources and access to secure and sustainable incomes and livelihoods. Related to this, some organisations focus heavily on the importance of access to assets and resources. 

Human and social empowerment 
Empowerment as a multidimensional social process that helps people gain control over their own lives. This is a process that fosters power (that is, the capacity to implement) in people, for use in their own lives, their communities and their society, by being able to act on issues that they define as important (Page and Czuba, 1999). 

Political empowerment 
The capacity to analyse, organise and mobilise. This results in the collective action that is needed for collective change. It is often related to a rights-based approach to empowerment and the empowering of citizens to claim their rights and entitlements (Piron and Watkins, 2004). 

Cultural empowerment 
The redefining of rules and norms and the recreating of cultural and symbolic practises (Stromquist, 1993). This may involve focusing on minority rights by using culture as an entry point.

Source: Luttrell etal (2009)
Pearrow (2008:510) asserts that an understanding of power is the foundation for all empowerment interventions. Power is the ability to access and influence control over resources to improve detrimental environmental conditions (Chadiha etal, 2004 and Rappaport, 1985). Brown (2006) as cited by Pearrow (ibid) defines empowerment as, “action taken by an individual to facilitate his or her own ability to act in the face of oppression.”

FitzGerald et al (1997: 278) as quoted by Musingafi (2009) assert that empowerment "refers to providing people with the means to sustain development in their communities and it also refers to providing people with the means to sustain their own development". Matunhu (2012:11) agrees with Fitzgerald etal by positing that empowerment entails a process of change for the better.

The fact that there are different definitions of empowerment and different types and levels of empowerment is the major reason why there is no agreed methodology on the implementation and evaluation of empowerment programmes. There is a lack of consensus on what empowerment aims to achieve. The presence of different types of empowerment such as psychological empowerment, process and outcome oriented empowerment and social and political empowerment add to this enigma associated with empowerment (Mohajer and Earnest, 2009). 

A review of global literature on youth empowerment reveals that there is ambiguity related to youth empowerment both as a term and as a concept (Hamauswa and Manyeruke, 2012:31). Mohajer and Earnest (2009:425) explained that, 
Internationally, the term ‘youth empowerment’ is used to describe a range of activities including micro-credit and employment schemes in many nations in Africa, activities related to reproductive health and self-esteem for female adolescents in America, women’s empowerment programmes aimed at overcoming gender disparities in Asia and spiritual empowerment activities of faith-based organisations.

The Commonwealth (2007) asserts that, “young people are empowered when they acknowledge that they have or can create choices in life, are aware of the implications of those choices, make an informed decision freely, take action based on that decision and accept responsibility for the consequences of those actions.” In turn empowering young people means creating and supporting the enabling conditions under which young people can act on their own behalf, and on their own terms, rather than at the direction of others (ibid). Hamauswa and Manyeruke (2012) agree with the Commonwealth definition of youth empowerment which they also adopted as the definition for youth empowerment in their study. The Kenyan Ministry of State for Youth Affairs Ministry of State for Youth Affairs (2007:13) as cited in Mutuku (2011) contends that, “youth are empowered when they acknowledge that they can make free choices in life, take action based on their decisions and accept responsibility for their action” 

The MYDIE (2013:16) concurs with both the Commonwealth and the Kenyan Ministry of State for Youth Affairs by affirming that,
Youth empowerment is the creation of an enabling environment for the youth to have the freedom to choose, to participate in and take decisions in matters affecting them and be ready to accept the consequences of their decisions. Empowerment enables the youth to be active participants in both the process and product of development.

Mohajer and Earnest (2009) affirm that despite the inconsistencies in theories, definitions and programme implementation, there was sufficient evidence within the literature they reviewed to suggest that empowerment programmes can bring about positive results with vulnerable youth. Their study was based on a review of selected published studies and reviews of youth empowerment programmes.  Mohajer and Earnest (ibid), however acknowledge that youth empowerment programmes in non-Western settings are rarely evaluated nor published.  

Campbell et al (2007) concur with Mohajer and Earnst by asserting that research needs to focus on evaluation of unpublished programmes in youth and community empowerment among socially marginalised populations across the world. Moreover, Mutuku (2010) also stressed the need for more research in the area of youth empowerment so as to establish a working definition for youth empowerment. This she argues would lay the groundwork for creating measurements to gauge youth empowerment, or the lack of it.   

Over the years there have been several studies globally that evaluated programmes similar to Zimbabwe’s Youth Empowerment Facilities for example Miller and van Vliet (2011). Miller and van Vliet (2011) in their formative evaluation of the UN-HABITAT’s Urban Youth Fund which began in 2008 noted that despite inadequate funding, the Urban Youth Fund had recorded not only challenges but also successes and important lessons learnt during its first 2 years. The study established that a total of 113 youth organisations from more than 33 different countries throughout the globe had received funding worth 2 million United States dollars by the end of 2010. This funding was to support youth employment and entrepreneurship (ibid). 

According to Miller and van Vliet (ibid), 80 per cent of grant recipients believed that they will probably be able to continue working on their projects without current UN-HABITAT funding while 92 per cent believed that they will be able to do without continued UN-HABITAT technical assistance.  The study recommended that the programme should concentrate on one country at a time for it to have greater impact on youths as compared to the current situation where it was thinly spread across a number of countries. 

The Commonwealth Secretariat (2007) in explaining the Youth Credit Facility under its Plan of Action for Youth Empowerment (PAYE) argued that most youths with a lot of potential for self employment lack access to credit due lack of collateral and a credit record. Therefore the Youth Credit Facility fills this gap by providing micro-credit, enterprise training and business support to youths. The programme which was piloted in Zambia spread to other Commonwealth countries such as India, Solomon Islands and Guyana. The Commonwealth Secretariat posits that the only drawback for this programme is the limited number of youths that have benefited as a result of the limited funding. 

Ijeoma (2009) highlighted the challenges that young people in Africa are faced with. Amongst some of the challenges listed is hunger, poverty, disease, unemployment, lack of representation and lack of access to and control of resources such as land. The study called for the speedy implementation of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Strategic Framework for Youth Development which amongst other things calls for youth voices to be heard in implementation of all NEPAD programmes and projects.  

Okojie (2003) reviewed youth employment in Africa from a gender dimension. Okojie (ibid) posits that rapid population growth in Africa has resulted in rising youth unemployment. The study noted that young women in Africa faced various structural constraints that hindered their participation in economic activities.

A study on Youth Empowerment and Sustainable Development (2012) revealed that youth empowerment schemes in Nigeria had made “significant contributions towards improving the standard of living of the respondents” in the area studied. The study revealed that the majority of the respondents were satisfied with the performance of the youth empowerment schemes. Amongst the limitations of the youth empowerment schemes were lack of access to loans, inadequate training centres and equipment, high interest rate and illiteracy. The study proffered recommendations aimed at improving the performance of  youth empowerment facilities and some of these recommendations include the establishment of additional training centres with efficient equipment and adequate training for participants and adequate loan facility with minimal interest rates.

Blattman, Fiala and Martinez (2012) evaluated one of Uganda’s largest youth empowerment programme which is the Youth Opportunities Programme. The programme provided youths in Northern Uganda with “nearly unconditional, unsupervised cash transfers to pay for vocational training, tools, and business start‐up costs.” According to Blattman, Fiala and Martinez (ibid) midterm results after 2 years suggested 4 main findings. The study revealed that even though there was no monitoring and accounting mechanism most youths did invest the grants they were issued in vocational skills, tools and business start up. Furthermore, the study showed that there were positive economic impacts in terms of employment and cash earnings for those involved. Overall the study results suggested that increasing youth’s access to credit and capital could stimulate employment and economic growth in Africa.

Siakwah (2010) explored whether micro credit can be a viable strategy for the empowerment of marginalised youths and women in Ghana. The study determined that the impact of micro credit on beneficiaries has been varied. According to Siakwah (ibid) some beneficiaries were successful and were able to transform their lives as a result of accessing micro credit. Some beneficiaries were partially successful while some totally failed to use the loans accessed to improve their lives. Siakwah concluded that despite the challenges associated with micro credit, it can be a catalyst for poverty alleviation.

Musingafi (2008) evaluated the effectiveness of the GWAPA Single Mothers Poverty Alleviation Programme through small business development projects in Gweru Zimbabwe as an empowerment strategy. The study which was done in 2008 established that most of the projects by the women had started well but were now being affected by the unfavourable political environment and economic meltdown that Zimbabwe experienced between the period 2000 to 2009. Musingafi (ibid) noted that the programme had managed to create employment and improve the incomes of those women involved. The study recommended that in future such programmes should also include members of the opposite sex and that more investments be made to promote the small scale enterprise sector as it had the potential to create employment and develop communities’ from the grassroots.  

O’Higgins (2001) examined the phenomenon of global youth unemployment and concluded that youth unemployment had reached high levels globally.  The study also established that youth unemployment had several social consequences that were extremely serious and damaging to the individual and society at large. These consequences include drug abuse, crime and social unrest. Citing Zimbabwe as an example O’Higgins noted that there were many small scale schemes and programmes aimed at promoting youth employment but there was lack of effective coordination between them. The study therefore advocates for an integrated approach so as to increase efficiency in youth employment.

Snow and Buss (2001) using the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh as the model example evaluated whether micro credit programmes in Kenya, Burkina Faso and Zimbabwe had increased the economic well being of beneficiaries. The study acknowledged that few solid evaluations of micro credit programmes exist in the developing world. Snow and Buss noted that with appropriate programme designs for example provision of loans coupled with training then micro credit can improve the livelihoods of the beneficiaries who are mostly the poorest and most marginalised groups in society such as women and youths.

Akwabi-Amayew (1997) evaluated the Model B producer cooperative resettlement projects in Zimbawe’s initial land reform of the 1980s. The study established that youths were involved in the programme through youth cooperatives such as the Simba Youth Cooperative in Mashonaland Central which was the first cooperative to be formed under the Model B resettlement projects. Using the example of Simba Youth Cooperative which received grants from government of up to Z$ 161, 097, Akwabi-Amayew (1997:444) concluded that too much financial support was the major reason why the cooperatives failed to perform as expected. Akwabi-Amayew (1997:446) explains that while support in the form of grants is necessary to enable projects to take off, it however creates “opportunities for widespread abuse of and dependency on public resources.”

Hamauswa and Manyeruke (2012) in their evaluation of youth empowerment in Zimbabwe especially the FTLRP established that programmes aimed at youth empowerment in Zimbabwe have been unclear and detached from reality. They concluded that youths were not empowered by the FTLRP in Zimbabwe as they still lack access to and control of the most important economic resource which is land. The study recommended a land audit to identify idle land and allocate to youths and that youth programmes should be continually revised and refocused to keep in line with current challenges of youths in Zimbabwe.

Most of the literature reviewed above though related, does not explicitly cover the context of the Youth Empowerment Facilities in Zimbabwe. The findings and conclusions of these studies may be different from those of the Youth Empowerment Facilities give the different methods employed by the studies and also the different geographical, economic and socio-political environment prevailing during the implantation of the various programmes evaluated above by various scholars. As Snow and Buss (2001:303) noted with reference to the Malawi Mudze Fund a micro credit facility modelled along the Grameen Bank prototype, evaluations of programmes replicated elsewhere under different environments may produce totally opposite results from the original evaluation. This current study therefore intends to evaluate the current Youth Empowerment Facilities in Zimbabwe.

Methodology
Methodology is the description of methods and procedures used in collating data for a research project. Leedy (1997) defined methodology as an operational framework within which data is placed so that its meaning can be clearly understood.  The evaluation relied heavily on qualitative research methodology in terms of both data collection and analysis. Patton (2001: 39) as cited by Golafshani (2003:600) posits that qualitative research uses a naturalistic approach that seeks to understand phenomena in context-specific settings, such as "real world setting [where] the researcher does not attempt to manipulate the phenomenon of interest".  The study made use of interviews, on sight observations, documents and records analysis and media clips. Golafshani (ibid) asserts that, “methods like interviews and observations are dominant in the naturalist (interpretive) paradigm” hence they were used extensively in the evaluation.

Research Design
Kweit and Kweit (1981) as cited by Leedy (1997) define research design as the strategy, plan or structure of conducting a research project. The study used a case study research approach to evaluate the Youth Empowerment Facilities in Zimbabwe. 
Case study research is a qualitative approach in which the investigator explores a bounded system (a case) or multiple bounded systems (cases) over time through detailed, in-depth data collection involving multiple sources of information (e.g., observations, interviews, audiovisual material, and documents and reports) and reports a case description and case-based themes. (Creswell etal, 2007:245). 

Robson (1993) defines a case study as a strategy for doing research, involving research of a particular contemporary incident with its real life context using multiple sources of evidence. Robson’s definition conforms to Yin (1984:23) who defined case study research as “an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within the real life context; when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident and in which multiple sources of evidence are used. 

The choice of a case study as the research design for this study was influenced by the limited time and resources available for the research. As a result the study had to be bounded in terms of the area to be studied. Punch (2005) identifies boundaries as one of the characteristics of case studies. Furthermore, the researcher believed that the contextual conditions of Gweru Urban District such as the massive deindustrialisation that the city experienced would be pertinent to the study and hence a case study of the area was chosen as the appropriate research design. The case study was also chosen because it involves multiple sources of information allowing more evidence from different quarters to be gathered thereby making the research more detailed and relevant. 

 Population
 Best and Kahn (1993:13) define population as “any group of individuals that has one or more characteristics in common that are of interest to the researcher.” It is the universal set of all potential elements to be included in a research. For this study the population was all the youths in Gweru Urban District, including beneficiaries of the Youth Empowerment Facilities, employees of financial institutions involved in Youth Empowerment Facilities and employees of MYDIE. It is almost impossible and unnecessary to collect information from the whole population due to the resources required to conduct such a task. In most cases a sample is then used.

Sample
A sample is a small subset of the population which the researcher aims to extract information from which conclusions about the population will be drawn. According to Fraenkel and Wallen (1996) a sample is a group in research study from which information is obtained. For this study purposive sampling was used and this is sampling done with purpose in mind. When using purposive sampling technique, researchers choose participants arbitrarily for their unique characteristics or their experiences, attitudes or perceptions (Cooper and Schindler, 2006). The sample size for the study consisted of 3 youth development officers’ from the MYDIE’s Gweru District Office, 10 youths drawn from the 2 dominant political parties in Gweru Urban District that is ZANU-PF and MDC-T and 10 youths that benefited loans from the Youth Empowerment Facilities. 

Data Collection Techniques
The research used both primary and secondary sources of data. Creswell etal (2007:245) noted that one of the advantages of the case study is that it allows for indepth data collection using multiple sources. Primary data for this study was gathered using face to face structured and unstructured interviews with key informants from the MYDIE, unsuccessful applicants, beneficiaries of the Youth Empowerment Facilities and youths in general. Questionnaires with both open and closed questions were also used to collect data for the study. On site observations of the projects being implemented by beneficiaries were also conducted during the study. Where the beneficiaries permitted photographs were taken of the projects that were being implemented. Secondary data was obtained through an extensive review of a wide range of relevant documents. Media clips from ZTV programmes also provided data for the study.

Questionnaires
A questionnaire is any data collection instrument involving checklist, attitude scales and rating scales. It is a document designed to solicit for information appropriate for research analysis. The questionnaire was administered to the appropriate representative sample only and it consisted of both open and closed questions.

Open questions permitted the respondents to answer the questions freely and fully in their own words and their own frame of reference. This method of data collection the youths an opportunity to express their motives or attitudes and to specify the provisional conditions upon which their answers are based. Closed questions consisted of a prepared list of concrete questions and a choice of possible answers. These helped solicit for responses to specific questions.
 Advantages of Using Questionnaires: 
•	It was cost effective.
•	It was faster to collect information from respondents because they felt comfortable because of the confidentiality and anonymity that it afforded them.
•	Questionnaires proved more accurate if properly structured.
•	Questionnaires allow for direct quotes to be used.      

Disadvantages of Using Questionnaires
•	Some subjects did not supply accurate answers for they suffered because of faulty perception or memory and some were not able to express their impressions and ideas adequately in words.
•	Some respondents were not free, willing or qualified to divulge information so they ignored certain questions or falsify their answers.
•	Many respondents did not give thoughtful consideration to questionnaires; they filled out the forms carelessly.
•	Some respondents tailored replies to conform to their biases, to protect their self-interests and to place themselves in a more favourable light, please the researcher or to conform to socially accepted patterns in the banking industry. 

Measures taken to Control the Weaknesses of the Research Questionnaires
To ensure reliability and validity in the instruments used to collect data the following measures were taken:
•	Pilot testing the questionnaire to enable the researcher to verify whether the questionnaire solicits for information it was intended to get. This helped to improve the reliability of the instruments by eliminating some of their flaws such as high technical language and ambiguity of expressions.
•	Confidentiality of data supplied by the respondents was guaranteed thereby ensuring that respondents do not give biased replies.
•	The questions were kept simple, concise and clear.
•	Leading and ambiguous questions were avoided.
•	The questionnaire was not made too long and complex.
•	Shortcut instructions for going through the questionnaire were given.

Personal Interviews
According to Borg and Gal (1971) and Boydeu (1976) an interview is an important research tool that acts as a means of cross checking facts and views obtained from subjects. It can be structured or unstructured. This researcher also used a personal interview form to administer the questionnaire so as to illicit primary data responses from youth development officers and youths.

The advantages of Personal Interviews:
•	Terms that were not clear were clarified.
•	It was possible to interview the youth development officers and youths within a short space of time because every interview session was timed.
•	It was possible to probe for further details from the participants to get specific and accurate information.
•	The interviews resulted in higher response.

Problems of Personal Interviews 
•	The interviews were difficult to arrange because some respondents were busy.
•	Some respondents did not feel free to disclose all the information during the presence of the researcher.

Measures taken to Control the Weaknesses of the Personal Interview
•	Interviews were arranged with the youth development officers and youths when they were free.
•	Confidentiality of supplied information was assured to the respondents to ensure that they disclose all the relevant information. 

Data Analysis Plan
The study utilised content analysis in analysing data. Taylor-Powell and Renner (2003) described content analysis as a basic approach used for analysing and interpreting narrative data. Narrative data comes from different sources including brief responses to open ended questions and comments written on questionnaires, stories, case studies, interviews, observations and testimonials (ibid)

Research Ethics
Siakwah (2010:69) asserts that the success of a qualitative researcher depends on whether he/she pays exquisite sensitivity to ethical issues surrounding the research. According to Nachmias and Nachmias (1985) when conducting research involving human participants one is usually required to pay particular attention to some primary considerations. These considerations include amongst other things obtaining informed consent of participants, respecting privacy and confidentiality at all times, minimizing risk and deception, ensuring that research goals and methods are culturally and socially sensitive and avoiding exploitation of the researcher participant relationship.

The study observed the above mentioned research ethics by explaining to the participants the purpose of the research and guaranteeing anonymity to the participants. The research letter from The Midlands State University (MSU) came in handy as it made most participants that were initially skeptical about participating in the research willing participants. The researcher explained that participation in the research was entirely voluntary and those that were not comfortable could opt out. The presence of the Youth Development Officer from the MYDIE made some participants especially the beneficiaries’ eager to participate but it was explained to them that this was purely an academic study and they should not expect any rewards for participating.    

Summary
The chapter introduced the study by giving a background of the study.  The background explained that despite increased global concern for youth development, youth in Zimbabwe remain absent from the country’s economic corridors. The Youth Empowerment Facilities were therefore introduced to provide micro credit to youths to fund income generating projects, create employment and empower youths.  

The statement of the problem of the problem explains that there are two divergent perspectives that have emerged regarding the performance of Youth Empowerment Facilities in Zimbabwe. The absence of an empirical study has thus made it difficult to validate any of the claims being made. The study was theoretically based on the idea first developed by Mohamed Yunus of Bangladesh’s Grameen Bank, that availing micro finance to the marginalized groups can result in their empowerment.

The chapter highlighted the research objectives, research questions, significance of the study, and delimitation of the study, limitations and assumptions. Research ethics and review of related literature were covered in detail in the chapter. The chapter explained the methodology used in the study which is qualitative case study research. The next chapter presents an overview of the youth situation in Zimbabwe with special attention to youth participation in the country’s economy.

CHAPTER 1
AN OVERVIEW OF THE YOUTH SITUATION IN ZIMBABWE
1.1	The Physical and Demographic Context 
Zimbabwe is a land locked country located in Southern Africa between Zambia and South Africa to the north and south; Mozambique and Botswana to the east and west respectively. Zimbabwe has a total area of 390 757square metres and has an outstanding central plateau called the highveld which has an altitude of 1 200 metres and stretches for 650 km from the south east to the north east of the country (Chimhowu, Manjengwa and Feresu, 2010:1). The rest of the country lies more than 300m above sea level and made up of a middleveld with an altitude of between 600 and 1 200 metres above sea level and a lowveld with an altitude of between 300 and 600 metres (ibid). 

Chimhowu, Feresu and Manjengwa (2010:2) noted that rainfall in Zimbabwe is broadly related to altitude with the highveld receiving the most rainfall and the lowveld receiving the least rainfall. Physical conditions in Zimbabwe such as altitude therefore determine the agro-ecological potential of an area. Given that 70 per cent of Zimbabweans depend directly or indirectly on rain fed agriculture for a means of livelihood, poverty patterns and development is related to the physical attributes of an area (Chimhowu, Feresu and Manjengwa, 2010 and CSO, 1998). As such a geographical context should be taken into consideration in all studies related poverty and development in Zimbabwe.

The population of Zimbabwe on 18 August 2012 was 12 973 808 (Zimstat, 2012:9). According to Zimstat and ICF International Inc’s Zimbabwe Demographic and Health survey 2010-11, Zimbabwe has a youthful population a scenario typical of countries with high fertility (2012:16).  Exact figures of the youth population in Zimbabwe are difficult to acquire due to the constantly changing definitions of the concept of youth. However the 1992 census using the definition of 10-30 years of age put the percentage of youths at 43 per cent of the total population (National Youth Policy, 2000:9). This percentage was confirmed by Zimstat and ICF International Inc (2012:17) which put the percentage of youths to be around 43 per cent. Other scholars such as Maruta (2012:2) have estimated the percentage of youths in Zimbabwe to be as high as 60 per cent.  Hamauswa and Manyeruke (2012:42) though they don’t offer any figures also assert that the youth constitute the majority of the population in Zimbabwe. 

Gweru Urban District is entirely composed of the City of Gweru which is the capital of Zimbabwe’s Midlands Province. It is located about 275km from Harare along the Harare-Bulawayo highway and is part of the Highveld. It is located on the banks of Gweru River. The City of Gweru is the most central city in Zimbabwe, it has a road network that links it with all the major cities in the country and is also a hub of commercial activities (Musingafi, 2009:56). According to the 2012 census the total population of Gweru Urban District was 158 233 (Zimstat, 2012:84).  Gweru Urban District is demographically divided into 18 wards with youths those aged between 10-35 years constituting the majority of the population (Zimstat, 2012:93). Just like elsewhere in the country the burgeoning youth population in Gweru Urban District presents a problem of employment and provision of social services as highlighted earlier. 

1.2	The Political Situation of Youths in Zimbabwe
Globally, youths have been conspicuous by their absence in the political make up of their countries. There is currently very little evidence if any in the global literature of youths occupying key political posts such as cabinet positions in their governments. In most cases youths have been sidelined from key decision making posts in their countries including those that have a youth orientation such as the ministry responsible for youth. Youths are in most cases found way down the packing order when comes to political authority. This is despite the fact that they constitute the majority of the population in most countries Zimbabwe included.

Hamauswa and Manyeruke assert that, “Youths have always been major players in Zimbabwe's national politics” (2012:31). Hamauswa and manyeruke cite the role played by youth organisations such as the City Youth League and youths in general during the protracted nationalist struggle for independence. However, while it is true that youths were dominant in Zimbabwean politics during the liberation struggle and in the early years of independence their dominance and participation especially in key political positions has diminished over the years. Those youths that were the vanguard of the liberation struggle have grown to be adults and have failed to pass the button on to the present day youths. Present day youths in Zimbabwe have instead been relegated to being mere pawns for the adults in their unending struggles for political power.
 
Makumbe etal (2000) and Raftopoulos (2009) as cited in Hamauswa and Manyeruke (2012) explain how youths have been used and abused as mere instruments of facilitating the political ambitions of adults without them benefitting anything significant. According Makumbe etal (2000:153), “prior to the 1995 general election, President Mugabe called on the party youths to conduct a house-to-house campaign….”  Raftopoulos (2009:212) also adds that “most of those who joined the land occupation movement were drawn from ZANU PF youths….” Youths in Zimbabwean politics have also been used to unleash violence on other youths. This is mainly so because the youths in Zimbabwe are marginalised economically and therefore depend on politicians for petty gifts who in turn call the shots (Hamauswa and Manyeruke, 2012:44).   

Political parties in Zimbabwe have so far done very little to promote the political empowerment of youths in Zimbabwe. Though the 2 dominant political parties in the country ZANU-PF and Movement for Democratic Change –Tsvangirai (MDC-T) both have youth wings, the youth wings rarely have a voice of their own. They are merely mouthpieces or an extension of the main wing in both membership and opinion. Madondo (2003:2) in Hamauswa and Manyeruke (ibid) notes that the youth wings have very little opinion of their own because they are rooted in African culture and tradition which demands young people to be obedient to their elders without any questions asked. Cases where youths have tried to have a difference in opinion from the main wing have been treated as mutiny and as such severely punished. The South African case of the former African National Congress (ANC) Youth League Julius Malema is one such example where the youth dared to have an opinion and paid heavily.

Moreover, political parties in Zimbabwe have in the past failed to aptly define youth and this has had consequences on youth participation in key political positions of their parties. Zaba (2012:2) notes that ZANU-PF only revised its constitution in 2007 to enforce age limits for its youth wing. However, despite having a constitution that clearly states that only persons aged between 15-30 years shall be members of the Youth League adults who are well outside of this range are the most dominant and hold the most influential positions. 

Most youths that participated in study voiced their displeasure at what they felt was the distrust of the youth by their party leadership. According to these youths this distrust has led to the parties’ failure to place the youth in some influential posts. For example in ZANU-PF the youths are represented by an adult who is well in his 60s. It can be argued that this exclusion of the youth from influential positions was quite notable during the 31 July 2013 Harmonised Elections. Most of the youthful candidates within the 2 dominant parties that is both ZANU-PF and MDC-T were fielded in areas where there were slim chances of winning. These are constituencies which none of the senior members want such as the urban constituencies for ZANU-PF and the rural constituencies for MDC-T. Therefore, one can argue that by fielding the youths like ZANU-PF’s Ace Lumumba in urban constituencies such as Hatfield, the party was merely setting these youths up for failure.

Most youths generally cocurred that the youths were being excluded from the country’s mainstream politics. The absence of the youth from the corridors of political power can be argued to have negative implications for youth development in Zimbabwe. This is so because politics by nature determines who gets what. Politics also deals with the formulation and implementation of policies and as such groups that do not wield any political power are likely to be marginalised in terms of policy and access to resources. Therefore, youth concerns have not been adequately addressed in terms of policy resulting in the continued political, economic and social marginalisation of the youth in Zimbabwe. This is despite the fact that Zimbabwe’s revised National Youth Policy (2013:16) “affirms the right of youths to involve and meaningfully and peacefully participate in national political, economic and social processes.”

The youths in Zimbabwe are genuinely concerned about their current political situation which is characterised by political marginalisation. While policies have been crafted to promote the inclusion of women in key political decision making, the same cannot be said when it comes to the youth. Policies such as the youth empowerment programme in Zimbabwe have failed to capture this essential aspect of youth development which is inclusion of youths in key political decision making positions. As long as policies that are aimed at youth empowerment do not address current issues affecting the youths in Zimbabwe, they will remain irrelevant to the youths of Zimbabwe. Their only purpose will be soothing the conscience of the politicians that they are doing something for the youth when in actual fact the policies are largely irrelevant to the current concerns of the youths. Empowerment is about power and hence the first step in youth empowerment should be political inclusion of youths.  Therefore it is recommended that youth political empowerment be part of the current empowerment agenda for real youth empowerment to be achieved.

1.3	The Economic Situation
The Zimbabwean economy is made up of what can be classified as a rural economy and urban economy. Mhone (2000) as cited in Chimhowu, Manjengwa and Feresu (2010) described the Zimbabwean economy as exhibiting what he described as “segmentation and enclavity.” Segmentation is described in Chimhowu, Manjengwa ad Feresu (ibid) as the existence of an urban and rural segment of the economy while enclavity refers to the co-existence of a formal sector that is regulated alongside a loosely regulated non-formal sector that consists of the communal subsistence sector and the informal sector.

Without giving any statistics, Zimstat and ICF International Inc (2012:1) posit that mining and agriculture currently form the backbone of the Zimbabwean economy. The country is endowed with abundant natural resources including 8.6 million hectares of potentially arable land, forests, wildlife, surface and ground water sources and minerals that include platinum, gold, lithium and precious stones such as emeralds and diamonds (ibid). The main agricultural export product is tobacco together with maize, cotton and sugar. 

The Zimbabwean economy suffered immensely from ESAP which resulted in the decline of the manufacturing industry which during the period 1980-90 was the second biggest contributor to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (Chimhowu, Manjengwa and Feresu 2010:4). The Zimbabwean economy also experienced a meltdown which saw the manufacturing industry operating at below 10 percent capacity utilisation (Moss, 2007:135). Hanke and Kwok, (2009) highlighted that the hyperinflationary environment that was prevalent at the height of the political and economic crisis saw Zimbabwe’s inflation reaching world record levels 89.7 sextillion per cent as at 14 November 2008.

The Zimbabwean economic crisis which began with ESAP and continued up to the formation of the inclusive government in 2009 had severe implications on the youth who were already marginalised as it led to shrinking of both the formal and informal sectors of the economy. “This crisis also fuelled youth unemployment in Zimbabwe” (Chimucheka, 2012:10389). Hamauswa and Manyeruke (2012) noted that the youth continue to be marginalised from the country’s economy more than 30 years after the country’s independence and the almost 20 years of economic decline could be to blame for the underdevelopment of the youth in Zimbabwe. Chirisa and Muchini (2011) argue that of the various age and social groups in Zimbabwe the youth were the worst affected by the economic crisis.  

Just like in the political sphere, youths in Zimbabwe have been missing from the country’s mainstream economy for decades. Youths have been dominant in the periphery of the economy that is the informal sector. The major reason for this state of affairs is the fact that participation in the mainstream formal economy requires access to and control of the means of production such as land and capital neither of which is possessed by the youth in Zimbabwe.  Lack of capital is usually mitigated by credit from financial institutions such as banks.  This however is not an option for the youth who in most cases do not have the security that the banks demand as surety before giving credit.

Having been relegated to the lower echelons of the economy such as the informal sector, the youths in Zimbabwe have again been facing major challenges in this sector. Financial capital has been a major problem for most youth in the informal sector and those wishing to enter this sector. Chipaike (2013:30) notes that despite having found refuge in the informal sector, youths “still cannot access sufficient financial support to efficiently run their small businesses.” 

The resources necessary for any business start up and growth were identified by Rwigema and Venter (2004), and Nieman and Nieuwenhuizen (2009) as “financial resources, physical assets, human resources and technological resources” (Chimucheka, 2012:10391). Chimucheka (ibid) explains that financial resources are needed as they are the ones that finance all the other resources and failure to raise or manage financial resources almost certainly means failure of any business venture. Given such a situation it is no surprise that youths continue to fail to breakthrough when it comes to business. Chimucheka’s study identified lack of capital as the major hinderance to the participation of youths in business and in the economic sector (2012:10393). The study also pointed out that insufficient and unreliable government support was another impediment to youth entrepreneurship in Zimbabwe.

Grant (1998:417) argues that it not only capital that is preventing the entry of youths into the country’s economy but also deficient formal education backgrounds. Grant (ibid) aptly explains that, “most school leavers lack the skills, resources, and guidance needed to enter the economy - whether formal or informal - in any meaningful way.” Grant’s study on the social and economic identities of urban youths in Bulawayo determined that youth economic participation was low and slightly more than two thirds of youths were not earning any money at all. This means that economically inactive youths remain dependant on the income earners in their household and miss out on the opportunity to develop themselves. This situation may affect their self esteem even later on in life (ibid).    

Economic marginalisation has hindered youth participation in the economic development of the nation, a situation that has negative consequences to youth development and national development. Unless the youth are empowered to enable them to meaningfully participate in the country’s economy then development will remain a pipe dream since the nation will be failing to utilise one of its greatest assets which is the youth. The AU (2006:1) contends that “Africa’s greatest resource is its youthful population and that through their active and full participation; Africans can surmount the difficulties that lie ahead.” Young people are a pillar upon which a nation is built and their potential strength needs to be harnessed to enable them to play a constructive role in the socio economic development of the country (revised National Youth Policy, 2013: vi). However, with their current economic situation, youth in Zimbabwe are literally by standers in the country’s development, a scenario that needs to be urgently addressed if the nation is to prosper.

The youths that constituted part of the sample felt generally that, the Youth Empowerment Facilities’ objectives were relevant in addressing the problem of economic marginalisation of youths in Zimbabwe. However, close scrutiny of these objectives reveals that they are silent about promoting youth participation in the mainstream economy. Therefore, it can be argued that the objectives of the Youth Empowerment Facilities are only relevant in as far as promotion of youth participation in the informal sector of the economy and not the mainstream formal sectors which is just as important. It suggested that the objectives be broadened to include also measures that are meant to promote the participation of youths in the mainstream formal economy.

1.4	The Social Profile of Youth in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe’s revised National Youth Policy (2013:vi) categorically affirms that no nation can even entertain hopes of developing, “when its young people are trapped in cycles of poverty, unemployment and/or underemployment or when they have inadequate health care and limited education, or when they are constrained by social and cultural values that hinder their progress.”  For the youth to realise their fullest potential their social needs have to be adequately taken care. This however is not the situation on the ground when it comes to the youth in Zimbabwe. ‘Vulnerable, poor, unemployed and prone to disease’ are some of the words that aptly sum up the social profile of the youth in Zimbabwe.

The GoZ invested heavily in the education and health sector soon after independence, these two sectors became the main conduits of social development aspirations and with positive results for the most part (Chimhowu, Manjengwa and Feresu, 2010: 69). The social group that benefited the most from these reforms in the health and the education sector seemed to be the children and youth. In the education sector, massive investments led to massive gains in literacy and by 1990 literacy rates for the youths aged 15-24 had risen to 98 per cent and for the adults to 85 percent (ibid). So significant were the gains in the education sector that even after ten years of crisis the country still overtook Tunisia in 2010 as the country with the highest literacy rate at 92 per cent. This figure has according to the ZANU-PF Election Manifesto (2013:10) risen to 97 per cent.   
 
 The political and economic crisis of 2000 to 2009 halted the progress and in some instances even reversed the gains that had been made in the education sector over the initial 20 years of independence. The economic crisis coupled with the HIV/AIDS pandemic contributed to the decrease in secondary school enrolment from 827 820 in 2001 to 774 921 in 2006 as parents and children orphaned by HIV/AIDS could no longer afford the fees (Chimhowu, Manjengwa and Feresu, 2010:70).   

Critics have questioned the suitability of the education that is been provided as it seems to focus more on preparing students for formal employment rather than for risk taking and self reliant activities (National Youth Policy, 2000). Grant (1998:424) noted that the majority of unemployed youths in Bulawayo at the time of her study were ‘o’ level school leavers. She argues that this was an indication of “lack of training in life skills, self-reliance, and basic training within the high school curriculum.” Furthermore, the improvements in the education sector have resulted in more graduates being churned out and with the low economic growth being experienced the job market has become competitive. Consequently this situation is resulting in increased youth unemployment as the economy is unable to absorb all the graduates (National Youth Policy, 2000).

As alluded to earlier, health was one of the sectors that the new GoZ invested heavily in at independence. By the late 1990s up to 85 per cent of Zimbabweans lived within 10 km of a health facility ( Chimhowu,Manjengwa and Feresu,2010:86). However with the pressure of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, ESAP and the economic crisis, the country’s health system deteriorated. The youth being one of the most vulnerable groups in Zimbabwean society obviously suffered the most from the deterioration of the health sector and other issues such as the deadly HIV/AIDS pandemic. 

Evidence appears to show that the youths have been the worst affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Zimbabwe. According to the National Youth Policy (2000) women between the age of 15-19 years are six times more likely to be infected by the HIV virus than males of the same age and the peak age of being infected by HIV is 20-29 for females and 30-39 for males. The National Aids Council (NAC, 1997) posits that in Zimbabwe young women are the most susceptible to HIV/AIDS since they lack the power to avoid sexual coercion or to negotiate safe sex with their partners. The impact of HIV/AIDS particularly on the youth is as widespread and destructive as the virus itself (National Youth Policy, 2000). The loss of parents to HIV/AIDS usually places the burden of fending for the other children or for the other sick parent on the youths in the family. 

Moral and cultural decay has been another feature that has negatively affected Zimbabwean youths. Viriri,Viriri and Chapwanya (2011:88) in a study of the influence of urban grooves music on the youth noted that violence, drug dependency, squalor, prostitution and immorality are now being cited as essential features of everyday ghetto life. The study established that it is the youth who are most affected by this cultural decay that is gleaned from Western culture. Drug abuse which for many years was associated with the developed world has become a menace to African societies and the youth are the worst affected. Viriri, Viriri and Chapwanya (ibid) cite a recent survey by Population Services International (PSI) which stated that most Zimbabwean youths either drank excessively or were on some intoxicating drug or substance. Widespread drug abuse often leads to the youth becoming ineffective members of society as they spend their time either in jail or intoxicated resulting in decreased productivity. 

Gender inequality is another aspect that is prevalent amongst contemporary Zimbabwean youth. The revised National Youth Policy acknowledges that young women in Zimbabwe face specific challenges related to gender discrimination and that efforts should be made to eliminate all forms of gender based discrimination. Several studies at the global, regional, local level such as the UN Millennium Project (2005), Okojie (2003) and Makanza (2011) all point to the fact that gender disparities in all spheres of life from education to employment remain pervasive worldwide. It is much harder for a young woman in Zimbabwe to access economic or financial resources. While it is widely acknowledged that youths in Zimbabwe are marginalized, there is need for a gendered perspective to be applied as young women seem far worse as compared to their male counterparts.

The fact that the broad objective of the Youth Empowerment Facilities is poverty alleviation amongst the youths in Zimbabwe makes the programme very relevant to the Zimbabwean youths. However, the specific objectives of the programme do not cover social issues such as enhancing access to health care and education for the youth especially the young women. Given that gender disparities remain in all sectors of life in Zimbabwe, it is suggested that gender issues be specified even in the objectives of such programmes as youth empowerment. The study noted that because gender was not specific in the objectives, very few women have been able to benefit from the Youth Empowerment Facilities in Gweru Urban District.  

1.5	Major Youth Challenges in Zimbabwe
Youth unemployment has certainly become an issue of global concern (O’Higgins, 2001:9). Okojie (2003:2) posits that “with the rapid population growth in Africa and its implication for the age pyramid, youth unemployment has become a major issue of concern to African governments.” Tyabo (2013) affirms that the greatest challenges that African youths are currently facing are unemployment and poverty. Mutuku (2011) also identified unemployment as the African youth’s biggest challenge. Moveh (2010:7) writes that, “Increasingly, youth identity in contemporary Africa has become synonymous with unemployment and poverty.”

 Just like elsewhere in the globe, unemployment and poverty seem to be the major challenges that contemporary Zimbabwean youth are faced with. The revised National Youth Policy (2013:13) recognizes that, “unemployment and limited access to economic and social resources are among the great challenges facing young people in Zimbabwe.” Chimucheka (2012: 10389) asserts that youth unemployment is a challenge confronting many African countries, and Zimbabwe is not an exception.

Zimbabwe has arguably the highest rate of youth unemployment in Africa (Chimucheka, 2012: 10390). The World Bank (2008: 5) estimated the share of unemployed youth among the total unemployed in Zimbabwe to be as high as 68 per cent. Hamauswa (2012: 21) posits that unemployed youths constitute 80 per cent of the country’s total youth population. The nature of urban youth unemployment in Zimbabwe is so complex that it requires a multi dimensional approach (Hamauswa, 2012: 24). According to Kanyenze et al. (2000) in Chimucheka (2012), the problem of youth unemployment and under-employment in Africa poses complex economic, social and moral policy issues.

 Moreover, according to Zhangazha (2012) as cited by Hamauswa (2012), “youth unemployment rate in the formal sector increased from 70 per cent in December 2009 to 80 per cent in December 2010.” Hamauswa blamed this upsurge on the failure to attract investors to the country that resultantly led to lack of job creation as no new companies have come on board and the existing ones have continued to retrench workers. The increase in the number of schools and universities has led to more and more graduates while on the other hand the economy has stagnated leading to increased youth unemployment in the country (National youth Policy, 2000).

The ILO (2009:13) explained that, “unemployment among youths is further worsened by the fact that the formal economy only absorbs 20 000 to 30 000 from the 200 000 to 300 000 school leavers per year.” This situation has often led many youths to accept just any job that comes along without any regard of the qualifications they hold. According to Hamauswa (2012:25) with most youths in Zimbabwe no relationship still exists between level of education and the nature of employment. Youths are just grateful to be employed

The consequence of high youth unemployment on the country is a blurred future for the country (Hamauswa, 2012:31). Hamauswa cites the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) (2005) as saying that increased youth unemployment in Zimbabwe had resulted in an increase in crimes especially in the urban areas of Harare, Bulawayo and Mutare. Due to the lack of meaningful forms of livelihood, youths in urban areas have been involved in petty thievery. Blattman, Fiala and Martinez (2012: 18) concur with this assertion by arguing that “youth unemployment and adverse economic shocks raise the risk of conflict in developing countries, and a growing body of evidence from cross‐country studies is emerging to confirm this.”

Hamauswa and Manyeruke (2012:40) even go further to warn the GoZ that it should anticipate a revolution similar to the Arab Spring that was sparked by the suicide of the Algerian college graduate and street vendor Mohamed Bouaziz. They argue that there is a link between poverty and revolutions and as such the continued impoverishment of the Zimbabwean youths is in itself a recipe for disaster. In their view, a revolution spearheaded by the youth is a distinct possibility as long the youth continue to live in abject poverty.

The propensity by Zimbabwean politicians to use youth to unleash violence on the people can be argued to be a consequence of youth unemployment and poverty. The youth because they are unemployed and poor vulnerable to these politicians who use them to achieve certain political aims in return for a little payment that in most cases is alcohol. The fact that the current school curriculum does not prepare the youths for self employment through vocational training leaves the youth at the mercy of people such as politicians. The difficulties associated with accessing credit to enter into the small enterprise sector coupled with the lack of government support for youth have ensured that Zimbabwean youths get the unenviable honour of having the highest youth unemployment rate on the continent. 

One of the questions that were asked to the youths that participated in the study was, “What do you consider to be the major challenges affecting youths in Gweru Urban District and why?” The youths emphatically answered that unemployment was the biggest challenge that the youths in the district were currently facing. The fact that one of the specific objectives of the Youth Empowerment Facilities is proof that the objectives of the programme are indeed relevant to the challenges currently being faced by youths in Gweru District and in Zimbabwe. 

While the objectives of the Youth Empowerment Facilities are relevant in addressing some of the major challenges being faced by contemporary Zimbabwean youths, it can be argued that they do not cover all the issues currently affecting the youths in Zimbabwe. They are mostly concerned with youth economic empowerment. However, real empowerment just like development can only be achieved when all the aspects of empowerment that is the economic, social and political are addressed. Therefore, it can be argued the Youth Empowerment Facilities are a half baked youth empowerment attempt. It is recommended that an empowerment agenda that also sets political and social objectives be adopted if real empowerment is to be achieved.  

1.6	Youth Involvement in Past Economic Development Interventions 
Since independence there have been several interventions by GoZ, the private sector and local and international NGOs aimed at uplifting the living standards of Zimbabweans through enhancing the economic capacity of the citizens. These interventions such as the land reform programme and the indigenization programme have had different impacts s on the different social groups that are found in Zimbabwe.  Very few if any studies have captured the extent that the youth have benefited from these development programmes. 

All economic development initiatives in Zimbabwe have been spearheaded by blueprints that have been formulated to provide the guidelines for the implementation of the various policies and programmes. The first of these economic blueprints was the Transitional National Development Plan (TNDP) that covered the period 1982-1985 (Khadhani, 1986:99). This was followed by the Five Year Development Plan (FYDP) adopted in 1986 and that covered the period from 1986-1990 (ibid). The FYDP’s successor was ESAP (1991-95) and then the Zimbabwe Programme for Economic and Social Transformation (ZIMPREST) from 1996-2000 (Bracking, 2005:352). The period 1998 to 2008 saw a number of economic blueprints being formulated that were aimed at stabilising the economy that was now in crisis. The inclusive government formulated the Short Term Economic Recovery Plan (STERP) and then the Medium Term Plan (MTP) to cover the period 2011-2015.

One common aspect of all these economic blueprints has been their failure to be specific when it comes to youth development issues. Rather they have implicitly addressed youth issues within what they perceive to be more pressing issues such as human development and employment, youth development has not been seen as a standalone issue (National Youth Policy, 2000). For example the MTP does not have any specific youth goals but youth issues are implicitly addressed within other goals such as the goal that seeks to empower people to fully participate in the economy.

The land reform programme in all its 3 phases from independence to the FTLRP can be argued to be one development intervention that has had the greatest impact on the people of Zimbabwe.  In1980 the GoZ embarked on an ambitious resettlement programme that was aimed at relieving pressure on overpopulated communal lands, provide opportunities for poor farmers to improve their standard of living and bring abandoned and underutilised land into production (Auret, 1991:73). This initial land reform programme was done according to different models namely Model A to D. Model B which was the producer cooperatives was the most preferred model as it was in line with government ideology at the time which was brand of capitalism and socialism all mixed together (ibid). 
 There is not much evidence in existing literature of youths participating or benefitting from the land reform programme of 1980-1992.  There is however mention of youth cooperatives in some studies such as Akwabi-Ameyaw (1997) and Auret (1991).  Both Akwabi-Ameyaw (1997) and Auret (1991) mention Simba Youth Cooperative as having being one of the beneficiaries of the land reform programme under the Model B producer cooperatives. However the cooperative which was the first to be established under the programme failed to register any successes in all its years of existence (Auret, 1991:76 and Akwabi-Ameyaw, 1997:448). There are no statistics available as to the exact no of youths that benefited from this programme save for the mention of Simba Youth Cooperative.

The adoption of ESAP in 1990 saw liberal economic policies taking centre stage in the country. With the free market policies, came the respect for property rights and the affirmation by government that the large scale commercial farming sector was of critical economic importance and was to continue as one of the country’s pillars of economic growth (Chimhowu, Manjengwa and Feresu, 2010:37). This dashed the hopes that the nation had of resettlement.

The FTLRP which began in February 2000 has since its beginning been riddled in controversy that range from debate on the implementation right to the programme’s impact on both national development and human development. Scholars have offered divergent accounts of the impact of the FTLRP with some such as Scoones etal (2010) lauding the programme as having produced positive impacts on the livelihoods of beneficiaries. Whether the FTLRP is regarded a success or not is another story but a fact remains that those that benefited have in one way or another been empowered. The question that has been asked time and again is whether the youths benefited significantly from the programme?
Hamauswa and Manyeruke (2012) provided some answers to this question by looking at youth empowerment with a special focus on land reform. The study argued that youth did not benefit significantly from the FTLRP and all its predecessor programmes. Chipaike (2013: concurs with Hamuswa and Manyeruke by asserting that though statistics pertaining to which percentage of youths benefited from land reform, the fact of the matter is that the youth did not benefit significantly. Hamauswa and Manyeruke (2012:34) argue that the reason for the failure of youths to access land under the land reform programmes was because there was no formal recognition of youths as an important and independent segment to be given land. Hamauswa and Manyeruke (2012) recommend that the government should identify idle land and allocate it to youths as a means of economically empowering the youths since they were left out of the initial process. 

The idea of indigenisation of the economy first emerged in Zimbabwe in 1990 with the formation of the Indigenous Business Development Centre (IBDC). The IBDC was formed to promote black entrepreneurship by allocating state assets to black Zimbabweans on preferential terms (Matunhu, 2012:6).  The Affirmative Action Group (AAG) was another organisation that was formed in 1994 to champion the indigenisation cause (ibid). Raftopoulos and Compagnon note that IBDC sought to fight unemployment by increasing the size of the country’s economy through the creation of new black businesses as opposed to ‘taking over existing companies owned by whites’ (2003:22).  

This early indigenisation drive is said to have brought economic benefits to those that participated with people like Mutumwa Mawere, James Makamba, Jane Mutasa and Enock Kamushinda being said to have benefited from the drive. However, as in the land reform programme there is no evidence of youths benefiting from this process. Chimucheka (2012) argues that government should put in place measures to encourage youth participation in programmes that promote entry into the mainstream economy such as indigenisation.  At present youths are being relegated to youth specific programmes such as youth empowerment programmes that are in the periphery of the economy and which at best facilitate the youths entry into the informal sector.

1.7	 Chapter Summary 
The chapter summary gave an overview of the youth situation in Zimbabwe starting with the physical and demographic context and its implications on national development and youth development.  The political situation of youths, the economic situation of youths and the social profile of Zimbabwean youths were also covered in great detail in the chapter. The chapter also looked at the major challenges that are being faced by the youths in Zimbabwe and these were identified as unemployment and poverty. It was noted that while the objectives of the Youth Empowerment Facilities are relevant in addressing some of the challenges being faced by youths they do not cover some of the pertinent issues. It was suggested that the youth empowerment agenda be broadened to include not just economic empowerment but also political and social empowerment as they are also essential aspects of youth empowerment.

The chapter assessed whether the youth had participated in the various economic development interventions since independence and if there were any benefits that accrued to the youth from such participation. It was noted that there is little evidence of youths benefitting from programmes as the land reform programmes which could have led to youth development. The next chapter shall assess the reasons behind the adoption of the current youth empowerment drive in Zimbabwe and look at measures that have been put in place to facilitate the youth empowerment agenda in Zimbabwe. It shall also look at the implementation process so.

CHAPTER 2
THE ADOPTION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE YOUTH EMPOWERMENT PROGRAMME IN ZIMBABWE
2.1	Why Youth Empowerment and Why Now?
Questions have been raised as to the ZANU-PF government’s motives in embarking on a youth empowerment programme. Critics have questioned the government’s sincerity in introducing the Youth Empowerment Facilities. Despite several attempts to market the programme as a genuine and bonafied youth development initiative, many are still not convinced and continue to view the programme with skepticism. The writer shall assess possible reasons that have prompted the ZANU-PF government to embark on a youth empowerment drive.

Genuine concern for the plight of the youth in Zimbabwe is one possible reason why the GoZ embarked on a youth empowerment drive in 2009. As highlighted in the previous chapter, the political and socio-economic situation of the youth in Zimbabwe has been that of marginalisation. Zimbabwean youths have occupied peripheral positions in the country’s political and economic development discourse. It is possible that the GoZ felt genuine concern for the current plight of its youths and adopted the Youth Empowerment Facilities as a means of ensuring that youths are empowered economically to enable them to be in total control of their destiny. 

Furthermore, the MYDIE in all its official statements contends that it was the genuine desire to empower and develop Zimbabwean youths that inspired the current youth empowerment drive (MYDIE, 2013). Media reports especially from the government run newspapers and the ZTV all seem to corroborate the claims by the MYDIE that there was no ulterior motive in the adoption of the youth empowerment agenda (The Sunday Mail, 9 June 2013). Some of the youths that participated in the study in particular the beneficiaries believed that there was nothing clandestine about the current youth empowerment drive. To them the whole process was inspired by government’s desire to empower the youth and nothing else

The increased global concern for the youth could be one reason why the GoZ chose to embark on a youth empowerment drive. There seems to have been a paradigm shift in the way youths are perceived and viewed globally from a negative, fearful and violent portrayal to one that is positive progressive and accommodating. There is growing acknowledgement of the positive role and the benefits that accrue to society when youths are actively incorporated into the development initiatives. On the other hand, the global society seems have realized the consequences of excluding youths from the development process. Sukarieh and Tannock (2008:302) explain that youth are,  “being spoken of now, in international development reports, as agents of change, citizens and leaders, participants and activists, nations’ most important assets, the best hope and promise we have for our collective future development and prosperity.” It can be argued that the government felt compelled to be in tandem with developments elsewhere on the globe and hence adopted the Youth Empowerment Facilities as a means of conforming to global trends. 

Linked with the issue of global trends is the aspect of adherence to international law. Another possible reason for embarking on a youth empowerment drive is that Zimbabwe is compelled under international law to fulfill its duties when it comes to issues of youth development and youth empowerment. Article 38 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice cites treaties and conventions as one of the most authoritative sources of international law (Grant, 1999:413). Zimbabwe has ratified several international treaties and conventions that require the nation to promote youth empowerment and development such as the African Youth Charter. In this vein, international law requires Zimbabwe to abide by the contents contained in these conventions and treaties. For example Article 15 and 16 of the African Youth Charter compels state parties to make efforts to eradicate poverty and reduce unemployment amongst youths in member states (African Youth Charter, 2006:11). Therefore by adopting the Youth Empowerment Facilities, the government was merely adhering to international law.   

The fulfilment of goals set in local youth development policies such as the National Youth Policy could be a reason why the government embarked on the current youth empowerment drive. According to the revised National Youth Policy (2013: 9) goal 1 of the policy is, “To empower youth to participate and contribute to the socio-economic development of the nation.” This is evidence that the empowerment drive is not just a reactionary intervention but is actually purposefully planned. The fact that empowerment is listed as policy goal 1 is testimony of how serious the GoZ is about youth empowerment. Therefore it can be argued that the current youth empowerment drive is an attempt by the government to fulfill the goals set in the youth development policy documents such as the revised National Youth Policy.

There is a growing body of proof that youth challenges such as poverty and unemployment if left unaddressed may result in civil unrest (Blattman, Fiala and Martinez 2012 and Hamauswa and Manyeruke, 2012). It could be that the government headed the warnings from several scholars on the implications to peace and security of a disempowered youth. The government in a bid to avoid future conflict could have deliberately sought to empower the marginalized youths. 

One possible explanation for the current youth empowerment crusade by the ZANU-PF led government has been that the whole programme is mere political rhetoric aimed at winning the youth vote that statistically forms the majority of voters. Questions were raised whether ZANU-PF was really pursuing youth empowerment or the whole programme was just being used to drum up youth support for ZANU-PF ahead of what most termed the make or break 2013 Harmonised Elections. Magede (2012) alleged that the youth empowerment drive had been politicized from the start and that ZANU-PF saw it as an opportunity to revive its waning support. 

Moreover, most of the youths aligned to the MDC-T that took part in the study concurred with Magede. They alleged that the programme was a vote winning gimmick and not a real youth empowerment programme. They questioned why ZANU-PF had chosen the youth empowerment agenda at this point in time and not at any other time during its 29 years in power. To most of the youths aligned to MDC-T, the Youth Empowerment Facilities are merely a political strategy and not a genuine youth empowerment initiative. These youths pointed out that the trumpeting and over publication of the ‘success stories’ in the state controlled media is evidence that the youth empowerment drive is merely a vote buying agenda.
  
There have also been claims that the current empowerment drive is merely facilitating the rewarding of a few youths that are loyal to ZANU-PF. Allegations of partisanship in the implementation of the Youth Empowerment Facilities have been rampant especially in the private media. Dube (2013) claimed that only youths aligned to ZANU-PF were benefitting from the Youth Empowerment Facilities such as the Kurera/Ukondla Youth Fund. Dube’s report quoted some MDC-T youth leaders as saying that the Youth Empowerment Facilities were partisan. 

One 29 year male from Montrose, who operates a garage in the outskirts of the Gweru CBD, seemed to corroborate the idea of partisanship of the facilities when interviewed during the study. The youth who said he is not an active member of any political party, alleged that he had applied for funding from the Kurera/Ukondla on 4 occassions and had failed to get any funding on all the 4 occassions. He claimed that he knew some youths that were active ZANU-PF members that applied for funding and were given funding the first time they applied.
 
Scholars, such as Chipaike (2013:33) also seem to concur with these claims of partisanship in the implementation of Zimbabwe’s youth empowerment drive by calling on government to “embark on a non partisan youth empowerment programme.”  Furthermore, the fact that government has been unwilling to take any action against those alleged to have abused or diverted the loans from the facilities casts doubts over government’s commitment to the empowerment of the youths. Allegations of the youth empowerment drive being hi-jacked by militant pro ZANU-PF groups such as Upfumi Kuvadiki have led many neutrals to believe that the youth empowerment drive could indeed be benefiting youths aligned to ZANU-PF.

The MYDIE Youth Development Officer Mrs X who was interviewed as part of the study dismissed claims of bias or partisanship in the implementation of the youth empowerment programme. Mrs X indicated that the youth empowerment drive was being done in an impartial manner. According to her, political affiliation was not part of the criteria for choosing beneficiaries. Beneficiaries were chosen by the MYDIE and the financial institutions based only on project viability as measured by the project proposal. Mrs X indicated that none of the application forms had a portion for political affiliation. She added that to demonstrate that the implementation was impartial; youths were free to either apply through the MYDIE or straight with the particular facility. She said that the publication of the names of the beneficiaries was not a publicity stunt as was alleged by some critics but it was a way of enhancing transparency in the implementation of the Youth Empowerment Facilities.   

Many questions have remained unanswered as to why government embarked on a youth empowerment drive at this point in time. Assuming that government was genuinely concerned with addressing youth challenges such as youth unemployment and poverty, why did government have to wait for 29 years to come up with an intervention given that these issues have long been a menace to Zimbabwean youths? Was it mere coincidence that the youth empowerment programme came on the backdrop of the inconclusive 2008 harmonised elections which ZANU-PF is alleged to have lost? Could there be some truth in the claims that after the economic meltdown of the period 2000-2009, ZANU-PF was desperate for a populist programme that could make the people forget about the events of the past 9 years.  Was the youth empowerment drive merely a political strategy for reviving ZANU-PF?

2.2	Private Sector Participation  
As alluded to in chapter 1, the Youth Empowerment Facilities are a partnership between the GoZ through the MYDIE and the private sector through the various financial institutions such as CABS, CBZ, Stanbic Bank, IDBZ and through other companies that are not in the financial services sector such as Meikles (MYDIE, 2013). Given the sour relations that existed between the private sector and government at the time of the adoption of Youth Empowerment Facilities, some have questioned the participation of the private sector in the current empowerment drive. It is not clear whether these companies willing participated in the programme due to their concern for the plight of the Zimbabwean youth or were coerced into participating as a way of complying with the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act. 

Globally, the private sector is known to compliment government efforts in development. While it is the role of commercial banks to be a financial intermediary, the commercial banks in the developing world have been unwilling to do this due to the high poverty levels (UN, 1998).  It is the role of the financial intermediaries such as the commercial banks to take money from the surplus units and lend to deficit units in the economy and the youth constitute these deficit units (Mabonga, 2010). However in Zimbabwe just like elsewhere in the developing world, the commercial banks have been unwilling to lend to the poor groups in society such as the youth due to their lack of collateral and high transaction costs of micro credit. For these reasons commercial banks have largely been absent from the micro credit sector paving way for the emergence of non conventional lenders (UN, 1998). 

There is evidence that the commercial banks are increasingly becoming involved in the micro credit sector but this involvement is being treated with skepticism by those involved in micro credit schemes especially the beneficiaries (Siakwah, 2010:20). Siakwah (ibid) argues that most poor people are suspicious of the involvement of profit oriented commercial operators as they feel that they do not have any concern for the poor. They would rather have government and donors being involved in micro credit schemes as they seem to have some concern for the poor. As highlighted in chapter 1, most micro credit schemes in Zimbabwe were run either solely by the government in the case SEDCO or by the donors in the the case of Zambuko Trust (Snow and Buss, 2001:299). 

While private sector participation in the micro credit schemes has been viewed with skepticism, there are calls from those youth development stakeholders for the private sector to play a more active role in youth development. For example the National Youth Policy (2013) calls for the active participation of the private sector in youth development issues. Katsande (2012) echoes the need for more private sector participation in the Youth Empowerment Facilities by stating that,
President Mugabe, the Ministry responsible for youth in Government and the Zimbabwe Youth Council continue to call for partnerships on the youth empowerment drive, the private sector must answer these calls and come on board with real intentions. The intentions must be backed by the will to empower the young Zimbabweans who are indeed the custodians of this country.  

2.3	Why Micro Credit?
Micro credit has of late come under heavy criticism as a strategy for empowerment (Bateman, 2012). Scholars have been very critical of this approach to empowerment as they argue that it has not been proven as the antidote for poverty eradication and employment creation. Besides the Grameen Bank, micro credit success stories in the developing are few and far between. Therefore, questions have emerged why government chose micro credit and micro enterprise as the ideal formula for youth empowerment. Though there is criticism of this approach to empowerment, it seems to have gained prominence worldwide and therefore deserves to be looked at. This section shall give some of the pros and cons of micro credit when it comes to empowerment and development.
 
According to the RBZ (2012: 2) microcredit is generally regarded as the provision of financial services to the unbanked and under-banked households and small to medium enterprises. “Globally, the main objective of microfinance is facilitating access to financial services by the poor and marginalized sections of the community” (Ibid). Micro credit has over the years become an important approach to poverty alleviation that the international donor organisations such as USAID have vigorously supported (Bateman, 2012).

The UN (1998) posits that the increased recognition of the importance of empowering all people by increasing their access to all the factors of production, including credit has led to the increased prominence of micro credit. With regards to this increased prominence, the UN (ibid) goes on to explain that,
It is based on the recognition that the latent capacity of the poor for entrepreneurship would be encouraged with the availability of small-scale loans and would introduce them to the small-enterprise sector. This could allow them to be more self-reliant, create employment opportunities, and, not least, engage women in economically productive activities.

One advantage of micro credit is that it provides an opportunity for the marginalised groups in society to start their own small enterprises. Without micro credit such opportunities would not be available. Brown (2010) has come out in support of micro credit by asserting that microcredit has proven itself as a strong stimulant to economic development since it is an investment in people that pays back many times its initial outlay. He further argues that loan recipients are able to support themselves through their increased income, as well as employ others.

The RBZ (2006) concurs with Brown by stating that sustainable access to financial services increases the marginalised groups’ access to factors of production which inturn increase their human, economic and social assets thereby improving their general living standards. The RBZ posits that micro credit in Zimbabwe could be a tool for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) because it can lead to poverty reduction, improved education and health status especially for the women and children.

In supporting micro finance Olivares and Santos (2009:3) argue that micro finance schemes are usually participatory in nature and also emphasize on the poor and on job creation thereby raising hopes for poverty eradication. Littlefield, Murduch and Hashemi (2003; 20) were also supportive of micro credit by asserting that, “the ability to borrow a small amount of money to take advantage of a business opportunity, to pay for school fees, or to bridge a cash-flow gap, can be a first step in breaking the cycle of poverty.” They further argue that loans usually act a buffer that cushions poor families from destitution when faced with sudden emergencies such as a natural disaster or a death in the family. Littlefield, Murduch and Hashemi gave several examples of micro credit schemes from the developing world that had been successful in poverty alleviation including the Zambuko Trust in Zimbabwe.

While there is evidence of the viability of micro credit as an empowerment strategy concerns have also emerged whether micro credit can be ideal strategy for empowering marginalised groups in society such as the women and youths. Several challenges and weaknesses of micro credit have been cited over the years by critics of this approach. It has been argued that micro credit does not reach the most vulnerable members in society that is the poorest people and its effectiveness as an empowerment strategy is thus limited. This is usually because the poorest are usually discriminated against by the richer poor and are also, “usually not in a position to undertake an economic activity, partly because they lack business skills, and even the motivation for business” (UN, 1998).

It has also been noted that micro credit is not a sustainable empowerment strategy. According to Snow (1999: 66) microcredit programmes only become sustainable institutions when net benefits to the community exceed total costs. Benefits only accrue to the community when new businesses are successful and when incomes increase. Olivares and Santos (2009:3) argue that the low repayment rates, the poor investment decisions, the difficulties in monitoring how loans are used, the dependency on donors and the high cost of processing a small loan makes micro credit an unsustainable empowerment approach. However there are others who argue that all interventions meant for the poor are usually unsustainable in one way or the other and should be taken more as benevolent gestures rather than profit making ventures. This means that all those entering the micro credit sector should do so knowing that it is in some way more about assisting the poor than it is business.

While micro credit actually benefits some marginalized poor people, it is potentially dangerous for most and usually leaves them worse off than they were before accessing the credit. In explaining the dangers of micro credit to the majority of the poor; Bateman (2012) uses a simile in which she likens micro credit to a casino which benefits a few punters whilst leaving the majority worse off than they were. The poor are already vulnerable to economic shocks and once they borrow they increase their vulnerability. This is because in the event of any shock such as a medical emergency or a natural disaster they will be plunged into more severe debt and greater poverty (UN, 2011). 

Microcredit has also been criticized due to the high interest rates and lack of other support services such as training that ensure the success and sustainability of projects undertaken by the beneficiaries. The UN (1998) posits that for micro credit to be successful then it needs to be supplemented with other services such as training, information and appropriate technology. The high interest rates that are charged by the financial institutions usually mean that in most cases the poor are not able to repay the loans resulting in their property being attached thereby plunging them deeper into poverty.

2.4	Legal, Policy and Institutional Framework for Youth Empowerment in Zimbabwe 
Youth empowerment and youth development issues are guided by various policy, legal and institutional provisions in Zimbabwe. Some of these policy legal and institutional provisions date back to the days of independence in 1980 while some are fairly new and were enacted as late as 2010 to support the indigenization and economic drive that the country officially embarked on in 2008. 

Under Zimbabwean law, all youth issues fall under the auspices of the MYDIE. The MYDIE is responsible for the formulation, implementation and regulation of all policies and programmes that concern the youth in Zimbabwe. The MYDIE is therefore the government institution that was behind the formulation of the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment act which then paved way for youth empowerment to be adopted. According to the MYDIE (2013), the MYDIE has the mandate to economically empower the youth and facilitate their participation in the mainstream economy. Therefore the MYDIE was the most crucial element in the formulation, adoption and implementation of the Youth Empowerment Facilities.

The Youth Empowerment Facilities are part of the indigenization and economic empowerment policy which Zimbabwe embarked on in 2007. According to the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act [Chapter 14:33] of 2007, the act was established, “to provide for support measures for the further indigenisation of the economy; to provide for support measures for the economic empowerment of indigenous Zimbabweans” (GoZ, 2008:20). The act amongst other things gives government the mandate to ensure that at least 51 per cent of shares in all public companies and any other business in Zimbabwe are owned by indigenous Zimbabweans (ibid). According to the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act, 
Indigenous Zimbabwean means any person who, before the 18th April, 1980, was disadvantaged by unfair discrimination on the grounds of his or her race, and any descendant of such person, and includes any company, association, syndicate or partnership of which indigenous Zimbabweans form the majority of the members or hold the controlling interest.    

The Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act [Chapter 14:33] of 2007 provides for the establishment of a Youth Development Fund. The main purpose of the youth development fund is to provide financing to fund youth development programmes that include the youth empowerment facilities. Addressing a Youth World Forum in Busam Republic of Korea in July 2012, the then Minister of Youth Indigenisation and Empowerment Saviour Kasukuwere had this to say with regards to indigenisation and the youth, 
In the process of indigenisation we have acquired shares on behalf of the youth in some companies, which shares have allowed us to create more financial resources for young people businesses. The youth are thus part our primary beneficiaries of indigenisation, both young men and women.

The new constitution of Zimbabwe which was adopted by means of a referendum in 2013 has also provided legal and policy basis for the pursuing youth empowerment in Zimbabwe. According to Chapter 2, Section 20 of the new constitution youths should be provided opportunities for employment and economic empowerment (GoZ, 2013). Being the supreme law of the land, the constitution therefore provides legal backing for all youth empowerment activities that the government through the MYDIE or any other agency or body may wish to undertake.
The ZYC is one institution that has been instrumental in the youth empowerment drive in Zimbabwe. ZYC is a quasi-government institution which was established by an Act of Parliament which is the Youth Council Act [Chapter 25:19] as amended in 1997. The overall administration of the act rests with the MYDIE (ZYC, 2010). ZYC is comprised of 2 main components namely the board and the secretariat. The functions of ZYC as provided for by the act are as follows:
•	To register, co-ordinate, supervise and foster the activities of national youth associations and clubs.
•	To ensure proper administration of national youth associations and clubs.
•	To facilitate youth participation in key national and international events.
•	To advise government on the need of youths.

Moreover, the ZYC is guided by several national, regional and international legal and policy provisions and these include the revised National Youth Policy, the African Youth Charter and the UN World Programme of Action for Youth for the Year 2000 and beyond (ZYC, 2010). According to The New African, Special Edition/ Zimbabwe (2013) the ZYC works together with the MYDIE in the implementation of the Youth Empowerment Facilities. ZYC is therefore an integral institution in Zimbabwe’s youth empowerment drive. ZYC also runs several programmes that are aimed at capacitating youths to embark in entrepreneurship such as the Entrepreneurship and Leadership Development Programme.

Policy documents such as the National Youth Policy, the African Youth Charter and the UN World Programme of Action for Youth for the Year 2000 and beyond have also facilitated the current empowerment drive. Zimbabwe is a signatory to both the UN World Programme of Action for Youth for the Year 2000 and Beyond and the African Youth Charter which both call for national governments to vigorously pursue youth empowerment and development (revised National Youth Policy, 2013). Furthermore, the revised National Youth Policy (2013) also calls for youth empowerment as its policy goal number 1. All these policy documents provide a framework for the implementation of the Youth Empowerment Facilities in Zimbabwe. 

The various youth empowerment facilities being offered by the various financial institutions in Zimbabwe are also an institution for driving the youth empowerment agenda. According to the MYDIE (2013) there are several youth empowerment facilities whose objective is to provide credit to the youth to enable them to venture into enterprise development. These youth empowerment facilities are offered by CBZ Bank, IDBZ, ZABG, CABS (Kurera/Ukondla youth Development Fund), Stanbic Bank (Wealth Creation Fund) and the Meikles Horticultural Youth Development Facility. There are other institutions such as the Ministry of Small to Medium Scale Enterprises that play a major role in youth empowerment in Zimbabwe. Other policy provisions for youth empowerment in Zimbabwe include the Zimbabwe National Employment Policy Framework which was jointly developed by the MYDIE and the Ministry of Labour and Social Services. The policy calls for measures to be taken that deal with youth unemployment in Zimbabwe (GoZ, 2009).

2.5	The Implementation
The Youth Empowerment Facilities were operationalised in 2009 as a partnership between the MYDIE several financial institutions namely CABS, CBZ Bank Limited, IDBZ, Stanbic Bank and ZABG. According to the MYDIE (2013), “These Empowerment Facilities support viable youth economic empowerment projects and entrepreneurship development programmes which meet provisions of the national youth development policy frameworks and national development priorities.” According to the MYDIE (ibid), the funding criteria for some of the facilities are as listed in Boxes 2.1 and 2.2.

The study revealed that Youth Empowerment Facilities were in operation in Gweru Urban District. According to Mrs X the Youth Development Officer at the MYDIE Gweru District Offices, youths in Gweru District had since 2010 been mainly funded through 3 Youth Empowerment Facilities namely the CBZ Bank Facility, IDBZ Facility, the CABS Kurera/Ukondla Youth Fund. To her knowledge the Stanbic Wealth Creation Fund had not funded any youths in Gweru Urban District. The records at the MYDIE’s district offices revealed that as of 01 October 2013 a total 39 projects had been funded in Gweru urban district. The CBZ Bank Facility had funded a total of 20 youth projects in the district since 

Box 2.1: CABS-Kurera/Ukondla Youth Fund  	

This facility is meant to financially empower the youths who are aged between 18 and 35 years. The youths should be legally constituted in the form of a Private Business Corporation (PBC), or any other corporate body. However individual youths with viable projects may access funds but will be expected to register within 3 months from the date of receipt of the loan. The projects must have potential to generate sustainable income for the project promoters. Create employment for other youths, marketable, and preferably use locally available resources. The maximum threshold for loans to project promoters is up to US$5000.00 with maximum tenure of 36 months and an interest of 10% per annum. Any assets procured from the loan shall remain the property of the bank until the loan is fully serviced. Guarantors and group financing shall be considered as security. 

Source: MYDIE, 2013

This is a micro credit window with funding from fiscus, which enables youth in different business forms and with bankable projects to access affordable financial resources to start or expand self-employment enterprises. The fund is being managed by CBZ Limited, IDBZ and ZABG. The beneficiaries of YDF are young women and men between the age of 18 and 35. Applicants are expected to produce detailed business plans, identification documents and/or founding documents and to open a bank account with the bank where the loan is to be applied from. All the project proposals are to be submitted to the MYDIE`s provincial and district offices countywide. The maximum amount of loan to be accessed is US$2000 with a maximum tenure of a year and an interest rate of 10% per annum except for IDBZ which is 8% per annum.

Box 2.2: CBZ, IDBZ AND ZABG Facilities (Youth Development Fund)

Source: MYDIE, 2013
2010 while the CABS- Kurera/Ukondla Youth Fund had funded 17 youth projects since its launch in 2011. The interview with Mrs X also confirmed some of the data about the Youth Empowerment Facilities that the researcher had accessed through secondary sources. For example, that the facilities had stopped funding poultry projects. This was said by the ZYC Director Livingston Dzikira at a workshop in Nyanga in 2012 (Bulawayo 24, 23 September 2012).

2.6	Challenges Being Faced Youth Empowerment Facilities
The study revealed there were several challenges that were affecting the implementation of the facilities below are some of the factors:
Inadequate Funding
Inadequate funding was identified was identified as one of the major challenges affecting both the implementation of the Youth Empowerment Facilities and the overall success of the projects funded. According to the MYDIE youth development officers, the funds that were being allocated for the implementation of the programme were simply not enough. The officers argued that in addition to funding the actual project by the youths there was need for training of the youths in aspects such as entrepreneurship, project management and basic financial management so as to ensure that the youth will be able to manage the loan well. However, funding for conducting training was not being availed. All of the 10 beneficiaries that participated in the study confirmed that they did not receive any form of training prior to receiving their loans. The youth development officers blamed this scenario on shortage of funding. This lack of training can be argued to be contributing to the high rate of failure of the funded projects in the District.

Inadequate funding was also affecting the conduct of monitoring and evaluation of the projects. The youth development officers indicated that they were supposed to conduct on site evaluations of projects to determine viability prior to awarding of loans. This process was however at times being foregone due to shortage of funds to conduct such a process. The effect was that at times the officials had to rely on the project proposal to award funding a scenario that saw some undeserving applicants being awarded funding.

Almost all the beneficiaries bemoaned what they felt were ridiculously small loan amounts being issued. Most of these beneficiaries felt that the small loan amounts being issued were part of the reasons for the high failure rate of youth projects funded by the Youth Empowerment Facilities. The study revealed that only one respondent out of the 10 respondents who benefited from the Youth Empowerment Facilities had been able to access the amount applied for from the facilities. The rest had been issued less than half of the amount applied for thereby confirming the sentiments of the district youth development officers that the amounts being issued were too little to have any sustainable impact on the beneficiaries.. For example a 25 year old female vegetable vendor at Senga Bus Terminus Vegetable Market in the outskirts of Gweru CBD applied for US$2 000 but was issued US$500 from the CABS Kurera/Ukondla Youth Fund while a 33 year old male who is a former retail shop operator was issued US$700 after applying for US$2 000 from the CBZ Bank Youth Empowerment Facility. 

Low Repayment Rates
The study indicated that the number of beneficiaries who were defaulting on loan repayments in the district was quite high. It was noted that close to 3 quarters of the respondents said they were failing to service the loans simply because their business had either collapsed or were not profitable enough. The youth development officers also confirmed that there were a lot of defaulters on loans. They said that even though it is not allowed, at times they had to resort to threats of attaching property even with those so called success stories to get them to pay back the loans. The logic of a micro credit scheme is that the money paid back by beneficiaries goes on to pay for more loans for new beneficiaries thereby bringing the benefits of micro credit to an ever expanding pool of beneficiaries (Brown, 2010). Therefore the high rate of defaulters affects the smooth running of the facilities. For example, CBZ has not issued any loans since 2011 as a result of the high number of defaulters. They do not have any money to issue to issue to new applicants because all the money is tied up with defaulters who are not paying back their loans.

High Rate of Failure of the Funded Projects
Some of the MYDIE officials at the Gweru District Offices indicated that there was a high failure rate of the projects funded by Youth Empowerment Facilities in the district. They indicated that the successful cases had been with those that had accessed loans while already involved in a business project. These sentiments were also shared by Mrs X who felt that the majority of beneficiaries accessing loans for startup capital had not been successful and their projects had failed. 

Generally the officials at the MYDIE felt that a very small percentage of those that benefited had been successful and had sustained their projects to this day. They attributed the high failure rate to lack of adequate training and the failure to build capacity in individuals before giving them a loan. They suggested that funds should be set aside to train youths in aspects such as entrepreneurship, project management and planning and financial management. 

Abuse or Misuse of Loans
Cases of abuse of the loans were reported to have been rampant during the early stages of the facilities, that is with the early beneficiaries. However, facilities such as the CABS Kurera/Ukondla Youth Fund had now resorted to paying the suppliers rather than giving the beneficiary cash as a means of guarding against abuse and diversion of funds to things other than the project for which the project would have been allocated. Since CABS adopted this approach cases of abuse of loans had decreased significantly. Livingston Dzikira the ZYC Director confirmed the allegations of abuse and diversion of the loans that were all over the media especially the private media at the workshop in Nyanga in September 2012. He estimated the percentage of youths who had abused or diverted the funds from the Youth Empowerment Facilities to be around 70 per cent (Bulawayo 24, 24 September 2012). Siakwah (2010) noted that those that failed to improve their living conditions in the Youth and Women Empowerment micro credit facility in Ghana were those that had diverted loans into unproductive ventures such as marriages, funerals, birthday parties, buying clothing, beads and jewelry and payment of school fees.

Allegations of Partisanship
The study failed to conclusively accept or refute the allegations of partisanship and politicisation of the Youth Empowerment Facilities. This was because the information that was being obtained from most respondents was very subjective and could not be used to prove or refute the claims of bias in the implementation of the youth empowerment programme in Gweru District. Some of the beneficiaries that were interviewed indicated that they were ZANU-PF supporters whilst about 2 thirds claimed that were not active party members of any political party. However, all the beneficiaries believed that they had been allocated loans based on the strength of their project and not anything else. Given the responses by the beneficiaries it can be assumed that very few if any opposition members benefited from the Youth Empowerment Facilities. The allegations by some of the members that they had applied and were turned down because of their party affiliation could not be validated.   

2.7	Chapter Summary
The chapter started by assessing the possible reasons that led to the adoption of the youth empowerment drive by the ZANU-PF led government. It looked at several legitimate reasons that could justify the youth empowerment drive in Zimbabwe and some ulterior motives that the Robert Mugabe led government could have harboured in embarking on the programme.

The chapter also looked at private sector participation in the youth empowerment drive. Private sector participation especially by commercial banks in a micro credit facility such as the Youth Empowerment Facilities was questioned because traditionally financial institutions are not keen to undertake such roles as they deem them unsustainable to their operations. Therefore private sector participation in the Youth empowerment Facilities can be argued to be more out of coercion than anything else.

The possible reasons why micro credit was chosen as the youth empowerment strategy in Zimbabwe were also examined. It was revealed that the extent of the global spread of micro credit reveals that there is something positive about the strategy. However, there are also several challenges weaknesses associated with micro credit that make it a less viable approach for youth empowerment.   

The chapter also looked at the legal, policy and institutional framework for youth empowerment in Zimbabwe. The Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act [Chapter 14:33] of 2007 was identified as the legal instrument guiding the formulation and implementation of the Youth Empowerment Facilities in Zimbabwe. The implementation process of the Youth Empowerment Facilities was also covered including some of the challenges that have been faced so far. Chapter 4 shall look at the progress made towards achieving the objectives of the Youth Empowerment Facilities.

CHAPTER 3
PROGRESS TOWARDS ACHIEVING THE OBJECTIVES
3.1	Funding of Income Generating Projects Initiated by Youths
One of the specific aims of the Youth Empowerment Facilities is the funding of income generating projects initiated by youths. It can be argued that the Youth Empowerment Facilities have had very little success in terms of funding projects initiated by youths in Gweru District. This is mainly because only a few youths have so far benefited from the loans being offered by the facilities.

 Official statistics from the MYDIE Gweru District Youth Development Officer responsible for Youth Empowerment Mrs X indicate that as at 01 October 2013 only 39 youths had been funded by the Youth Empowerment Facilities in the district. Mrs X indicated that the MYDIE statistics showed that a total 20 youths had been funded by CBZ between 2010 and 2011. However the bank had since stopped issuing new loans because it was following up on outstanding loans.  The CABS kurera/Ukondla Youth Fund had according to Mrs X funded 17 youths in the district. While she knew of 2 youths from the district that had been funded by IDBZ, the MYDIE District office did not have the official statistics of the total number of youths who had been funded by IDBZ. This is because it was difficult to coordinate with IDBZ since it did not have a branch in Gweru and the nearest branch was in Bulawayo. With regards to Stanbic Bank Wealth Creation Fund, the District Office did not have any information of those who had benefited from the fund. In her opinion, Mrs X felt that this was due to the stringent requirements for collateral that Stanbic Bank had imposed.

The 2012 Census indicated that Gweru Urban District had a total of 158 233 people (Zimstat, 2012:84). The same census also showed that the percentage of youths in the country’ total population and in most major urban centres was 43 percent (Zimstat, 2012:9). This entails that by simple mathematics there are roughly about 68 000 youths in Gweru Urban. Given that For a district like Gweru to have only 39 beneficiaries 4 years after the Youth Empowerment Facilities were launched almost certainly confirms that the programme is failing to meet its objective of funding income generating projects initiated by  youths. During the study most youths confirmed that they were in dire need of funding from the facilities. Furthermore, with urban youth unemployment being as high 80 per cent (Hamauswa, 2013) youths in Gweru are definitely in need of funding for their income generating projects. Indications are that very little progress has been made towards funding of youth projects by the Youth Empowerment Facilities.

One may argue that for a development intervention to have an impact on a community then not all members of that community should necessarily be beneficiaries of funding but others may benefit through the opportunities of employment created by those starting businesses or those expanding their businesses. Others may also benefit through the backward and forward linkages created by the increased demand of raw materials and supply of products. Mrs X noted that the loans being allocated through the Youth Empowerment Facilities were too little to making a lasting impact on youth development in the district. This is because the number of youths that need access to the loans is far beyond that which can be accommodated. However the small number of beneficiaries inevitably limits the opportunities of employment creation

3.2	Employment Creation for Youths
It was noted that with for all the respondents who were beneficiaries whose income generating projects were still operational at the time of the study, production, incomes and employment had increased as a result of the loans. However about 90 per cent of these beneficiaries indicated that they were unable to maintain these increases for long. For example the tailor shop owner in the Gweru CBD reported that the US$1 000 loan received from IDBZ in 2010 had enabled him to invest in 2 sewing machines and more material. He confirmed that he was able to employ 3 more workers in addition to the 3 he initially had. This is because the loan had enabled him to bring into production another sewing machine that was idle because of shortage of materials. He also reported an increase in income of about 20 per cent during this period. 

It was the same case with the brick molder who confirmed increased production soon after receiving the equipment and material worth US$1 500 from the CABS- Kurera/Ukondla Youth Fund in 2012. He said he had added two more youths to the labour force after receiving the loan in 2012. The fabric shop owner also confirmed that business peaked soon after receiving the loan in 2010 and he had to employ two more workers. Only one beneficiary who was in business before accessing the loan that is vegetable vendor could not manage to employ more people after receiving the loan. All the respondents reported an increase in average monthly incomes the period soon after receiving the loans. 

However, all the respondents confirmed that business had peaked for only a few months after receiving the loan. They were however unable to sustain this increased business and things went back to the situation they were before receiving the loan. This meant that almost all had to lay off the 2 to 3 employees they had hired soon after accessing the loans. They also reported a decrease in the average monthly incomes that had been achieved soon after accessing the loans. By looking at the amount of stock that the beneficiary vendor had as compared to the other vendors who had not benefited from any micro credit scheme, it was obvious that the other vendors now had relatively more stock as compared to the Youth Empowerment Facility beneficiary.

All the beneficiaries seemed to blame their failure to sustain the levels reached after accessing the loans on the small amounts accessed and shortage of markets for their products. This in a way validates claims by Bateman (2012) that early results of micro credit schemes are usually positive and encouraging but the gains and benefits are rarely sustained for long periods. According to Snow (1999:75) true economic well being and sustainability only kicks in when micro credit facility beneficiaries graduate to commercial sources of capital for their financial and credit requirements and are no longer reliant on a micro credit facility. 

3.3	Technical and Entrepreneurial Training
The Youth Empowerment Facilities also seek to empower youths through technical and entrepreneurial skills training. This entails that the facilities are supposed to provide funding to youths that wish to attend technical or entrepreneurial training at Vocational Training Centres (VCTs). However, this has not been happening as the facilities have been funding proposals for income generating projects only. Brian Mpofu the Head of the CABS-Kurera/Ukondla Youth Fund in an address to parliament in May 2013 confirmed that the facility was not funding capacity building proposals and all such applications had been rejected (Voice of America, 24 May 2013). 

The Youth Empowerment Facilities have also failed to make any significant progress in terms of providing technical or entrepreneurial skills training to the beneficiaries. The study revealed that none of the 10 beneficiaries had received any form of training prior to accessing the loans. This could be argued to have contributed to the high failure rate of those who were being given startup capital. The UN (1998) cites an Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) study, which noted that the most successful micro lending facilities had been those that were accompanied with training. Blattman, Fiala and Martinez’ study also concurred that offering vocational training can have a bearing on the rate of success of a micro credit scheme (2012).

The study established that efforts are now underway to ensure that all beneficiaries undergo some form of training in technical skills, project management and basic financial management prior to accessing the loans. Brian Mpofu confirmed that US$2 million has now been provided for training to be conducted by the MYDIE and ZYC (Voice of America, 24 May 2013). This training would target potential beneficiaries and would be done prior to accessing the funds.  The MYDIE youth development officers confirmed that training had become a condition for receiving a loan. This means that everyone wishing to access a loan from any of the facilities had to undergo training first. 

3.4	Participation of Youths in the National Economy and in National Development Programmes
Economic development is an integral part of all development as it usually provides the means for achieving all the other forms of development. According to Luttrel etal (2009), “Economic empowerment seeks to ensure that people have the appropriate skills, capabilities and resources and access to secure and sustainable incomes and livelihoods. Related to this, some organisations focus heavily on the importance of access to assets and resources.”

The Youth Empowerment Facilities are basically a micro credit programme meant to increase Zimbabwean youth’s access to financing. Micro credit is the extension of small loans to people who would otherwise not have access to credit thereby giving them the opportunity to begin or expand businesses or pursue job specific training (Brown, 2010). Brown (2010) further argues that micro credit has proven itself as a strong stimulant of economic development because loan recipients support themselves through their increased income, they employ others as well as generate business for their supply chain, government benefits through decreased social support and increased tax payments. While these are the expected benefits of a micro credit facility, studies have shown that things have not always gone as expected due to some challenges associated with micro credit (Bateman, 2012 and Snow and Bus, 2001).  

It can be argued that the Youth Empowerment Facilities have not been successful in promoting the participation of Gweru youths in the national economy and in national development. This is mainly because the programme has failed to fund the number of youths projects that would have an impact on the economy. Moreover, the amounts being issued and the types of projects being funded especially in Gweru are informal sector projects that have very little impact on the economy and on factors such as unemployment and poverty. The Stanbic Wealth Creation Fund which offers minimum loans of US$5 000 and a maximum of US$20 000 has so far not funded anyone from Gweru. This is the only facility that provides loans that sponsor projects such as manufacturing that have very high capital demands but also have high returns and a large impact on the economy and on unemployment and poverty alleviation.

While the early results do not show much progress in terms of increasing youths participation in the national economy and in national development there are however some positives that can be drawn. It can be argued that the youth empowerment agenda has led to an increased appreciation by the youths in Zimbabwe and in Gweru of the important role they play in national development. Never in the history of the nation have youths have been more eager to participate in the country’s national development than they are now. This is supported by the increase in the number of national and local youth empowerment groups that have emerged as a result of the youth empowerment drive. These organisations such as Upfumi Kuvadiki and the Midlands Youth Empowerment Organisations (MYEO) have emerged to try and compliment government efforts at promoting youths’ participation in the national economy. 

It can be argued that organisations such as MYEO which is based in Gweru have largely been successful in promoting the participation of youths in the national economy. MYEO has managed to secure land for youths projects in Gweru and has also managed to organise workshops on youth empowerment. On one workshop organised by MYEO on 12 October2013, the youth in Gweru had an opportunity to come face to face with the Minister of Youth Development Indigenisation and Empowerment Honourable Francis Nhema at Educare Hall. Also present were the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs Midlands Province Honourable JMK Machaya, the ZYC Provincial Chairperson T Manyadza and influential members of the Gweru Community and businessman such as Dr Tayi Director of Midlands Private Hospital and Mr Size a businessman and politician based in Gweru. At the workshop youths engaged the politicians on various youth issues including the youth empowerment and various other youth challenges.

3.5	Poverty Alleviation
It is accepted that an evaluation of the full impacts of the Youth Empowerment Facilities would not be possible at this stage. However, this formative evaluation can provide indications of progress or lack of progress towards meeting the programme’s objectives. As highlighted in the introductory chapter, the youth Empowerment Facilities had one broad goal of alleviating poverty amongst the youth in Zimbabwe and 4 specific objectives including the creation of employment for the majority of youths currently unemployed in the country. The achievement of this broad objective is to a large extent dependant on the achievement of the other 4 specific objectives.

MDG number 1 calls on all global countries to make efforts to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger by 2015. Therefore by putting in place measures that are meant alleviate poverty amongst the youth who constitute the largest social grouping in the Country, Zimbabwe is in a way working towards the achievement of the MDGs. This proved the relevance of the programme. However, while the MDGs have a time bound target for their achievement, the Youth Empowerment Facilities do not.  This makes it difficult to measure progress or lack thereof towards achieving the broad objective. 
  
The study revealed that the Youth Empowerment Facilities’ contribution to poverty and unemployment amongst the youth in Gweru is almost insignificant. This is because only small percentage of youths in the district has been able to access the loans, less than one percent. With those that benefited from the loans only a small percentage less than 50 per cent has managed to stay afloat the rest have seen their income generating projects collapsing. The little employment opportunities created by the beneficiaries quickly disappeared leaving the youths of Gweru facing a bleak future in terms of employment. The improved living conditions of the beneficiaries as a result of the increased incomes could not be sustained for long as the production decreased to almost similar levels of the period before accessing the loans. For the few that managed to get employment they were soon laid off finding themselves back in poverty.  It can be argued that the youth empowerment facilities have so far failed to raise the socio-economic profile of youths in Gweru Urban District and prospects for this look bleak given that some of the funders such as CBZ have since suspended funding youth projects under the Youth Empowerment Facilities might have contributed to the facilities failure to have a meaningful impact on the economic development of youths in the area. In a discussion with 3 Youth Development Officers at the MYDIE District Office, it was noted that the 3 shared similar sentiments since they all felt that the rate of failure of the projects by beneficiaries was just too high.

3.6	Some Opportunities, Issues and Challenges
The study noted several opportunities, issues and challenges including youth’s concerns, wishes and hopes for both their future and the future of the Youth Empowerment Facilities. One opportunity that can arise from the youth empowerment drive is peacebuilding and reconciliation. Having experienced years of political violence as both victims and perpetrators, Youth Empowerment Facilities can be an instrument for uniting the youths from the various political parties under one banner and that is the youth banner. Blattman, Fiala and Martinez (2012) noted that the Youth Opportunities Program in Northern Uganda a similar programme to the Youth Empowerment Facilities in Zimbabwe had improved community reconciliation and reduced conflict among rival tribes in the region. Therefore by encouraging youths to form groups, the Youth Empowerment Facilities can be a peace building measure to bring together youths from ZANU-PF and MDC-T thereby reducing political polarisation and promoting tolerance.

Some of the youths that took part in the study suggested that the youth empowerment drive should target big projects rather funding individual project if it is to meet its goal of employment creation and poverty alleviation. They argued that this would have a greater impact on both the economy and youth development as compared to the current Youth Empowerment Facilities. One youth a former retail shop owner from Mutapa gave an example of the impact on the plight of Gweru youth caused by the continued closure of ZimAlloys. He suggested that if all the funds that were put forward by the various financial institutions for Youth Empowerment Facilities countrywide were channeled towards resuscitating industries such as ZimAlloys then the money would have a greater impact on youth development.

Furthermore, the youth argued that to show its commitment to youth empowerment, government would identify youths with suitable qualifications and put them in charge of these industries. In addition, policies that favour the employment of youths in such companies would be crafted to ensure that youths are the ones who benefit the most. This approach if well researched could have a greater impact on youth empowerment and development than the current Youth Empowerment Facilities. This is because honestly speaking not every youth in Gweru is enterprising and not all youths in Zimbabwe wish to start income generating projects. Some are just content with being employees and are even better as employees than as business owners. 

The fabric shop owner was of the opinion that youths who could be classified as operating medium scale projects such as his fabric shop should be issued loans of at least US$5 000 for the loans to have an impact. Such a loan, he argued would enable the production levels and employment levels achieved when the loans were initially issued to be maintained or even improved. He said that with his fabric shop the problem was not the clients but it was capital to increase both the range of his stock and the stock levels of the current stock. This would enable them to compete with the established businesses such as the Indians who have long dominated the fabric industry in Zimbabwe. The fabric shop owner added that at present he was only able to satisfy about a quarter of the clients that entered the shop daily and the rest would have to be turned away due to the limited range of his stock. Increased stock would mean he serves more clients and in the end he would also need to employ more people to satisfy the clients.

Some of the youths in Gweru bemoaned the presence of foreigners whom they accused of looting local resources at the expense of the local youths. This was said to be common in the mining sector which according to some youths had become a preserve of the Chinese. The youths said due to the huge capital investments in terms of plant and machinery required to venture into mining this sector was virtually out of reach for the most youths in Gweru. According to the youth not even the maximum amount allocation possible under the Youth Empowerment Facilities of US$ 5 000 would suffice to fund a mining project which requires at least US$ 15 000 as startup capital. The industry however has huge returns.

The beneficiaries also called on ZYC and the MYDIE to continually conduct training and workshops so as to keep the youth especially those who are into micro enterprises abreast of the best practices. They also called on the formation of a forum were the beneficiaries could meet to share ideas of good practices, challenges and how to overcome them. Government should also put in place other support measures to promote youth entrepreneurs. Such measures could be in the form of legislative policies that compel for example all government departments to award say 50 per cent of all their tenders to projects run by youths in their area.  

It was noted that the Youth Empowerment Facilities in Zimbabwe have also been a victim of the tendency by the authorities to over publish the few success stories as compared to the failures that is typical with most micro credit schemes  the world over. According to Bateman (2012), “the microfinance industry, advocates and friendly media publicise lots of individual heart-warming success stories, which convinces many that the concept surely works.” As a result few have actually taken the time and effort to research on the actual performance and impacts of such development facilities as many just go with what the ‘experts’ and those closer to the actual implantation process. 

It can be argued that there is need for a shift in the way youth empowerment is defined and perceived in Zimbabwe from the current definition were it is simply the advancing of micro credit to youths to a more holistic definition that also encompasses capacity building. There is a need for the Youth Empowerment Facilities to also fund projects that are aimed building capacity as youth empowerment goes beyond economic empowerment. In actual fact capacity building should be first step in the empowerment process and the Zimbabwean youth empowerment programme should be no different. 

The Minister Youth Development Indigenisation and Empowerment Cde Francis Nhema with regards to the Employee Ownership Scheme noted that, the scheme had not been effective because the employees who are being given these shares including their workers committee do not have the capacity to comprehend the value of the shares (Zi FM News Bulletin,17 October 2013). They usually do not understand what a share certificate is neither do they know the value of their 5 per cent share holding. He said in one instance the workers had been duped by management and were made to sign for 2 per cent shareholding all because they did not understand some basic financial issues. Therefore the workers and the youth need to be empowered through capacity building first before being given shares or loans. 
 
The youth empowerment programme should also be increased to include not just companies that were fulfilling their indigenization requirements but also other genuine partners who are concerned about the plight and welfare of Zimbabwean youths. These could be local companies and local and international NGOs including international development agencies such as DANIDA. Youth empowerment should not be a preserve of government and the private sector only.

3.7	Conclusion
The Youth Empowerment Facilities were established in Zimbabwe in 2009 with the objectives of increasing youth employment opportunities and increasing the participation of youths in the country’s development among other objectives. However, 4 years on the county’s youth empowerment drive seems to be far from meeting its objectives. The Youth Empowerment Facilities have failed to have a meaningful impact on the lives of most Zimbabwean youths as they have failed to create employment, they have also failed to fund the majority of youths in the country that need funding due to the limited funding available.

The study which was a formative evaluation of the Youth Empowerment Facilities showed the youth situation in Zimbabwe vis-a-viz the objectives of the facilities. It indicated that youths in Zimbabwe have largely been marginalized politically, economically and socially. This was despite the fact that youths had played influential roles throughout the history of the country. It also exposed how the youth in Zimbabwe continue to be used and abused by different groups of people especially the politicians to achieve their own selfish interests often endangering the lives of the youths in the process. The study also highlighted that the major challenges of the contemporary Zimbabwean youths were unemployment and poverty with some scholars arguing that urban unemployment was as high as 80 per cent. The study noted that youths in Zimbabwe have not benefited from previous development programmes such as the land reform. Overall, the objectives of the Youth Empowerment Facilities were assessed to be relevant to most of the issues affecting Zimbabwean youths today.

The study assessed the possible reasons that could have inspired the youth empowerment drive by the ZANU-PF led government. It emerged that there could be some covert reasons why ZANU-PF was promoting the youth empowerment agenda. The study also looked at private sector participation in the Youth Empowerment Facilities and also other micro credit facilities. It was established that due to problems of sustainability the private sector especially the financial institutions are usually not involved in micro credit facilities.  The reasons for the choice of micro credit as the youth empowerment strategy was also assessed. It was observed that micro credit has its benefits and also its challenges as an empowerment strategy. 

The study also looked at the legal and institutional framework that is supporting the youth empowerment drive where it was noted that the indigenization and economic empowerment policy was the major policy on which the empowerment drive was premised on. The actual implementation process of the Youth Empowerment Facilities and it was noted that there are two types of facilities, one that is funded by private companies as part of complying with the indigenization law and another known as the Youth Development Fund that is funded from the fiscus. It also emerged that the facilities were facing a number of challenges, chief amongst them being shortage of funding.
The study looked at the early impact of the Youth Empowerment Facilities on the political and economic development of the youth in Gweru. It was established that while the facilities had created opportunities for youth to interact with influential politicians, on the whole the programme had no meaningful impact on the lives of most youths in Gweru. While there were some benefits that accrued to the few ‘successful’ beneficiaries, these were temporary and could not be sustained. The rate of failure was generally seen to be quite high resulting the youths failing to repay loans which inturn made the fund unsustainable for some of the financial institutions that had suspended funding of the youth under the Youth Empowerment Facilities. Judging by their early impacts on youth development in Gweru Urban District, Youth Empowerment Facilities are still far from meeting any of the objectives set out.       

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Interview with Mr Jiri (Youth Empowerment Facilities beneficiary), on 4 October 2013, at Mkoba, Gweru 

Interview with Mr Chigumba (Youth Empowerment Facilities beneficiary), on 4 October 2013, at his Tailor Shop in Gweru CBD

Interview with Mr Chipezeze (Youth Empowerment Facilities beneficiary), on 4 October 2013, at Wimpy Garage, Gweru

Interview with Mr Dube (District Youth Development Officer), on 4 October 2013, at MYDIE District Offices, Government Complex, Gweru

Interview with Mr Dzindikwa (Youth Empowerment Facilities beneficiary), on 4 October 2013, at his Fabric Shop in Gweru CBD

Interview with Mr Magura (District Youth Development Officer), on 4 October 2013, at MYDIE District Offices, Government Complex, Gweru 

Interview with Mrs Masuka (District Youth Development Officer), on 3 October 2013, at MYDIE District Offices, Government Complex, Gweru

Interview with Mrs Piwayi(Youth Empowerment Facilities beneficiary), on 3 October 2013, at Wimpy Fruit and Vegetable Market, Gweru

Questionnaires
Questionnaires completed by 24 youths from Gweru Urban District

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APPENDIX 1
GENERAL QUESTIONNAIRE/ INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR YOUTHS 
My name is Fungayi Promote Maraire I am a final year student at Midlands State University studying towards a Bachelor of Arts Honours Degree in Development Studies. I am carrying out a formative evaluation of the Youth Empowerment Facilities in Gweru Urban District (Zimbabwe). This research is in partial fulfilment for the award of the Bachelor of Arts Honours degree in Development Studies. The information you give will be treated as confidential and meant only for academic purposes. I am therefore kindly asking you to answer the questions as truthfully as possible. Please do not write your name anywhere on this questionnaire, just fill in the space provided. Thank you.
Sex:…………………………………………………………………………………………. 
1. Where do you live?
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2. How old are you?
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3. What is your marital status?
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4. What do you consider to be the major challenges affecting youths in Gweru Urban District and why?
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5. Are you employed?
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6. Are you aware of the existence of Youth Empowerment Facilities/ Youth Empowerment Fund?
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7. Have you applied for funding from the facility/ fund and did you benefit or did not benefit from the fund? 
............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
8. What is your understanding of youth empowerment?
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9. Do you think that such initiatives are resulting in youth development in Gweru Urban District and why?
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10. What is the MYDIE doing to assist youths in Gweru Urban District in accessing loans from Youth Empowerment Facilities?
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11. How much is given as credit? Is it enough to help improve your business and how?
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12. Has credit support led to increase in productivity and improvement in your living conditions? How?
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13. Since accessing the loan, how many people have you employed and are they youths?

14. Besides Youth Empowerment Facilities, which other way do you think youths can be empowered. 
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15. Are you able to continue with the project without further support from the Youth Empowerment Facilities?
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16. What challenges have you faced so far with regards to Youth Empowerment Facilities?
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17. Did you use the loan for the purpose stated in the proposal?
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18. Is there any follow up from the MYDIE or the bank and how often?
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APPENDIX 2
PHOTOGRAPHS OF SOME OF THE YOUTH PROJECTS

Fruit and Vegetable Vending in Gweru CBD
Tailor Shop in Gweru CBD

Fabric Shop in Gweru CBD

Brick Molding Project in Mkoba