Mashingaidze: The 1987 Zimbabwe National Unity Accord and Its Aftermath 91 two elections, the parliamentary elections of 2000 and the presidential elections of 2002, this dichotomy emerged. However, the MDC is extremely popular in the rural provinces of Matabeleland and the Midlands. It scored emphatic victories in the two elections. This is quite different from other Shonadominated constituencies where ZANU-PF.) has apparent hegemony. The popularity of the MDC in these rural areas is because of the people’s memory of what the ZANU government did to them in the 1980s and its failure to develop their areas in the years after. This displeasure partly explains the emergence of sectarian and opportunistic parties that have emerged with the aim of riding on the crest of this antagonism. Among these are ZAPU (different from the nationalist one of the 1960s) and the Liberty Party of Zimbabwe, whose policies advocate a federal system of government. They hoped to divide Zimbabwe into five provinces with each having its own regional government, parliament and budget, but occasionally reporting to the central government. Conclusion The Zimbabwean government is aware of the grievances of the people of Matabeleland and some parts of the Midlands but there is little it can do considering the poor state of the economy. Again, acknowledging the injustices of the past in the current harsh macroeconomic environment for which it is largely to blame, would further antagonise the people. This means that the culture of silence will continue for some time to come. The government is more concerned with keeping its hold on power than on any meaningful peace-building projects. The ruling party has co-opted many sections of society, youths, women’s groups and intellectuals, into the political realm in the past five years in scenes analogous to the 1980s when ZANU-PF was still a hegemonic, commandist-cum-para-militaristic party, with no regard for dissenting ideas. Notably the participation of youth in the Zimbabwean body politic has been viewed with scepticism. Some have castigated the process for creating social and political banditry (see The Daily News, 6 September 2003). Youths have been involved in both pre-and post-election violence. Much of the violence in Zimbabwe’s highly polarised political terrain is ascribed to the youths. Youths have contributed to the shrinkage of democratic space in the recent past. In an attempt to win support the ZANU-PF, government revived the Youth Service programmes of the 1980s in the form of the National Youth Service. Ostensibly, the National Youth Service was introduced to reorient Zimbabwean youths into patriotic and self-reliant young men and women, but, in reality, was designed to woo the young back into the fold. The compulsory national service programme was introduced in early 2000. This 4.Mashingaidze.pmd 91 31/10/2005, 12:54