Leaders must empower youths economically

Opinion Saul Gwakuba Ndlovu
ZIMBABWE celebrates its 35th independence anniversary on Saturday, April 18. Its population has increased from about seven million or so at the time of attainment of nationhood in 1980 to nearly 15 million.

The majority of the people are not older than 35 years. That means in effect that most of the country’s population is younger than our national independence.

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe is facing a very high rate of unemployment especially the unskilled, unprofessional as well as some professions such as nursing, cutting and designing, catering and tourism, journalism, driving, cookery and similar lines of domestic science courses.

Those who are hardest hit by this high unemployment rate are the youths, that is to say people whose ages range from 18 to 35 years.

Some of them have left Zimbabwe and are living precariously in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique, Swaziland or in various countries overseas. Some live wherever they are unlawfully. Some of our national leaders have publicly called such young people back home to help in the country’s development.

Zim-Asset, the country’s economic blueprint is meant to alleviate unemployment, among other problems. The economic policy was launched in 2013, some two years ago. We cannot say whether or not it has helped to reduce the national unemployment rate as there are no statistics to guide us on this important matter.

We hope, however, that a statistically based picture will be presented to the nation sooner or later, or, at the latest, just before the next national general elections, that is in 2018.

Before that date, the country has to deal with a large number of youths many of whom spend their time at business centres gambling and or consuming alcoholic beverages as well as other drugs such as mbanje.

That is a very unfortunate social development currently spreading throughout Zimbabwe, contributing to the commission of horrible crimes that include rape, even that of infants and elderly women by young men who are at the prime of their lives.

Murder of defenceless women by undoubtedly younger men under the influence of drugs is another common crime in both urban and rural areas. The minds of these unemployed, unskilled young people are idle, at least some of them are.

Village and ward communities would be well advised to launch skills – training schemes to turn these youths into useful and usable human assets.

If such wards were to identify suitable centres where youths can meet, councillors and MPs would be asked to engage qualified or experienced artisans who can train the youths in various manual trades such as carpentry, fishing, building, motor mechanics, welding, soldering, animal husbandry, poultry, gardening, leather work or whatever else.

We can expect the country’s political leadership to support projects of that type can be launched with the active participation of village heads, headmen, chiefs and district administrators. Each political party would, it is strongly hoped, urge its youths to join such schemes, and the government would most probably get involved, however certainly at the issuance of certificates or participation documents to the successful youths.

Commercial and industrial sectors can be requested to sponsor such projects in their respective wards, and some companies or individual business undertakers may employ some of the youths on completion of the courses of vocational training.

The primary aim in such a sphere would be to turn the majority of the country’s youths into valuable assets as opposed to a situation where some of them are without any skill whatsoever and are thus a burden on their respective parents, guardians and communities at large.

Councillors and MPs have a duty to sensitise their wards and constituencies on schemes such as this suggestion. Tools and premises for such projects can most likely be provided by some local businesspeople. School halls can be used while the participants are constructing their own accommodation.

Starting with brick moulding, the participants would put up the required structures as part of their training programme. That was virtually how Tuskegee College was built by Booker Taliafero Washington, and also Achimota College of Ghana was founded in the Gold Coast, now Ghana, by the well-known educationist, Dr Aggrey.

Councillors and MPs have a very important responsibility to develop the areas they represent. Their duty is not just to debate and pass by-laws in council chambers, or national laws in Parliament.

They have to develop their constituents socially, culturally, economically and of course, politically.

Human resources development is one of the responsibilities of the various types of leadership, the political leadership being one of them.