ON April 18, 1980 Zimbabwe was declared an independentState.Locals rejoiced. It had not been an easy road to freedomand efforts by sons and daughters of the soil who hadtaken up arms against the Ian Smith colonial regime hadpaid off.The country was back in the hands of its rightful owners.For years locals, had been living under the brutal colonialregime that not only stripped them of their dignity but alsostatus.In Rhodesia, blacks had been reduced to third classcitizens.It was the whiteman who was enjoying the fruitsof the land.The country and its vast natural resources that includeland, water and minerals was being enjoyed by the whitesand heirs of the heritage were getting nothing. Angered bythe unfair treatment, blacks took up arms and fought theSmith-led Government.Rhodesia had to fall. Indeed the whiteman’s dreamcrumbled and a new Zimbabwe was born. Back in chargeof the country, it was now time to rebuild. Zimbabweanshad to work hard to restore their lost pride, dignity andstatus.After all, that is what they had fought for. Determinationand perseverance was required and the ZANU PF-ledGovernment backed its people in the drive to empowerthem.Since the country attained independence, variousempowerment programmes have been put in place.TheUnited Nations, through its Sustainable DevelopmentGoals, and the African Union’s Agenda 2063 recognisesboth youth and women as central to inclusive andsustainable economic growth.ZANU PF has heeded the call and availed variousempowerment programmes for women and youths.During the colonial era, women were sidelined as thecolonial Government did not recognise them as equalbeings. As such, black women were left out in terms ofempowerment programmes. However, thanks to the ZANUPF-led Government, the status of women is changing.In its 2018 People’s Manifesto, ZANU PF committed itselfto increasing the role and status of women as well as uplifttheir dignity through programmes that speak to their needs and aspirations. When the Land Reform Programme wasadopted, women were given the opportunity to accessland. This has resulted in a growing number of womenventuring into commercial farming of crops such asmaize, tobacco and livestock production.Small scale women farmers have taken over the productionof small grains such as peanuts, roundnuts, sunflowers aswell as the rearing of chickens, goats, sheep and pigs.A Women’s Bank was also launched to help womenaccess financial loans to start up various empowermentactivities. Value addition is one of the concepts that hasbeen introduced as part of the empowerment drive.This has resulted in women being engaged in projectsto train on how to produce peanut butter, essential oils,jams, soap and detergents, among other things. The Partythrough the Women’s League introduced the CommandBakeries Programme under which women are trained onhow to produce confectionery products, bread and sconesincluded.These products are sold in various communities.To date, more than 3 000 Dutch ovens have been setup across the country under the programme. Just aswomen are an important constituency, the centrality andimportance of youths as pillars of the present and futureof the country cannot be overemphasised.As such, ZANU PF has rolled out empowermentprogrammes for youths. The move is aimed at reducingunemployment levels in the country. Youths have beenpresented with opportunities in mining and agriculture,among other key sectors. Youths in ZANU PF have vowedto ensure that young people are given opportunities tocontribute to the nation’s development agenda. Addressing the media earlier this year after giving apublic lecture at Gweru Polytechnic College, ZANU PFYouth League Deputy Secretary Lewis Matutu said theyouth wing was committed to working towards theimprovement of the lives of youths. “Idleness is verydangerous and we want to ensure that our young peoplefeel accommodated,” he said. “We are spelling the vision2030 to our young people so that we also inculcate thespirit of entrepreneurship.”President Mnangwagwa has continued to reiterate theneed to focus more on the economy and less on politics.And the various empowerment programmes initiated andimplemented by ZANU PF are a show that the Party hasheeded President Mnangagwa’s call.