By Zumani Katasefa
Monday March 12, 2007 [02:00]
Some youths on the Copperbelt have urged parliamentarians to improve the quality of debate in the House if they are to effectively contribute to the improvement of lives. The youths observed that the calibre of most members of parliament was below par and their debates were of low standards.
One of the youths James Chileshe said members of parliament should not forget that their electorate was expecting a lot from them. Another youth, Tabo Kawana said members of parliament had failed to debate the national budget presented by finance minister Ng'andu Magande because it was too technical for them.
Kawana, who was speaking during a Face to Face with the Community radio programme on Radio Icengelo on Saturday warned that youths would never vote for members of parliament who had shown inefficiency in executing national issues. Kawana also urged politicians not to use the youth to achieve their political visions.
http://www.postzambia.com/post-read_article.php?articleId=23690
Challenging times for our youth
By Editor
Monday March 12, 2007 [02:00]
TODAY marks the end of youth week celebrations that began last Monday. And as the youth end their celebrations, we would like them to reflect on the words found in the Bible book of Ecclesiastes 11:9,10 which state: “Rejoice, young man, in your youth, and let your heart do you good in the days of your young manhood, and walk in the ways of your heart and in the things seen by your eyes. But know that on account of all these the true God will bring you into judgment. So remove vexation from your heart, and ward off calamity from your flesh, for youths and the prime of life are vanity.”
These are words of wisdom that can guide our youth into a very successful future. There will never be a future without the youth just like there will never be youth without prospects of a future. It is said that the youths of today are the leaders of tomorrow. But this saying will not hold true if our youth do not reflect on the words of wisdom above and put them into practice.
Dr Kenneth Kaunda is today asking our youth to abstain from illicit sexual activities that even lead to HIV infections, among other infections that contaminate the body. This advice may sound routine but it is the bedrock of the youth’s future that we talk about. The old men and women are everyday fading away from the surface of this earth and it is the youth that are growing into adults who are destined to inherit the earth, the future.
But if our youth do not heed Dr Kaunda’s advice, which is also in the Bible, there will be no youth to inherit the earth because all of them will have perished from the deadly HIV/AIDS pandemic. The youth form the great majority of our country’s population and statistics so far indicate that they are the most infected or affected by HIV/AIDS. According to the statistics, most people infected by HIV/AIDS are between the age of 15 and 45 and the bulk of this number are the youth.
Why is this the case? Well, it is clear that our youth, more than ever before, are today immersed in loose conduct which lead them into all sorts of vile and despicable things. As a result, the country in particular and the world in general are losing out through the demise of the youth who are in the most productive age group.
The youth do not only comprise the majority of our country’s population, they also form its most creative component. And without engaging the creativity of the youth, it is impossible for this country to move forward socially, politically and economically.
The youth are also the most militant part of our population. When we look at Zambia’s history and analyse things, especially before independence, we will realise that it is the youth that brought about independence to this country. As we all know, Dr Kaunda himself was a youth when he became secretary general of the African National Congress in 1953. And when Zambia became independent in 1964, it is the youth, in most cases, who occupied government positions and directed the affairs of our country. And if we are to judge these youths fairly, we can say they put Zambia on a path of progress because most of Zambia’s cherished infrastructure - be it universities, schools, hospitals, roads and bridges - were built by these youths during the post independence era.
Some of these people, who are no longer in their bloom of youth, are still living. These include Dr Kaunda, Sikota Wina, Grey Zulu, Vernon Mwaanga, Alexander Chikwanda and Elijah Mudenda.
But today, our future leaders are dying at a very tender age. Dr Kaunda urges the youth to adopt a slogan of “prevention is better than cure” in fighting AIDS. Indeed, this is correct and timely advice especially that there is even no cure for AIDS.
This is the biggest challenge not only for the youth but also for the men and women who have seen the days of their youth. We should remind ourselves that HIV/AIDS is not only a challenge to the youth but the entire humanity because as the disease has no known cure yet, its existence threatens all those who are sexually active, be they young or old.
But with determination, all things are possible. AIDS can only be conquered if Dr Kaunda’s advice of prevention is adhered to.
Dr Kaunda has also urged the youth to take an active role in sharpening the future of their country. He wants them to serve Zambia with the best of their ability and concentrate on whatever they do whether they are at school or at places of work. This can only happen when the youth first preserve themselves; then the future will belong to them, tomorrow will belong to them.
But for all this to take place, we will require our ‘old youths’ to come back and help our youths acquire the right values, the values that have helped them live longer and spurred them to selfless revolutionary action in the struggle of our country’s independence. We say this because there can be no just struggle without fair ideas founded on very noble sentiments.
And as things stand today, our youths are not guided by noble sentiments in most of the things they do. They are much propelled by selfishness, greed and vanity. They are striving after the wind. If we have to move forward as a nation, we need to start inculcating just ideas and noble sentiments in our youths.
This will not be an easy task. It will require a lot of effort from both the young and the old. Indeed, these are challenging times for the youth. That is why, on this day of the youth, we call upon our progressive young people to meditate deeply over the future of our country and their role in it.
In the words of Dr Kaunda, we say to our young people: “Remember love, unity and hard work in every situation and loving God with all our heart, soul and all our mind will see us through all these problems.”
posted by MrK @ 4:15 AM
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