Indeed, I am sometimes inclined to doubt whether some men consider youths as a rational and intelligent beings, with minds capable of expansion and talent formed for usefulness said a great man - Joseph Lancaster.
Youths across Zambia have been promised so many good things by politicians during campaign periods for the sole purpose of winning their support; alas they end up being used as conduits for violence in many instances at the expense of promising them jobs, empowerment funds and many other things they long for.
Could this be that youths are dull such that they can’t differentiate black from white? I guess NO. Could it be that political players know how to manipulate youths? Or maybe this is a trend in African politics?
It is so sad that youths in Zambia have been promised jobs on several counts during an election but many of them have remained unemployed, ill-educated and without any formal skills to enable them compete favorably in society and contribute to national development.
Every year vocation training centers, colleges and universities produce graduates, majority of which are youths though on a sad note there are limited or no opportunities for employment. Worse more, high schools also produce a big number of school leavers, whom upon collecting their grade twelve results are not all absorbed into colleges and universities because of inadequate number of learning institutions to offer them admissions.
Essentially, since 1991 youths have been promised to be incorporated in national development programmes, leadership and decision making. When is this going to become a reality? Same politicians are recycled in every succeeding government this basically indicates that Zambian youths do not have potential to take part in national development programmes, decision making and worse still to be leaders.
Talking of empowerment, almost at every national gathering youths are promised to be empowered with skills and resources to set up small medium enterprises. Who benefits from resources disbursed as YDF? Is it mere Zambian youths? Or it is cadres from respective political parties in Zambia?
Youths need to be helped to live independently. They need to be better educated so they can have more options to take up in society. They need a safe place to live once they leave. They need empowerment through skills, resources and financial support at colleges and universities. They need a listening government, ideally a network of caring representatives, to take a significant interest in their lives while in care and after care.
Challenges which include but not limited to unemployment ,fragile livelihoods, HIV/AIDS and sexuality, abuse and exploitation, crime and violence must be gotten rid of amongst the youths so as to see a Zambia we hope to leave in.
For how long are youths going to be remembered in times of elections?
To end on a more and serious note, there are still a number of underlying and undressed issues that continue to threaten the well-being of today’s and tomorrow’s society which rests upon the wellness of today’s youth. To this end youths must not be fooled by any politician in the forth coming by-election to be held on 20th January. Its time politicians realized that youths are assets of this country therefore, they must be respected.
No comments:
Post a Comment