Minister of Local Government and Public Works, Daniel Garwe, has called for the inclusion of ideology training in Zimbabwe’s Early Childhood Development (ECD) curriculum to instill national consciousness in children from an early age.
Garwe made the remarks on Friday in Bulawayo during a training session for councillors and local authorities’ staff from Matabeleland North under the Herbert Chitepo School of Ideology.
“We want you to go as far down as even the ECDs in terms of an ECD-based curriculum so that our children or our grandchildren will grow knowing the nature, the structure, and the architecture of their heritage, which is Zimbabwe,” Garwe said.
His remarks come amid controversy over the Herbert Chitepo training programme, which has faced criticism from human rights lawyers and civil society groups who argue that it is a government-led attempt at political indoctrination. The training is currently focused on councillors and local authorities’ staff, but Garwe said the programme would expand to other institutions.
“After this programme, we are going to be working with other universities, local universities, or state institutions to be driving different agendas that speak to local governance,” he said.
Garwe dismissed claims that the Herbet Chitepo ideology training programme was a partisan initiative, insisting that it was a national institution working towards promoting Zimbabwe’s heritage-based education.
“Let me start by correcting some narrative that I came across this morning when I arrived here. The Herbert Chitepo School of Ideology is not a party-based organisation, it’s a government organisation, even though its consummation was through the ruling party in the 70s during the war,” he said.
“It is now a government institution which is assisting our universities in ensuring that we drive heritage-based education to Zimbabweans. That is the principal responsibility of the Herbert Chitepo School of Ideology. Ideology has no political face. Ideology carries a national face, the face of Zimbabwe.”
Garwe said the ideology training should be embraced by all Zimbabweans, regardless of their political affiliations, as it promotes unity and national development.
“This is a national programme, which we must give all the due respect that they deserve. They are driving a national programme as guided by the President of Zimbabwe,” he said.
The councillors’ training programme was attended by representatives from Zanu PF, the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), and a councillor from the MDC party led by Douglas Mwonzora.
“We recognise your presence. We honestly and sincerely recognise your being here. You are part of the community. You are a Zimbabwean. We are all here to drive a Zimbabwean agenda,” Garwe said.
Garwe highlighted the importance of Zimbabweans maintaining their cultural identity, warning against adopting Western values at the expense of local traditions.
“I know the majority of our people, particularly those from urban centres or urban local authorities, have a high appetite to want to shift or drift away from our own culture to the cultures borrowed from the Western world. That is not us,” he said.
“Let’s be ourselves as Zimbabweans. Let’s drive our culture. And I am happy now that there is a new dimension, there is a new wind blowing over the United States of America by the new President (Donald Trump). He is speaking to America, he is not speaking to wanting to cause problems in other countries. And we must speak to Zimbabwe.”
Garwe also called for collaboration across political divides, saying national development should take precedence over political differences.
“I know the politics that we inherited in the past dispensation was that of hate. A councillor from CCC is a brother or sister to me. I must not be ashamed to be seen dining and wining with the councillors or MPs from opposition parties,” he said.
“And similarly, councillors and MPs from opposition parties must not be afraid of talking and dining and wining with their colleagues from Zanu PF. I think we are all Zimbabweans above all,” he said.
The minister added that opposition parties play a crucial role in governance by providing checks and balances.
“The President said this sometime early this year, that opposition continues to identify weak areas in the ruling party. So that the ruling party will correct those, so that we develop our country going forward as a collective. So please don’t be afraid of working together,” he said.
Garwe outlined the government’s ongoing efforts to capacitate local authorities through training, which he said aligns with Zimbabwe’s Vision 2030 goals.
“The Ministry of Local Government and Public Works regularly and categorically trains policymakers and employees in the local authority sphere as part of its responsibility to monitor, oversee, and empower local authorities in our beautiful country Zimbabwe,” he said.
He added that the Ministry had rolled out a three-phased induction programme for councillors, targeting mayors, chairpersons, and council staff to enhance their understanding of governance.
“It is therefore critical to note that during this process the Ministry is aware of the wide political dichotomy which exists among policymakers and staff as well as the narrow appreciation of basic but fundamental aspects of the nation’s history, identity, and politics,” he said.
To address this, Garwe said the Ministry saw the need to integrate a heritage-based initiation course into local governance training. “Government saw the need therefore to include a heritage-based initiation course into the training and induction process to ensure local authorities as a third tier of government better understand the national development agenda as espoused in Vision 2030,” he said.
“Vision 2030 is a national vision. It is not a political party vision. It is a vision that was developed by the Head of State and Commander-in-Chief and now Chairman of SADC. So it’s a national vision. All of us must own it because we are part of government.”
Garwe also drew parallels between Zimbabwe and other countries that have introduced patriotic education campaigns to instill national values in their citizens.
“The Ministry realises it takes a leaf from initiatives carried out in countries such as China, the United States of America, the Russian Federation, Singapore, and Japan among others, where patriotic education campaigns have been launched to promote love for the motherland, to promote values, moral values, and to promote relationships among citizens,” he said.
He expressed hope that the partnership between the Ministry and the Herbert Chitepo School of Ideology would help roll out a patriotic education curriculum across Zimbabwe’s 92 local authorities.
“It is therefore our sincere hope that the Ministry’s partnership with the Herbert Chitepo School of Ideology for the rollout of a patriotic education curriculum across all our 92 local authorities and the development of a training manual and modules for use and dissemination in the local government space will go a long way in driving this agenda,” he said.
Garwe urged Zimbabweans to embrace national identity and values to secure the country’s future. “This is the heritage we got from our ancestors. This is the heritage we will leave for our children. This is the heritage they will leave for their children. And the beat goes on,” he said.