Youth struggles ain’t fairytales

guarantees young people access to opportunities and all forms of support.
It’s happening around the world “people”! Government and the private sector are beginning to take action and moving away from the rhetoric of preaching and promising the implementation of empty youth empowerment policies which are not backed by will.
In all fairness, after critical analysis and putting into consideration the current Afro-economic dynamics, I believe our Government as a unit, through the Ministry of Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment has laid the foundation, ratified the necessary local and international youth treaties and created the conducive environment to a certain extent for young people to access to opportunities.
What is lacking, however, is the critical follow- through, there is no reaction or submission what so ever to the policies Government has put in place. The private sector and strategically positioned individuals in the market place are still acting in free will.
People with influence in industry somehow are continuing with a business as usual approach, oblivious of government’s calls for a 25 percent quarter reservation for the youth sector on all economic empowerment facilities in agriculture, mining, commercial, tourism, and industrial economic activity paying particular attention to the empowerment of young people with disabilities.
Somehow through a well co-ordinated process the private sector need to take up its responsibilities going forward. Naturally, goodwill has to exist within the market place and in particular relating to young people and the private sector, corporations have to owner their obligation to create platforms and avenues with which can be used to support, create opportunities and empower young people.
Given the private sector’s dynamism and unique ability to generate growth, it should work in partnership with youths and other stakeholders. Particularly in light of the harmful effects of the current economic crisis, the private sector should and must reflect youth considerations in their recovery plans.
The cost of not investing in youth in spite of the reality presented above may result in a huge buildup of mistrust, the creation of an unhealthy relationship and a lack of confidence between the private sector and youth. African countries still miss it by under-investing in young people! Although social investment tends to yield higher returns when it is implemented among younger population groups, many in the private sector still just don’t get it.
Young people exist and need to be empowered, this is a very pertinent Zimbabwean question that needs addressing with the agency and attention it deserves. US president Barack Obama earlier this year invited African Youth Leaders including those from Zimbabwe to the White House after realising the importance of partnering with young Africans in enhancing the US foreign policy in Africa.
Obama had this to say: “We believe African young people think different, they know that the real devil is not the ‘imperialist’! The youth of today do not believe in fairy tale devils, but they embrace the power of partnership for development.
“Instead of ‘fighting’ the so called imperialists why not take them as partners? Why not use their capital, technology and resources to gain leverage for our economies?”
Western governments are already thinking of the future hence they now seek to influence and partner African young people by any means necessary. The moral of the story here is not to judge whether Barack Obama’s efforts are good or bad, but local authorities, private sector and African governments can’t play secondary to the US, Europe and China in as far as partnering with African young people is concerned.
Sustainable empowerment includes the creation of local socio-economical and political conditions that will permit the youth to realise their potential locally in any field of their aspiration before they can consider taking up partnership with foreign investors.
Youth empowerment cannot continue to be a vague concept, it must be properly administered. The relevance and significance of empowerment in our Zimbabwean context lies in understanding that we once lived in an unequal society.
Where we find ourselves today is a product and a mirror image of a people who were once materially, psychologically and physically disadvantaged.
Now that we have redeemed a sense of autonomy and purpose over our lives, we strongly feel that this is the perfect time to jointly administer youth empowerment policies.
There has been growing recognition of entrepreneurship as a source of empowerment and economic freedom in this rapidly changing environment, but there has not been a systematic attempt to look at it from a youth perspective.
The tendency has been either to subsume the youth into the general black empowerment drive or to totally ignore their efforts to forge a living through enterprise. There is a huge need to reconsider the youths as a separate group, one that needs special attention and support because without this kind of arrangement we risk forfeiting the future of our development.
The same age group disadvantaged during the colonial system surely cannot continue to suffer deliberate deprivation because the private sector is afraid of risk.
Yes the question of risk is a genuine, but our youth deserve more and have a right to earn our confidence?
It’s like what the OECD noted in 2001 that “The challenge for governments, corporates and international bodies seeking to improve youth livelihoods is to “tap into the dynamism of young people and build on their strong spirit of risk-taking”. And not shun from it!”