African Youth Charter vital

impacting human sectors more directly like never before.
People’s lives are increasingly becoming more intertwined with every step the government takes and as a result we see the formation of a key partnership between governments and their citizens.
In this crucial Government-Citizen partnership, youths have to realise where they fit in and how they are to relate with government in order to make full use of their position in society and to maximise on the opportunities, instruments and policies that may have been created for them. A failure to synchronise this relationship on the part of the youth will result in a series of misplaced frustrations, missed opportunities and disappointments.
As much as it is important for governments to ensure that they build and sustain a strategic and healthy relationship with their youthful society, it is also important for youths to constantly inquire on government activities and be well informed on initiatives that government maybe undertaking or may have put in place on their behalf.
Before we can continue venting our frustration and undying disappointment on the Government for a lack of affirmative action towards young people, let me take you through a journey of what our Zimbabwean Government has done so far for the youth, with the youth and on behalf of the youth in partnership with the other African countries.
It is called the African Youth Charter and I believe embracing it as young people is one of our major keys in achieving the goal we seek, be it economic, political or social. It is guided by the vision, hopes and aspirations of the African Union, recalling the historic injustices imposed on Africa such as slavery, colonisation, depletion of natural resources and taking into account the firm will of African peoples for self-determination.
Convinced that Africa’s greatest resource is its youthful population and that through their active and full participation, Africans can surmount the difficulties that lie ahead, it notes with concern the situation of African youth, many of whom are marginalised from mainstream society through inequalities in income, wealth and power. We should also recognise that youth are partners, assets and a prerequisite for sustainable development and for the peace and prosperity of Africa.
It acknowledges the increasing calls and the enthusiasm of youth to actively participate at local, national, regional and international levels to determine their own development. It also takes into consideration the needs and aspirations of young displaced persons, refugees and youth with special needs.
The African Youth Charter which defines youth as individuals between 15 and 35 years of age, is a set of rights, freedoms and responsibilities of young people, as well as the duties to be performed by signatory States, to advance the rights of the youth.
The rights can be clustered into four main themes: youth participation, education and skills development, sustainable livelihoods or economic development, and health.
The Youth Charter creates a legally binding framework for governments to develop supportive policies and programmes for young people, and serves to fast-track the implementation of such policies and programmes. Recognising that unemployment on the continent is largely a youth issue, the charter affords young people the right to gainful employment and mandates states to focus on macroeconomic policies that lead to job creation for young men and women.
In particular, states are required to develop measures to regulate the informal economy, where the majority of young people work, and to promote alternative employment opportunities and entrepreneurship.
The Charter for young people is a frame of reference that entrenches their value as part of the African society and it has now become a very important document for Africa to confront the future.
Ministers in charge of youth from across the continent are expected to meet biannually to evaluate the work and situation of young people in Africa in relation to the Charter.
This Charter is a Statement of intent or a commitment our Zimbabwean Government ratified on behalf of the youth of Zimbabwe. But despite these developments and the numerous youth programmes in place across the continent, many young people still suffer significant disadvantages and a call in the acceleration of the implementation of the Charter is explicit from young people across the continent.
Along with several rights afforded to youths, the Charter also summarises the responsibilities that young people owe to the society and State.
As part of responsibility it is vital that young people become the guardian of their own development, take part fully in citizenship duties, and contribute towards the economic development of states and Africa as a whole.
In their participation young people are expected to be the vanguards of preserving, promoting, representing and defending Africa’s cultural, social and economic sovereignty.