'He who betrays the poor betrays Christ'
By Editor
Sun 10 Nov. 2013, 14:00 CAT
MOSES Sakala of the Sakala Brothers says there is no better cause than to stand up for the poor and the vulnerable in society. We agree. Christ's entire doctrine was devoted to the humble, the poor; his doctrine was devoted to fighting against abuse, injustice and the degradation of human beings.
This makes us recall Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro's 1971 talk with Catholics in Chile, his 1977 meeting with ministers in Jamaica, and that phrase of his in the first few years of the revolution: "He who betrays the poor betrays Christ."
Truly, this is so because it is your fellow man, and especially one who lacks life and needs justice, in whom God wishes to be served and loved. They are the ones with whom Jesus identified. This is the best way to follow Jesus, especially in Zambia's present situation.
In advice to a king, we are told in Proverbs 31:8-9: "Speak up for people who cannot speak for themselves. Protect the rights of all who are helpless. Speak for them and be a righteous judge. Protect the rights of the poor and needy."
In Sirach 18:25-27, we are reminded: "When you have all you want, think what it is like to be hungry, what it is to be poor. Things can change in a single day; the Lord can act very quickly."
The poor are in a weak position and they need someone to speak up for them and to protect their interests. And speaking up for the poor and defending their interests is not a riskless undertaking. As Bishop Dennis de Jong once observed, "The prophets stood on the side of God and the side of the poor and got themselves in trouble and imprisoned.
Jeremiah was thrown into a well, exiled and so forth. Sometimes some of our people say, 'you shouldn't be speaking out like that, you will get into trouble'. I think it is true that we have forgotten the principles of fairness and justice as well as love of our neighbour and our duty to protect the poor. We should appreciate that most countries start off with a great deal of hope.
But suddenly, we forget God somewhere along the line. We forget the poor. The decisions we make, the policies we put in place affect the poor and we should be mindful of that. The poor are never really consulted or helped to analyse the problems they face.
We, together with the government and other agencies, should be helping them to find solutions" (Bantu Magazine, March 2000, Edition No.3). Only thus can we avoid the myth of a formal democracy which hides a situation of injustice.
COMMENT - By the way, 'Bantu Magazine' is part of the corporate funded anti-ZANU-PF NGO WOZA (Women of Zimbabwe Arise). They give their address as Johannesburg, South Africa. - MrK
Actually, if beyond juridical laws, a more profound sense of respect and service of one another is lacking, and even of an equality before the law, it could serve as an alibi for flagrant discrimination, for constant exploitation, for effective deceit.
There is no political participation without economic participation. The poor cannot be said to be participating in our democratic processes while they remain poor.
The poor in the gospel do not constitute a "class" per se, but a quality of availability, who usually co-exist in a situation of economic crisis.
And it would be dangerous to minimise the elements of real poverty by "making spiritual" what in the scripture appears as a virtue, because it belongs to the poor. The poor are also the oppressed, the humble, the enslaved, and for the most part, it's the rich, the powerful and the violent ones who are to be blamed for causing this evil.
When Jesus says: "Blessed are the poor in spirit," by poverty he means an attitude of total orientation to God. And absence of property is really included, because material possessions enslave persons and take their liberties away from the true meaning that they should give to their life. The true support, the true security, the treasure that counts is the Lord. It is the same idea in Sophonias: "But I will leave as a remnant in your midst a people humble and lowly, who shall take refuge in the name of the Lord."
In St James' epistle, there are similar vibrations. One finds constant preaching of the prophet favouring the poor. The poor deserve respect. They must be sought out in contrast to the rich. We must look at them with acceptance, because: "did not God choose those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith? Are not the rich exploiting you? They are the ones who haul you into the courts…" (James 2:6).
From the eschatological perspective, with the sort of eschatology that has already began, then we are already in the "last days". St James points out: "Now, then, you rich persons, cry and yell for the affliction that will be coming upon you. Your riches are rotten and your garments have become moth-eaten… Behold, the wages that you have not paid to the peasants who reaped your fields cry out as a protest; the shouts of the field workers have reached the ears of the Lord." In this last expression, there is a clear reference to Exodus 22:22.
In Christ's preaching, preaching against the rich who he calls "unfortunate," we find a relationship to the theme of idolatry that existed in the old covenant. Riches are a form of idolatry: the idolatrous person is the one who assigns an absolute value to something that did not have value before. The unique absolute is God. Wealth is a form of idolised cult. From another viewpoint, it is an institution, a lack of availability. Its chains are heavy. An alienated person is also alienating.
Poverty is a liberator. Human agility permits a response. It gives the poor an approach to God and to others. The beatitude of poverty in St Matthew's gospel and his clear reference to the poverty of the spirit is something quite demanding. Obviously he wanted to emphasise - not to forget or relegate to a secondary level - the fact that it was not enough to be really poor because of lack of possessions but to stress that one should consent to this lack of possessions up to a certain point. Here this is not the case of differentiating - as we do it in modern times - poverty as an evangelic command and destitution.
Christians in their special vocation can sometimes play the role of the destitute as a protest against misery in a perspective of authentic awareness.
All this should be very deeply understood in all its meanings. And as Bishop Charles Kasonde of the Catholic Diocese of Solwezi says, "responding positively to empowering the poor and defenceless is a special calling". We should always be mindful of how our decisions and actions affect the poor; "he who betrays the poor betrays Christ".
Labels: MOSES SAKALA, PAUL MUSUSU, UNEMPLOYMENT, YOUTHS
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Too many unemployed youths a danger - Mususu
By Henry Sinyangwe
Sun 10 Nov. 2013, 14:01 CAT
BISHOP Paul Mususu says it is dangerous to have too many unemployed and vulnerable people in society. The former Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia executive director said people who were vulnerable were being used by selfish individuals such as politicians to fight their battles.
Recently, Moses Sakala of music duo Sakala Brothers said there was no better cause than to stand for the poor and vulnerable in society. This was during a fundraising dinner organised by the Solwezi Catholic Diocese where Bishop Charles Kasonde also said responding positively to empowering the poor and defenceless was a special calling.
Commenting on the matter, Bishop Mususu said the duty of every leader was to protect the interests of their followers by standing up for the poor and vulnerable in society.
He said there was need to ensure an equal share of the natural resources in the country.
"Whether a church or political leader, a leader is there to protect the interest of his followers which is supreme," Bishop Mususu said.
And Bishop Mususu said the fighting among Patriotic Front cadres was as a result of high unemployment levels.
"Youths have no jobs which leaves them open for manipulation. There is need to empower people so that they spend time on progressive things, rather than butchering themselves like what happened on Thursday," said Bishop Mususu. "The sponsors should come out clean on this because those youths cannot organise all those machetes going to a presidential function."
Labels: PAUL MUSUSU, UNEMPLOYMENT, YOUTHS
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'In every challenge, there is an opportunity'
By Editor
Tue 22 Oct. 2013, 14:00 CAT
There are few misfortunes in this world that cannot be turned into a personal triumph if one has the iron will and the necessary skill.
And Edith Nawakwi is right when she says to our young people without jobs that "the key is for every challenge, there is an opportunity. If the council is not collecting garbage, that is your opportunity… that opportunity is your source of income because you are unemployed" and that no matter how menial or dirty one's work is, it is significant as long as it benefits the people's health and sanitary environment.
Unemployment is the scourge of our country. It deprives our people of their God-given right to work. It undermines their human dignity. It is a terrible frustration and humiliation for a parent to be unable, due to unemployment, to provide for the family. It is equally demoralising for young people to find there is no work waiting for them when they leave school.
Good leaders must be interested in the welfare of those in distress. We expect them to feel the distress of many who have a problem about the cost of goods, education, medicine, with the tragedy of unemployment, of youth and so many other important concerns where we are all involved, and all must help the government. All these are difficult problems for any government to face. But to solve them, we need hardworking and public-spirited political and civic leaders like the way Edith is doing; we need people of courage who will defend the truth and demand justice for the poor, for the ordinary.
Most people rely on work in order to earn a living. It may be formal employment, earning a wage in exchange for labour, or it may be through some form of self-employment such as the garbage collection scheme Edith and her comrades are working on. Either way, there are very few people who do not have to work for a living.
One of the main tasks of an economy, therefore, is to ensure that there are enough jobs, or opportunities to work, to meet our people's need to earn a living. Where there is high unemployment, we have an indication of an unjust economy.
One of the main reasons for our high rates of poverty is the failure of the economy to provide sufficient jobs. While it is true that no economy is able to assure sustainable full employment, joblessness in Zambia is not just a matter of a small percentage; it is an extremely serious problem.
In order to derive benefit from an economy, people must be able to participate in it; and for most people, the primary means of economic participation is through work. Indeed, throughout human history, it has been a basic norm that all are expected to work, and thereby to contribute to the economy. Those who refuse to do so, for no good reason, have generally been excluded from the benefits of the economy.
However, if society expects all its members to work and to contribute, then it should make it possible for them to do so. In this regard, a profound responsibility rests on both the political authorities and those who hold powerful positions in the economy. Everything possible needs to be done to maximise job opportunities. And where the choice is between greater profits and greater employment the latter must be chosen.
Clearly, as things stand in our country today, this is a matter of the greatest urgency. The level of unemployment is too high. And as long as this remains the case, there can be no hope of achieving a secure and prosperous future for our people. In some parts of the country, unemployment is so high that the few who work have to support not only their own dependants but another worker and his dependants as well.
Thus, unemployment affects not only those without jobs, but also those who have work. In consequence, the poverty and the gap between the rich and the poor can only be exacerbated. Furthermore, such a high scale of unemployment acts as a huge drain on the state's resources, further reducing its ability to provide much-needed social services.
And the harm caused by unemployment is by no means limited to material matters; there is also an enormous social cost. While simplistic deductions must be avoided, there can be no doubt that a connection exists between high rates of unemployment and the distressing high incidence of crime, family breakdown, domestic violence, hooliganism and even political violence, and drug and alcohol abuse which beset our society. Many of these social problems in turn impact negatively on the economy, resulting in a vicious circle which will only be broken by the provision of jobs.
We are aware of, and do commend, our government's efforts over the last two years to deal with the tragic effects of unemployment. But we feel that much more needs to be said and to be done if we are to effectively meet the massive problems of human suffering in Zambia today.
And no one should be silent in the face of this suffering of our people. The word of God challenges us: "If you refuse to hear the cry of the poor, your own cry for help will not be heard" (Proverbs 21:13).
We therefore call upon all people of goodwill to emulate what Edith is doing and to try and deal more forthright with this increasing suffering in our midst. We all know of our people's suffering.
And as to our young people without jobs, they should not be ashamed to take up any job that is available. If it is garbage collection, let them take it up if that's the only job available to them. If it's cleaning toilets, this job has to be taken up by someone because it is a job that needs to be done.
It is important to realise that the value of any human work does not depend on the kind of work done; it is based on the fact that the one who does it is a person. There we have an ethical criterion whose implications cannot be overlooked.
Thus, every person has a right to work, and this right must be recognised in a practical way by an effective commitment to resolving the tragic problem of unemployment. The fact that unemployment keeps a large sector of our population, and notably the young, in a situation of marginalisation, is intolerable. For this reason, the creation of jobs is a primary social task facing individuals and private enterprises, as well as the state. As a general rule, in this as in other matters, the state has a subsidiary function; but often it can be called upon to intervene directly.
Labels: EDITH NAWAKWI, UNEMPLOYMENT, YOUTHS
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Youth are Zambia's greatest resource, says Chikwanda
By Moses Kuwema
Fri 04 Oct. 2013, 14:01 CAT
FINANCE minister Alexander Chikwanda says youths should not be allowed to be wasting assets by getting involved in crime and other vices.
COMMENT - Then they need a good example to follow. Considering the current economy is based on giving away natural resources to foreign mining corporations, I don't see how any minister is in a position to chastise any youths for criminality. - MrK
Speaking yesterday when visiting Prince Edward paid a courtesy call on him at his office, Chikwanda said Zambia was faced with the challenge of turning the youths into a useful asset for the country.
"The youth of any country represent a great resource. The greatest resource the country has is people; people armed with knowledge, armed with skills... 70 per cent of our country are people 30 years and below," Chikwanda said.
He said Prince Edward's visit to Zambia to try and push forward a youth programme had a lot of meaning and that the Zambian government was grateful for the support. Chikwanda said Britain's support to Zambia was very significant at the moment.
"We have a four-year programme and it is worth emphasising that at the height of challenges in the economy, the UK government has never relented to support Zambia. It is up to us, Zambia, to make sure that we make full use of the support we get from UK because it comes from the hard-squeezed taxpayers in the UK for us to appreciate the sacrifice that the people of Britain make in order to help us," he said.
And Chikwanda told Prince Edward that Zambia and Britain's relationship had not been characterised by acrimony.
"We were your colony but now you handed over the responsibility to an independent Zambia. There has been no wrangle and our relationship has not been characterised by acrimony, fortunately," said Chikwanda.
Prince Edward, who is on a two-day working visit to Zambia, also met Vice-President Dr Guy Scott at Government House.
Labels: ALEXANDER CHIKWANDA, EDWARD WINDSOR, YOUTHS
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Education system needs makeover - Katuta
By Fridah Nkonde
Thu 01 Aug. 2013, 14:00 CAT
YOUTH Vision Zambia director of programmes Chilambe Katuta says it is difficult for young people to have an entrepreneurial spirit if they are not guided.
Commenting on United Church of Zambia's Resurrection congregation minister in-charge Reverend Mwimba Chikalipa's statement that many youths fail to live independent lives after school because they are taught that they are being educated in order to get employed and not to earn a living, Katuta in an interview yesterday said the education system in Zambia needed a complete makeover.
Delivering his sermon on Sunday, Rev Chikalipa said teachers were to blame for teaching pupils that they go to school in order to get employed.
"In as much it is true that young people are not being taught how to earn a living, it is important not to blame anyone as to why young people are not learning to earn a living. We must understand that our education system needs a complete makeover," Katuta said.
He said it was clear that Zambia had a weak education curriculum system which led to most young people having complete skills mismatch when they finished school.
"On the aspect of young people not having an entrepreneurial spirit despite Zambia having a number of policies such as the youth empowerment policy, it all comes back to the issue of having a strong curriculum that will make young people become businessmen and women and not really looking to government as a main source of employment," he said.
He said there was need to strengthen the curriculum system to include issues such as skills development for the young people to learn how to earn a living.
Labels: CHILAMBE KAKUTA, YOUTHS
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Zambia needs youth mentorship programme, says Nawakwi
By Ernest Chanda
Mon 20 May 2013, 14:01 CAT
EDITH Nawakwi says Zambia needs a serious mentorship programme where the youth can be empowered with knowledge and survival skills. And Nawakwi on Friday announced the death of her mother.
Nawakwi, the opposition Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD) leader, has been on a countrywide mentorship programme for the youth. Her party has come up with a programme called Neighbour's Friend, through which she is training the youth in entrepreneurship.
And on Tuesday last week, Nawakwi mentored five Copperbelt University forestry graduates.
"Given an opportunity to be in office, our idea is to create income at household level. It's through starting a project like this that the youth can create income for the future because tree planting is one of the few lucrative agriculture jobs. So, mentorship is part of the FDD's empowerment programmes," she said in an interview.
"So what we have managed to do through the party is to organise for them to go for actual practical work. They'll go with their own seedlings and they'll be assisted on doing that because they'll find someone who is a practitioner. So, in about six months' time, they will be delivering the seed to the customer. We are importing the seedlings from Vietnam. These are graduates in one field, forestry; it's not a single job for them anywhere."
She appealed for government support to the programme so that more youths could be empowered.
"At least I know that this programme can grow. And when you as government say 'let us work together with political parties', this is one programme where the government can come to this secretariat and say 'we have money for youth enterprise, how much does the FDD want? How many people are benefiting?' We are not saying they should bring money to the secretariat, no, but to the association," said Nawakwi.
"They have now gotten to a position where they have an order for 50,000 plants through us here worth K120 million (KR120,000). The curriculum at the university as usual is white collar; they have nowhere to get practical experience. We've done the talking, we need someone to incubate them and then release them."
Meanwhile, on Friday, Nawakwi wrote on her facebook page: "Friends, it is with a heavy heart and deep sorrow that I announce the passing away of my dear mother. Kindly remember us in your prayers during this tragic time."
Labels: EDITH NAWAKWI, FDD, YOUTHS
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Stanbic urges skills training for youths
By Fridah Nkonde
Wed 17 Apr. 2013, 14:01 CAT
STANBIC Bank has called for equipping of young people with skills to help them properly integrate in society.
Speaking in Lusaka yesterday when the bank hosted students from across the country, head of marketing and communication, Kamiza Chikula, said students needed to have life skills imparted in them in order for them to properly integrate into society.
"Once the youth are equipped with necessary skills, they will be able to relate to the aspirations of the country and contribute positively to its development. Equipping young people should not fall on government's shoulders alone but on the corporate world and community at large. Each student here today comes from a community that has the responsibility of preparing the student for a future role as a leader," Chikula said.
He said investing in the youth, especially those from underprivileged communities, would have a positive effect on social and economic development.
Stanbic Bank has over three years supported Junior Achievement Zambia in its effort to provide guidance and mentorship to students across the country.
The students are usually hosted by the bank for a day of mentoring on careers and life skills as well as an opportunity to get first-hand experience of working life in a cooperate environment.
While in Lusaka, students will visit State House where first lady Dr Christine Kaseba will provide a one-on-one mentorship session to each of the students and present them with certificates of participation.
http://www.postzambia.com/post-read_article.php?articleId=31579
EDUCATION, MICHAEL SATA, CHRISTINE KASEBA,
There would be no Zambia without teachers, says Sata
By Fridah Nkonde
Wed 17 Apr. 2013, 14:01 CAT
PRESIDENT Michael Sata says the importance of teachers in the country cannot be underestimated.
During the junior achievers mentorship programme at State House yesterday, President Sata said there could be no Zambia without teachers, adding that there was need to look after them well.
And President Sata gave a pair of shoes and mathematical sets to each of the 30 junior achievers and also took time to interact and pose for photographs with the elated pupils from all the 10 provinces of Zambia.
Meanwhile, first lady Dr Christine Kaseba encouraged the pupils to work hard at school and also advised the girls not to be distracted by money from sugar daddies.
"Concentrate on your studies and do not be distracted by money that comes from sugar daddies because you will be able to make more money than what you will be given to distract your studies. You need to think beyond, and for you to be able to attain your goals, you need to read and work extra hard because there is no substitute for hard work. Make sure you go to school and listen to you parents, and your teachers. Remember that you are the present and the future for this country. The future of this country rests solely in your hands. Work hard in order for you to take this country further than where we are. We are depending on you to make a difference," Dr Kaseba said.
She said every pupil needed to be guided on the career choices adding that her wish was to see all schools offer career guidance to pupils.
She said pupils in rural areas faced a lot of hardships.
"A lot of them are going through a lot of hardships. Some are staying with their grandparents, some are single orphans and some have parents but they cannot provide for them. My appeal to the Ministry (of Education) is to see how we can put in a fund to help the vulnerable children to be able to complete their secondary school. This group, I am particularly proud to note that we have 20 young girls who are achievers and I need to commend the girls to continue working hard. It's important that girls continue to work hard and be achievers. Having interacted with the children, it is evident that they have gained a lot of insight and I am confident that they will be able to make informed career choices," she said.
Dr Kaseba commended Stanbic Bank Zambia for the support and the money that they had continued to pump into the programme.
Stanbic Bank Zambia chief executive Dennis Kennedy said the mentorship programme was no longer a preserve of families where the young students came from but the responsibility of those that had had opportunities to excel in their respective fields.
Education permanent secretary Dr Patrick Nkanza thanked Dr Kaseba for her efforts in mentoring pupils.
Labels: STANBIC, YOUTHS
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Nawakwi pledges to address youths' needs once elected
By Allan Mulenga
Tue 02 Apr. 2013, 14:01 CAT
EDITH Nawakwi says FDD has pledged to engage young people in addressing their problems when elected into office. And Nawakwi has observed that the focus on girl child education has left the boy child completely neglected.
In an interview, Nawakwi, who is Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD) president, said youths had brilliant ideas, but lacked the platform where they could present them.
"We need to engage them and they are willing to be engaged. So, when I am president, that is a strategy I will use and say, 'look, what do you want to do?' I will not go to them and say, 'I want to take you to Namushakende so that you can go to the university because I want to put you in farming'. Not every young person can be a farmer," she said.
Asked whether the party's mentorship programme targeted at youths was a political strategy ahead of 2016 elections, Nawakwi responded: "If you tell me that it is a political strategy, I don't know what the young people will think amongst all of us politicians. FDD, and Edith Nawakwi in particular provide the best solution to their problems. It is them to judge. We are not basically going to them to ask them to vote for us, this is FDD. We genuinely call them and those young people are extremely brilliant."
She observed that not all leaders were willing to talk to young people about their problems.
"Yes, I am in the opposition, but I have to spend my time not only looking for votes for 2016, but trying to get people to realise that we cannot share poverty and we can share knowledge which we can apply and eradicate poverty," she said.
"You will be amazed what is coming out of this. It is not only graduates we have young people who have distinction, six or seven points and they are not able to go to university because they have no money."
And Nawakwi observed that the boy child had been completely neglected.
"All of us are talking about the girl child. The boy child has completely been neglected. There is a boy child who is in the pub drinking tujilijili and we have forgotten about them. All of us mothers are now talking about the girl child and girl education. Let's talk about our children. I want my daughter to excel. This should be the basis of government. What it is it that the boy child can do? These are the huge problems which can not only be left to people in formalised office. All of us need to get involved," said Nawakwi.
Labels: EDITH NAWAKWI, FDD, YOUTHS
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Laziness among our youths
By The Post
Thu 14 Mar. 2013, 16:40 CAT
ZAMBIA Army director of chaplaincy Colonel Vincent Mwenya says laziness has become endemic among our youth. We agree.
And we believe that this laziness and do nothing attitude relates to the changing of discipline in the home and school. Today many parents let their children get away with most things because they think they are protecting them, the young people are not learning good hard work or discipline. When they grow up, they fail to understand that actions have consequences and the sense of being responsible.
Today we have young men and women over the age of 30 still living in their parents' homes, having free accommodation, free food, free everything and doing nothing but watch television, surf the Internet and fidget with their cell phones all day and night long.
Some of these young men and women are even marrying and producing children in their parents' homes. And the parents take care of everything. These young men and women are given money for new clothes, cell phones, talk-time, alcohol and so on and so forth. There are servants to take care of all their needs - cook for them, wash for them, clean their rooms and make their beds, and even look after their babies. The parents are paying for all that.
Most of these young men and women are not working, claiming there are no jobs. There are no jobs because most of the time these young men and women only want white-collar jobs, the same type of jobs their parents have.
They want to start their working lives as managers, as ministers and so on and so forth. Castro Chiluba used to boast: "Umwana wambwa ninshi? Nimbwa! Umwana wambushi ninshi? Nimbushi! Umwana wa president ninshi? Ni president…"
This is what the young people today want to be. The station of their parents in life should also be their stations in life forever. If their parents live in Sunningdale, Kabulonga, Woodlands, Rhodes Park, they too should live there, even if their personal stations in life can only enable them to live in Mtendere, Kalingalinga, Bauleni, Garden or Ng'ombe compounds.
Let us send them out from our homes so that they can use their minds and bodies to work. We are destroying them, and with them the nation, by giving them free accommodation and free food.
The laziness of our youth, to some extent, is responsible for the lack of rapid development in the country. They sit under trees and verandas all day long. And they try to blame this on lack of employment. We cannot expect to be rich if we don't work hard.
Our young men and women should start their work experience from lower
responsibility until they reach to the top positions of their dreams.
Some of the dreams of our young people lack responsibility. Let's dismiss lazy youths from our homes so that they can fend for themselves and learn what it means to be responsible. If you keep young men and women, with their spouses and children, in your house, you will one day be forced to resort to corruption to meet these huge obligations.
We are destroying these young people and the nation by giving free accommodation and free food to people who refuse to help in the development of this country.
What seems to be growing more and more in our nation is a lack of demand for responsibility and only emphasis on a person demanding their rights. This is unfortunate. John D. Rockefeller once said, "I believe every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty."
Sadly, parents are often to blame for this problem, for the laziness of our young people. In an effort to avoid confrontation, or the desire to make their children happy, many parents actually condition their children to be lazy. A parent's goal should be to develop a sense of wellbeing within their children by teaching them the importance of being diligent, of being hard working.
We should not, under any circumstances, reward or ignore slothful behaviour. We understand and accept the fact that parenting is an extremely hard job. But it becomes more difficult by failing to instil diligence and developing strong character in our children. Let our young people know that fun and pleasure come as a result of a good, honest work ethic.
Today's youth have a sense of entitlement that we find difficult to understand. They have no respect for their parents, or authority. And this seems to be a direct result of the way we are changing our views on how to deal with bad behaviour. We have allowed our children to think they can get away with laziness, with not working, with acting in this way.
We often hear parents say, 'When I was your age I had to walk 20 kilometres through the bush, crossing streams just to get to school.' That or something like that is usually said to a youngster who is complaining about having to do something. Laziness is inherent in youths who think they have to do nothing but eat, sleep, watch television, surf the Internet, talk on the cell phone and send SMS to friends, all at the expense and effort of someone else providing them the means and opportunity to do so. But at what point does childhood transcend into adulthood? When does a child become responsible for their own actions? When do you, as a parent, take away privileges and allow your children to fend for themselves?
Today, getting a young person to even clean up after themselves without being told is a nightmare, let alone asking them to do something on top of that. It is like pulling teeth to get them to do any chores if they do any.
As Col Mwenya has correctly implored, let us not allow laziness, which is now endemic in our youths, to continue. No country can develop that is not able to fully and effectively deploy its young people. These are supposed to be the most productive citizens of our country.
And if the most productive citizens become the most unproductive, then there is no hope for the country to develop, then there is no hope for a better life for the great majority of our people who today wallow in extreme poverty.
Labels: BENJAMIN MWAPE, WORK ETHIC, YOUTHS
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Young people should stop being lazy - Mwape
By Fridah Nkonde
Thu 14 Mar. 2013, 17:20 CAT
YOUNG people in Zambia should stop being lazy and begin to take keen interest in the country's development programmes, says Restless Development programme coordinator Benjamin Mwape.
Commenting on Zambia Army director of chaplaincy Colonel Vincent Mwenya's observation during Youth Day celebrations in Lusaka on Tuesday that laziness had become endemic among the youth, Mwape said young people needed to wake up to the fact that they are leaders and not beneficiaries of development programmes.
"All the young people in Zambia should stand up and become innovative so as to productively contribute to the development of the country. My emphasis is that young people should stop looking at themselves as beneficiaries of government programmes targeted at them. They should become more engaged and participate in the issues of development in the country," he said.
Mwape said there was need for the youth to wake up to the new challenge and become innovative by initiating their own developmental programmes.
He said it was unfortunate that most young people were not active in their communities, adding that they always waited for their area members of parliament to promise them development.
"Most youth in Zambia just wait for the MP to visit the area and promise them things. I don't even know why they do not initiate their own developmental
programmes because most of the time, they don't even have an opportunity to see their MP. The youth in Zambia should realise that they have the right to engage with their leaders," Mwape said.
He said Restless Development believed that young people were the solution to development.
Mwape said the youth needed guidance and support for them to fully participate in the development of the nation.
He said Zambia had a great opportunity to invest in young people and make them become the main contributors of development because they were the majority.
Mwape said the government needed to utilise young people so as to realise more productivity through them.
In his sermon shortly before laying of wreaths during Youth Day celebrations, Col Mwenya implored the youth to maximise available opportunities to better their lives.
"The key therefore is that every opportunity that comes your way, maximise it to the full; do not allow laziness which is now endemic in the youth in Zambia," said Col Mwenya.
Labels: BENJAMIN MWAPE, WORK ETHIC, YOUTHS
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'Opposition in N/Western claim youth fund is blood money'
By David Chongo in Mufumbwe
Sun 27 Jan. 2013, 11:20 CAT
NORTH Western Province minister Steven Masumba is disappointed that some opposition politicians in the province are reportedly telling youths that government's Youth Development Fund is blood money meant to initiate them into Satanism.
He says as a result, some youths are shunning the KR1.1million fund for fear of being taken into Satanism.
Masumba said in notes delivered on his behalf by Mufumbwe District Commissioner Emma Mankishi and Ministry of Sports Youth coordinator for North Western Christopher Malisopo at meetings held in Lumwe, Kashima and Matushi areas on Friday that as a result, several youths especially from Kasempa had stayed away from applying for financial support.
He said some youths had been dissuaded by political opponents of the Patriotic Front that the resources from the YDF were maneuvers to get them into satanic practices.
Masumba stated that the fund was a way to alleviate poverty and create employment through clubs formed by women and the youths.
And Lumwe residents Judith Dinala and Juliet Kuneti appealed to Masumba to deliver on his promise that the women and youths in the area would be financially supported unlike previously when they were only alerted to the possibility of applying for the funds but never got any of their projects approved.
But Malisopo assured that the current administration was determined to reduce poverty by taking empowerment programmes in the rural areas and ensure that vulnerable people were not disadvantaged.
Mankishi told the women that the PF Government had put them at the centre of driving development in their communities and would not neglect them.
Labels: STEVEN MASUMBA, YOUTHS
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Siabutuba implores youths to be useful
By Cynthia Phiri in Choma
Wed 23 Jan. 2013, 13:59 CAT
YOUTH Development Organisation executive director Partner Siabutuba has implored young people in the country to take advantage of the government's political will in youth leadership by being useful. In an interview, Siabutuba said the PF and its government had given a lot of leadership positions to the youth to serve at various levels and advised them not jeopardise their opportunities by allowing political parties to use them in perpetrating violence.
"For a long time now we have not seen youths take up leadership positions like we are seeing today. Most of our youths have been given jobs in foreign missions which is a plus to our generation. So youths should not shoot themselves in the foot by being disorderly," Siabutuba advised.
And Siabutuba urged youths in the country to fully participate in the Mpongwe and Livingstone by-election by electing leaders of their choice. He appealed to politicians to make good use of the youth than using them as tools for perpetrating violence.
"There is a lot that youths can do other than violence, like the situation we saw at Woodlands police station where they assaulted a police officer; instead youths can be mobilised and used as peer educators who can actually disseminate their party manifesto, there is no democracy in violence," Siabutuba said.
He said for the youth to enjoy respect, they need to have self-respect first and be able to show the rest of the world that they were ready to take up leadership positions.
Siabutuba explained that when the youth are known for lack of respect and violence, they tend to take away from what society perceived them to be.
Labels: PARTNER SIABUTUBA, PF, YOUTHS
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Needs of the youths
Fri 18 Jan. 2013, 13:40 CAT
Geoffrey Mwamba, the Minister of Defence, says that any country that does not attend to the needs of the youths is on a self-destruction path. We agree. A nation, a country, a society which values its future affords the highest priority to the needs of its youths. Truly, the future of the country depends on how well it addresses the plight of its youths.
Our young people, our youths are our most important natural resource, and we must prepare them for the future. And this realisation should stimulate us in working for the future of our young people. And with this in mind, we call on everyone to keep on working and struggling with enthusiasm, strength, firmness and unwavering confidence in the future. And the basic clay of our work should be the youth. We should place our hope in them and prepare them to take the banner from our hands.
Good leaders must be interested in the welfare of the youth. We expect them to feel the distress of our young people who are bearing the tragedy of high unemployment.
But dealing with problems and challenges facing the youth is not an easy thing. This is so because these young people carry on their shoulders many problems and challenges; they carry on their heads and backs the challenges and problems of the whole nation - the nation of the past, the present and the future. We need leaders of courage who will defend the truth and demand justice for our young people.
But the importance of our youths, of our young people is something that is being sloganeered about in our politics everyday. "The youths are the greatest resource of our country!" How often we hear that statement! And how true is it for our homeland! Our young people are indeed our greatest resource, our richest treasure, our best hope for the future. Yet today in Zambia, we hear of the frightening abuses of that resource, of its deterioration, exploitation. We sadly note that this resource is being abused amidst great suffering, a suffering which by and large seems to go unnoticed by those in our politics and is often inadequately responded to by government programmes.
We are therefore delighted whenever we hear of any government programme being initiated, being commissioned that is aimed at the youth. However, we always feel that much more needs to be said and to be done if we are to meet effectively the massive problems and challenges of our young people.
It is demoralising for our young people to find there is no work waiting for them when they leave school, college or university.
Most of the problems and challenges our youths are facing arise from the failure of the economy to provide sufficient jobs. While it is true that no economy is able to provide all the young people with jobs, joblessness among the youths in Zambia is not just a matter of a small number; it is an extremely serious problem.
In order to derive benefit from our economy, our young people must be able to participate in it; and for most of them, the primary means of economic participation is work. If we expect our young people to contribute to national development, we have to create opportunities for them to work. If we expect our young people to work and contribute to national development, then we must make it possible for them to do so.
In this regard, a profound responsibility rests on both the political authorities and those who hold powerful positions in the economy. Everything possible must be done to maximise job opportunities for our young people. And where the choice is between greater profits and greater employment for our young people, the latter must be chosen. This is a matter of the greatest urgency.
As long as these high unemployment levels among our young people remain the case, there can be no hope of achieving secure and prosperous future for our young people and indeed our country as a whole.
And as defence minister Mwamba has correctly observed, there is an enormous social cost to high youth unemployment. The harm caused by high youth unemployment is by no means limited to material matters.
While simplistic deductions must be avoided, there can be no doubt that a connection exists between high rates of unemployment among the youths and the distressing high incidences of crime, gangsterism, drug and alcohol abuse. Many of these social problems in turn impact negatively on the economy, resulting in a vicious circle which will only be broken by the provision of jobs to the great majority of our young people.
This country is theirs and ours, but in the last analysis, it is theirs, it belongs to the young people, the youths. Young people, full of vigour and vitality, are in the bloom of life, like the sun at six or seven in the morning. Our hope is placed in them. The world belongs to them. Zambia's future belongs to them. Zambia must care for her youths and show concern for the growth of the younger generation. Therefore, full attention must be paid both to their work and study and to their recreation, sport and rest.
The success of all that we are doing, of our political work, of all our government programmes must be measured by how much they address the problems and challenges of our young people, of our youths. The hopeless and desperate young people we meet everyday are a testimony to an unfinished job. There can be no keener revelation of our progress, of our soul than the way in which we address the problems and challenges being faced by our young people. The true character of a society is revealed by how it treats its young people. But as Dr Kenneth Kaunda once observed, our young people also have a responsibility to bear:
"The future of this country lies entirely in your hands, and we can provide you with opportunities, as indeed we are fast doing, but in the end it is your own effort that must count in making you a successful citizen or resident. In the end, it is your own willingness to contribute to the good of Zambia that matters. Hold these opportunities with both hands, and if I may borrow from the Scout movement, grow up always prepared to serve your country under any difficulties and at all times. Will you?"
Labels: ANDREW NTWENE, GBM, UNEMPLOYMENT, YOUTHS
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Let young people play a role in development - Mwewa
By Moses Kuwema
Fri 18 Jan. 2013, 13:40 CAT
YOUNG African Leaders Initiative president Andrew Ntewewe says Zambia will only stand on the path of economic development by letting young people play an effective role in national development.
Commenting on defence minister Geoffrey Mwamba's statement that any country that does not attend to the needs of the youths is on a self-destruction path, Ntewewe said it was true that a nation that does not consider its young people does not look at its own future.
"It will be on a self destruction path because the young people as we know them, have a lot of energy, skills and these young people are the ones that are supposed to be the backbone for national development.
They are supposed to play a key role in all areas of human endeavor. In particular in terms of economic development, they are supposed to use their energy for purposes of developing our industry and tapping
our resources so that Zambia can truly become politically and economically independent," he said.
Ntewewe said young people are the ones who could define the destiny and future of the country.
He said the number of youths was constantly on the increase and there was need for them to be engaged in national development of the country.
"If we do not look at these young people and ensure that they can effectively participate in our democratic system of government in ensuring that there is economic development and they play that role
then we are failing our own country because we are missing out on this great potential and skill that young people have," he said.
Ntewewe said the government has the responsibility of looking at the potential of the young people and harness it for the future of the country.
During the official opening of the intake 04/2012 of the youth training programme at Chiwoko ZNS camp on Friday last week, Mwamba said the government understood that matters of youths were crucial to
any nation.
He said the future of the country depends on how well it addresses the plight of the youths.
"Government is concerned that most of the youths in Zambia lack financial support to help them pursue further education for the betterment of their lives. This has been further compounded by the limited formal employment opportunities that are available in the country," he said.
Mwamba said it was equally of concern to see youths being exploited in a number of ways just for them to sustain bare existence.
Labels: ANDREW NTWENE, GBM, UNEMPLOYMENT, YOUTHS
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CCDP welcomes government's funding to youths' entrepreneurship projects
By Cynthia Phiri in Choma
Sat 07 July 2012, 13:22 CAT
THE Choma Children Development Project has welcomed the decision by government to set up financing for youth entrepreneurship projects in the 2013 National Budget in a bid to create more jobs.
In an interview, project coordinator Cornwell Hademu said the intervention by government is a move in the right direction because it would enable youths who already have skills but have been failing to access funding to become self-sustaining economically.
Hademu said access to funds had been a huge challenge for most youths being churned out of youth skills training institutions who wished to venture into self-employment activities.
He said the Youth Entrepreneurship Facility would enable youth to turn their energies and ideas into business opportunities to increase their incomes and create decent work for themselves and others.
Finance deputy minister Miles Sampa disclosed on Monday after attending the opening session of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) 2012 that the government is keen to set up financing in the 2013 national budget that will particularly target innovations coming from the youths.
Hademu said while his organisation had intensified efforts in the provision of skills to youths, it was sad that many of the beneficiaries still ended up on the streets as a result of failure to access funding for their entrepreneurship projects.
He said it is for this reason that the Choma Children Development Projects salutes the government for coming up with an initiative that will address this challenge.
"As a project, we are indeed thankful to government for this well-thought move," said Hademu.
Labels: MILES SAMPA, YOUTHS
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Address unemployment urgently, Masheke urges government
By Selina Nyirenda
Fri 29 June 2012, 13:24 CAT
YOUTH and sport minister Chishimba Kambwili says the protest by youths who were left out of the Zambia Army/Zambia National Service recruitment exercise is justified. And General Malimba Masheke says the government should address the issue of employment with the seriousness and urgency it deserves.
Commenting on the protest by youths who were not short listed for the joint recruitment exercise at Lusaka's Emmasdale area yesterday, Kambwili said it was unfortunate that the recruitment was done without proper planning.
"I think in my opinion, the whole problem was caused by the department of recruitment because they knew that they wanted very few people but they went out and advertised to the whole world inviting people for interviews. If you call people for an interview, you should give all of them an opportunity to be interviewed, you don't become selective. It's unfortunate what happened yesterday but they had a reason to protest," Kambwili said.
He appealed to the Zambia Army and Zambia National Service (ZNS) to get organised and conduct a safer recruitment exercise which would not trigger riotous behaviour.
Kambwili further urged youths not to panic for jobs and that they should exercise some patience because the government was putting in place a comprehensive programme that would tackle the issue of employment.
"We have only been in office for eight months. We have to plan, from there we have to do feasibility studies then we implement and that would not happen in eight months. We are going to create youth farms…where these youths will be employed then later on become shareholders, and once these are established, we will move on to districts," said Kambwili.
And commenting on the mass turn out of school leavers for the on-going joint recruitment by the Zambia Army and Zambia National Service, Gen Masheke said such was an indication of how desperate people were for jobs.
"I am not seeing an answer to the unemployment situation in the country if government still depends on the military, ZNS, ZAF as a way of solving the problem when these can only pick a handful of thousands of young applicants leaving out the rest," Gen Masheke said.
He advised the government to consider implementing certain measures such as empowering youths in agriculture development.
Gen Masheke said the government should not be shy to work with whoever has good and workable plans because the issue of employment is a national concern.
"In 1991 when MMD came into power, it sold all the parastatal companies, now the number of unemployed people in the country has reached its maximum.
Its uncontrollable," said Gen Masheke.
And Youth Constitutional Coordinating Committee coordinator Mulenga Fube said it was unfortunate that jobs were only being offered to school leavers, therefore neglecting the uneducated.
According to Fube, youths who were uneducated as well as unemployed were a danger to society saying they were easily lured into illicit activities such as drug abuse and other criminal activities.
"A more worrying sector is that those who have never been to school are a time bomb," said Fube.
Labels: CHISHIMBA KAMBWILI, MALIMBA MASHEKE, UNEMPLOYMENT, YOUTHS
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Expose youths to more social, political challenges - Fr Chibuye
By Ernest Chanda
Wed 20 June 2012, 13:24 CAT
FATHER Patrick Cibuye says society should expose the youth to more social and political challenges as a way of preparing them for leadership at both national and international level.
Commenting on PF secretary general Wynter Kabimba's lauding of China as a role model in leadership training, Fr Chibuye who is Mpika Catholic diocese director of Caritas said where there was no youth empowerment, there would be a serious gap in the leadership process.
"I find the comment by Wynter Kabimba very progressive on youth empowerment at national as well as international level. I think this is what the youth today are looking for. From the onset, they should be empowered with education which is relevant to their social and political environment," said Fr Chibuye.
"Education will help them assess the political and social environment. Where there is exposure, the youth will be able to understand trends in environments outside their own. It also helps them understand global issues, especially on how youths in other countries develop into good leaders. The youth are the future leaders; and if they are not prepared in terms of exposure to social challenges, it will be very difficult for them to be good leaders."
He said youths should not just be used in political fights, but be moulded into responsible citizens.
Fr Chibuye said civilised societies looked to the youth as a reservoir of continuous leadership.
Speaking at the opening of the China-Africa young leaders' forum in Beijing on Sunday, Kabimba said it was this development path which made China relevant to Africa today.
He said the world today possessed more challenges to the youth of China and Africa than it did to the outgoing generations of the two.
Kabimba said African youths should understand that the plight of the continent's social and economic underdevelopment was a political question, which called for their proactive action and active participation.
"The youth must realise without delay that their social and political consciousness is a catalyst and central to their self-identity. That social injustice is not natural but a designed phenomenon and an instrument of domination by the designer," said Kabimba.
Labels: PATRICK CHIBUYE, WYNTER KABIMBA, YOUTHS
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KK attributes his longevity to healthy lifestyle
By Moses Kuwema
Sat 28 Apr. 2012, 15:50 CAT
DR Kenneth Kaunda has attributed his longevity to the healthy lifestyle he leads. In an interview, Dr Kaunda, whose birthday falls today, said his vegetarian lifestyle had helped him reach 88 years.
"I am a vegetarian, I don't take meat, no eggs, no chicken, I eat only vegetables," he said. And Dr Kaunda welcomed the banning of tujilijili by the government. He appealed to young people in the country to stay away from the consumption of the illicit brew.
Dr Kaunda said much as the government had banned the manufacturing, distribution, stocking and consumption of tujilijili, young people in the country could take a leading role by avoiding the consumption of the sachet beer.
"Tujilijili must be stopped, the kids, young men and women must stop that. They should not wait for the government to act, but should do so themselves. They should solve the issue themselves by not drinking the stuff and that's the best way of fighting tujilijili. So I appeal to them to stop," he said.
And later after officiating at the Habitat for humanity Zambia (HFHZ) function in Kalingalinga, Dr Kaunda led children that had surrounded his vehicle in denouncing tujilijili.
Dr Kaunda further said parents and leaders in every walk of life must come together to build Zambia for the future of the children.
Meanwhile, speaking during HFHZ's commemoration of Dr Kaunda's 88th birthday, which was celebrated by building a house for Christina Banda of Kalingalinga, HFHZ programme manager Musoli Kashinga said her organisation had constructed over 2,442 houses in various communities serving approximately 20,000 people with housing-related services.
Kashinga said slum dwellers faced a lot of hardships as oftentimes they had no title to land, no sustainable livelihood or income and faced hunger.
She said vulnerable groups lacked tangible livelihood activities to meet their income needs due to their age, situation and lack of skills and information.
"Because of living in marginalised unserviced areas, vulnerable groups are at risk of infection from various diseases such as HIV and AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and many," she said.
And Lusaka mayor Daniel Chisenga said the challenge of housing in the city was quite insurmountable.
Chisenga said it was good that private organisations and individuals were helping in resolving the housing deficit, saying the PF government was committed to seeing that people had decent accommodation.
Christina Banda, a widow who takes care of six grandchildren who are single orphans, urged HFHZ to continue with its programme of building houses for the needy whom she said were many out there.
Labels: ALCOHOL, KENNETH KAUNDA, YOUTHS
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Africa’s youth should rebel - Mbeki
Sunday, 18 March 2012 11:04
The youth of the African continent should prepare themselves for a rebellion against their older generation and claim their leadership role, former South African president Thabo Mbeki said yesterday.
Mbeki who was addressing the Youth 21 global leadership forum in Nairobi, Kenya said two thirds of the continent's population was the youth and that in 2045 they would be the leaders responsible for the two billion projected continental population.
“To ensure that (the youth) actually exercises the leadership everybody rhetorically accepts and proclaims is its due, the youth must organise and ready itself to rebel, so to speak!”
“It would obviously be unnatural that I, a member of the older generation, would easily and willingly accept that younger people, my own children, should, at best, sit side-by-side with me as co-leaders, fully empowered to help determine the future of our people,” he said.
He said the new generation should define its unique and historic contribution to their societies' development, otherwise it ran the risk of betraying its mission which would condemn the continent to “the out-dated views and prejudices of the older generations.”
He said the continent's future depended on achieving the objectives in African Youth Charter of “peace and security, democracy and good governance, economic growth and development and gender equality” to which all African Union member states were bound to.
For the youth to take up their leadership role, it was imperative that Youth 21 global forum establish how the older generation should enable them to “discharge their obligation to exercise leadership” and “organise itself to play this role...in the in struggle for the realisation of its goals,” said Mbeki.
- Sapa
Labels: THABO MBEKI, YOUTHS
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Neglect of youths saddens Open Society Foundation
By Allan Mulenga
Wed 14 Mar. 2012, 11:59 CAT
ZAMBIAN youths are condemned to a life of squalor, characterised by high levels of unemployment, poverty and many diseases, says Sunday Chanda.
Launching his Open Society Foundation and a red card campaign for youth jobs in Lusaka on Sunday, Chanda also welcomed "with conditions" President Michael Sata's directive to his Minister of Youth to present a
National Action Plan on Youth Employment in Zambia.
"The President has picked one of the things we have called on government to do, which could be a sign that he is listening. Our hope is that it was not done for political fronting. However, we are opposed to the time frame given, which is September 2012. The question of youth is an urgent one and youths cannot be expected to wait until September 2012," he said.
Chanda also challenged the government to respond to the hundreds of youths offloaded onto the labour market every year.
"They have no labour movement to speak for them but themselves.
He said his organisation was aiming at reversing the injustices committed to the youth by previous and current regimes.
"The youth agenda has never taken centre stage. This must change. The number one priority of any normal country is employment creation and not focusing entirely on consequences resulting from the right issues we have failed to address as a nation," he said.
Chanda said unemployment levels had been building up over time and it would not be fair to apportion the entire blame on the PF government.
"It is again correct to state that had the levels of youth unemployment not escalated so high, the PF would not have formed government in the last election. The PF formed government because their message to the nation, but especially the youth, resonated so well and provided hope for a hopeless generation," said Chanda.
"More jobs and more money in their pockets was the basis on which Zambian youths woke up early in the morning to make their vote historic. Today, we come to remind the PF Government of their solemn commitment to the younger generation and asking them for one very simple thing: how do you plan to fulfil your campaign promises to the youth of Zambia now that you are the government?"
Chanda said his red card campaign would roll out to sensitise pupils, students and youths from the wider community, to make them appreciate Zambia's wealth and why they were not benefiting.
"Presently, youths see poverty while foreigners see wealth. This, we are determined to change. Once youths understand how rich their country is, they will make informed and great demands," he said.
Chanda said Zambia was Africa's largest producer of copper with most benefits accruing to the investor, with China leading.
He advised the government to re-introduce the windfall tax in resonance with its campaign promise to do so once in government.
"Government must honour this commitment, unless they have been rewarded in another way by China. We are sad to note that after so much spirited talk about creating jobs and putting more money in people's pockets, there is less and less of policy formulation and implementation to convince the youth that government is still committed to honour its campaign promise on jobs," he said.
Chanda also clarified that the red card campaign on jobs for youths was not inspired by Fr Frank Bwalya and merely an initiative under his organisation.
"There are hundreds of red card campaigns across the globe and ours was never an inspiration of Fr Bwalya's work, much as we have no issues with his work," said Chanda.
Labels: MICHAEL SATA, RED CARD CAMPAIGN, YOUTHS
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