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Different from the previous elections, this coming one is for the young people. Like any other election that has been held in this decade around the world, the youth of Zimbabwe are undoubtedly standing at the cross roads of time. This is because they are the majority and will surely affect the destiny of this country.
As the campaign for the next election heats up, political leaders ought to look at avenues they can use to place young people at the core of their election agendas. If sidelining young people worked in the past, well this time around with the increased participation of young people in national processes, ignoring the youth will be disastrous for anyone seeking victory in the harmonised elections.
American Politician, Brown Willie once said “To win in this country these days you have got to campaign down to a 13-year-old’s level of mental development.”
I believe Brown was actually saying that to win an election in the 21st century any candidate needs to seriously value the contribution young people. What is true anywhere around the world is also true for us. Youths have grown to become major players in national affairs.
It has become apparent that whoever wants to win in this coming election, their policies ought to be sound and embracing, most importantly of the hopes and aspirations of women and youth. What young people are looking for going forward is not some term with good English and rhythm when pronounced for a policy but they want ownership of resources.
Young people want economic independence in their own country. Indicators of what the youth expect are as follows;
- Indigenisation and Economic empowerment that ensures the participation of young people,
- Land policy that ensures that indigenous young people also benefit,
- Mining policies that will ensure young people are given an opportunity to own claims, grow and trade in the sector,
- Leaders that will ensure that what government has committed to is covered in the National Youth Policy is implemented,
- Leaders who will respect and push for the implementation of the 25 percent Youth Quota and preferential procurement as part of the youth economic empowerment instruments across all sectors,
- Leaders who will acknowledge the currently existing Youth Economic Empowerment Zones across the country and ensure that they are supported. Youths will vote for the foregoing.
On the contrary, Zimbabwean youth are unwilling to support political leaders who hand power over resources to foreigners while they languish in poverty or those who continue to view youth as a transitional stage which does not deserve recognition within the empowerment matrix.
Though done on a limited scale and not being able to match the high demands of applicants, young people applaud the efforts of Government in partnership with Old Mutual on the creation of the Kurera/Ukondla Youth Fund that has ensured that young people also get to enjoy a stake of black empowerment through indigenisation.
It is, however, also wise for some of our current leaders to acknowledge that young people today have far more power and potential to create progress than any previous generation of youth. This is a direct result of the information revolution and access to opportunities that have been provided to people of all ages. Knowing this and respecting the facts about how effective young people can become when it comes to their participation in the forthcoming elections will work in their favour.
The alienation of young people from governance processes has historically been linked to violence. Elections have tended to be flashpoints for youth violence. There is a long history of political parties mobilizing frustrated and disadvantaged young people to carry out acts of disruption and aggression during the campaigning period.
Since the realisation of Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment what has become important to young people is how can they become empowered and not how they can make the next person’s life miserable.
Looking at Malaysia, analysts say an upsurge in interest in politics following the opposition’s best-ever election showing in 2008, has driven more young people to register to vote.
Their numbers alone make young Malaysians a crucial, possibly decisive, source of support in an election that promised to be the closest since their independence.
Briefing journalists on the topic recently; Post-2015 development Agenda, Youth Envoy to the UN Ahmad Alhendawi stressed the need for countries to reflect the issues that concern youths.
“We are at a crossroads. With less than a thousand days left to meet the Millennium Development Goals, we are discussing and trying to set the new priorities for the post-2015 development agenda. “This is definitely an opportunity where young people can participate in setting the agenda, and then own this agenda by being equal partners in its implementation and evaluation,” he said.
Relating his comments back home to our own situation, what has become apparent is that, in order to achieve all our MDGs as a nation and beyond, youths need to brought on board in a big way and this usually refers to policy making processes and decision making times like our forthcoming general elections.
Currently our social dynamics indicate that there still appears to be an interesting generational relationship and potential communication gap between the youth and the rest of the country which involves both tension and aspiration. Our survey results suggest that ‘youth’ can be a great source of energy, vision, hope and potential, while at the same time being vulnerable, voiceless and rebellious.
The results also demonstrate that although ‘adults’ can be conservative, critical and rigid in their thinking, ultimately, they are relied on as care-givers, decision-makers and sources of knowledge and authority. The challenge for youth is to find their voice and become empowered without losing their sense of spirit and optimism while that of adults is in finding ways to handle increasing amounts of responsibility and power in manner that include youth.
Online Reporter