Maravi

Political abuse of youths irritates Levy

Political abuse of youths irritates Levy
By Chibaula Silwamba, Sandra Mulowa and Agness Changala
Thursday March 13, 2008 [03:00]

President Levy Mwanawasa yesterday said he gets very irritated when youths are treated as mere political tools during political campaigns. And a youth representative Allan Sakala said youths wanted eight per cent of the national budget to be allocated to their welfare because they were the majority in the country.

Officiating at this year’s Youth Day commemoration under the theme: ‘Promoting Partnership Between the Youth and other Stakeholders for National Development’ at the Freedom Statue in Lusaka yesterday, President Mwanawasa said it was essential to prepare youths to become future leaders when the current leadership is gone.

“I remember my time as a youth, time has run too fast. I cannot imagine that I am 60 and yet it seemed not long ago when I was talking of being 25 years old,” President
Mwanawasa said.

“I am determined that the youths of today will have a prosperous future and grow into prosperous citizens. It is for this reason that I get very irritated when matters of youths are handled with kinder grooves and when the youths are treated as mere political tools, which should be used during the period of political campaigns. It is essential that we should prepare our youths effectively so that they can become future leaders when we are gone.”

President Mwanawasa said the partnership between the youth and other stakeholders for national development did not simply end at young people being incorporated into adult decision-making processes but must be institutionalised in issues, settings and practices that were very much of young people’s lives.

“One of the greatest benefits of youth, government and stakeholders’ partnership is that of policy framework formulation which my government designed in partnership with the young people themselves.

This has helped to give a better understanding of strategies, roles and responsibilities to be played by each stakeholder including the youth,” he said.

President Mwanawasa said the policy of establishing youth resource centres in every province was on course and the objective was to continue the process until each district could have a youth resource centre.

“I, therefore, urge young people through the nation to take advantage of the skills training programme offered in the centres to uplift their lifestyles,” President Mwanawasa said.

“I wish to pay tribute to our cooperating partners for their continued support by supplementing government efforts as stipulated in the national youth policy. I therefore urge them to fulfill all the pledges they made towards youth programmes especially with regard to the upgrading of these youth resource centres and skills development programmes.”

He said youths that would graduate from the youth resource centres could produce goods and services for consumption within their communities.

“I therefore urge the Ministry of Sport, Youth and Child Development, the Office of the Vice-President and the Citizen’s Economic Empowerment Commission to join forces and spearhead the establishment of a youth industrial complex starting at provincial level and eventually at district level,” President Mwanawasa said.

“Once established, youths who graduate from youth resources centres can utilise the industrial complex to utilize their acquired skill in productive ventures and take advantage of community needs in their areas and around the country.”

And President Mwanawasa announced that the government’s policy on the management of the youth empowerment fund has been shifted from the Ministry of Sports, Youth and Child Development to the Citizens Empowerment Commission.

“The changeover has caused some delays in the disbursement of the youth empowerment fund. In order to avoid any further delays, the Citizens Empowerment Commission must act quickly to ensure that delays are eradicated in collaboration with the ministry responsible for the youths,” said President Mwanawasa.

And Sakala said youths had for a long time been used to provide labour for the private sector and that there was need to come up with a policy for the private sector to support youths.

Sakala commended the government for introducing new taxes for the mines that would ensure that Zambians benefited from the mineral resources.

Labels: MWANAWASA, YOUTHS

posted by MrK @ 3:08 AM