Zimbabwe's Mugabe says to reshuffle cabinet next week

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe said Saturday underperforming ministers will fall by the wayside when he reshuffles his cabinet next week, state broadcaster the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation reported.

The veteran president, who was addressing his ruling ZANU-PF Youth League National Assembly meeting in the capital Harare, said the reshuffle will see some ministers being reassigned.

Mugabe last reshuffled his cabinet in 2015. The fresh reshuffle comes ahead of the 2018 polls and at a time when his party is beset with intense infighting over his succession.

Meanwhile, Mugabe urged party youths to be disciplined and desist from politically and ethnically motivated violence.

"It is on this note that I once again encourage the young ones to desist from drug and alcoholic substance abuse, as well as from politically, and ethnically motivated violence," Mugabe said.

He encouraged youths to embrace information and communication technologies and use them for the development of the party and the nation at large.

"The youth must not abuse these platforms and so they should avoid following and supporting those who have advocated regime change politics," he said.

With a few months before next year's general elections, Mugabe also spoke on the need for youths to encourage each other to register to vote.

Zimbabwe is conducting a fresh voter registration exercise for the 2018 polls using biometric voter registration technology for the first time.

The country's electoral body has said it is targeting to register seven million voters, up from 6.8 million in the 2013 vote.