Outspoken Zimbabwean Deputy Finance minister Terence Mukupe has reportedly said that President Emmerson Mnangagwa's cabinet is the oldest in the country's history due to lack of young people's interest in politics.
According to NewsDay, Makupe said that Mnangagwa was finding it hard to appoint a youthful cabinet, as most young people shied away from politics, leaving him with no option, but to appoint old people as ministers.
He said Mnangagwa had a tough time in finding educated young people who were in parliament last year and, as a result, he resorted to the old and tired politicians.
Mukupe said this while addressing students at Nyadire Teachers’ College in Mutoko this week.
"Who knows when we last had a young Cabinet?," he asked, with a student responding, saying "1980", and Mukupe concurred.
"This is because there are no young educated people in Parliament, who can be appointed as ministers.
Lack of young people’s interest in politics
"You have to be in the corridors of power for you to be appointed. The current Cabinet is the oldest in the history of Zimbabwe and we have to correct going forward," Mukupe was quoted as saying.
He said that due to the continued lack of young people’s interest in politics, the president was likely going to face the same problem after this year's harmonised election on July 30.
The deputy finance minister’s remarks came a few weeks after he reportedly came under fire last month for suggesting that the army would never allow the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader, Nelson Chamisa to rule the country.
Mukupe said that the army would never allow "a child" to govern the country after forcing Robert Mugabe to resign last year.
"How can we say, honestly, the soldiers took the country, practically snatched if from Mugabe, to come and hand it over to Chamisa?" Mukupe was quoted as saying by the privately owned NewsDay.
His comments were, however, slammed by acting information minister Simon Khaya Moyo.
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