Youth

The ongoing excitement in respect to the Football Association of Zambia leadership race is evidence that the youth have become more assertive in demanding a voice at the decision making table and a chance and to be in the driving seat.

The many outcries emanating from youth organizations on the various concerns relating the Economic Partnership Agreements, business opportunities, and national policy development, are similar endeavors to allow the youth to participate more actively in the development of Zambia’s economy.

The youth are often more idealistic and embrace challenges with little regard for the obstacles. One may conclude this profile to be of naivety, but it can also be seen as that of hope and unrelenting enthusiasm.

The youth across the world have been the vehicle for change both in socio-political thinking and economic development.

The many High School, College and University peaceful demonstrations have told the parents of the nation that the youth have a lot to contribute and should be embraced and taken on board to help create the world that they would like to live in. Life will surely move the older generation of people out and usher in the younger generation to chart the course for the next generation to come. The question is whether the older generation will make space for the youth to participate and wisdom is passed on, or whether the older generation hangs in there until Mother Nature moves them on, and by that time some damage may have been done in respect to opportunities for cross generation exchanges.

The streets of Zambia’s urban areas are congested with the male youth selling every conceivable item to the motorist and passersby. The markets are choked with female youth selling vegetables and other commodities in a relatively more formal and protected environment. In the rural areas, the youth that are not in the fields tending to the family crop will congregate around markets and shops keenly looking out for any opportunity to make some money.

Our youth are a resource that is not as productive as it could be.

Tourism is an industry in which the youth can engage in with very little physical support. Many tourist attractions are left to chance experiences by our visitors. The youth can play a very big role in lifting the standards of the quality of the tourist’s experiences in Zambia. There are abundant opportunities for the youth around the mighty Victoria Falls (Mosi-O-Tunya), the nearby Railway Bridge, the route of the Zambezi River between the bridge and Livingstone City, and in the city itself. This is no new revelation because many have talked about these issues in the past with reference to Livingstone and other tourist areas in Zambia.

Manufacturing is a sector that the youth have struggled to transform into an income generating activity. The ideas, skills and enthusiasm are all there but insufficient support is provided to transform the dream into reality. As a result short cuts in manufacturing are the order of the day, and what could have developed into a quality product with potential for development into corporate business, remains as a substandard product destined for the poor homes fetching a pitiful profit.

The Services Sector has been conspicuously downplayed in the Fifth National Development Plan. The youth are the fodder and raw material for the Services Sector. Educated, Trained and Skilled youth provide the basic resource for the Services Sector. Chefs, Waiters, Drivers, Guides, Consultants, Computer Operators, Economists, Journalists, Lawyers, Doctors, Artisans, Technicians, Engineers, and so on are all part of the ingredients for a vibrant Service Sector.

The Services Sector can work to develop the local economy by providing services to local companies, but can also be exported to the region and further abroad, and generate expatriate earnings into the Zambian economy from other countries.

The Ministry of Science and Technology, in collaboration with other relevant Ministries including the Ministry of Youth and Sport, must focus on a comprehensive Services oriented plan for youth empowerment. The Zambian youth currently speaks the best level of English in the region, and yet this skill is not acknowledged and used for the benefit of the nation and its people.

The various youth development programs supported by co-operating partners must be coordinated to avoid continuous duplication and repetition of projects that have very little impact on the development of the youth in transforming them into productive and contributing adults in the future.

The current trend of youth development in Zambia gives us some indication as to what to expect from the next generation of adults and leaders. This will also provide a telescope to see whether the generation thereafter will positively contribute to the development of Zambia, or will pull the country backwards instead.

The challenge for the current crop of adults and leaders is to build the foundations for our children’s tomorrow, and at some point we must be ready to hand over so that our protégés can be in the driving seat whilst we guide and advise in the background.

Investment in the youth today through more private training institutions, expanded Government owned colleges, youth development programs, and open dialogue at all levels, will guarantee a more prosperous Zambia in the future.

Published 22 January 2008