adminTanyaradzwa Mutizwa
Herald Online Reporter
Youths have been urged to read through the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) and the 2021 National Budget and understand so as to take up opportunities in key industries identified, a move that will see them contributing to national development and also improve their lifestyles.
The NDS1 identified agriculture, mining, tourism and manufacturing sectors, as key to economic revival in the period 2021-2025, and form a strong foundation for NDS2, which will lead the country into the final phase of Vision 2030 of an upper middle income economy.
Youth Development and Empowerment Director in the Youth, Sports, Arts and Recreation Ministry, Mr Elias Murinda, told stakeholders at the Mainstreaming Youth into the Developmental Agenda workshop recently that there was need for meaningful participation by youths in the developmental agenda, both as beneficiaries and as participants.
“There are a number of challenges that impede the full development and participation of young people, chief among them being limited access to youth empowerment facilities especially by marginalised and vulnerable youth groups due to lack of information and inability to meet conditions set by financial institutions such as collateral security,” he said.
“The effective implementation of the National Youth Policy depends on a sound implementation matrix with active political, administrative, financial and technical support. The implementation matrix will also be used as a tool for tracking progress of the achievements of the policy. The matrix was developed with the involvement of key stakeholders.”
Zimbabwe Youth Council (ZYC) head of business development, data and research services, Mr Sungano Chisina, told the same meeting that the NDS1 provided youths with live-transforming opportunities if they grab them.
“There is a concern from Government which is noted in the document (NDS1) that young people need to learn a culture of hard work and therefore need to be taught on how to develop a culture of hard, honest work.
“This is a chance that youths are being given to work hard and make sure they collaborate in their various ventures in order to produce better results and show that they have heeded the plea from the Government,” said Mr Chisina.
He urged youths to strike a balance in the identified sectors and use the right channels when looking for information on how to benefit from the opportunities being offered by the NDS1 and the 2020/2021 National Budget.
“The NDS1 is a very big document in terms of pages but I am urging everyone to find time and read that strategy, then identify the sectors in which you can actively participate and contribute to the attainment of Vision 2030 especially in those key identified sectors and consult the respective ministries on how you can,” he said.
Mr Chisina said there was room to surpass the 760 000 jobs being targeted by Government if young people became job creators through entrepreneurship.
“Setting up ventures that focus on value addition of raw products from agriculture and linking them to the manufacturing industry will not only create jobs for the young people, but will also help in increasing production and productivity,” he said.
The workshop was organised by the Zimbabwe Youth Council.
Online Reporter