Youths still ignorant of constitution making

Despite the fact that the constitution making process has been ongoing for the past 3 years and has undergone various stages, a number of young people continue to express ignorance about the whole process. Some have shown that although they have heard about it before, they have not made any contribution to the process in any way. 

This came to light at a youth policy dialogue meeting convened by the National Youth Development Trust (NYDT) in partnership with Children Solutions Trust in Nketa on Saturday August 18, 2012. The meeting was held under the topic: Youth Participation In National processes. The youths who attended the meeting expressed ignorance on the importance of processes such as the constitution making process. As such, the facilitator had to define a constitution and briefly highlight why it is important for everyone to participate in the process before delving into the contents of the draft constitution.  

Amongst other issues, the facilitator highlighted the fact that the draft defines a youth as anyone aged between 16 and 35 something that has been lacking since Zimbabwe lacked a single definition of what a youth is.  The Bill of Rights was said to be more comprehensive than in the current constitution as it also includes socio-economic rights. The setting up of independent commissions was also accepted as a welcome move in the constitution as most young people have been calling for the establishment of such committees that would address youth specific issues in the areas of human rights, electoral processes, peace building, media and gender.  

Through the meeting, the organisation managed to reach out to a new crop of young people altogether who had never benefitted from NYDT programming before. The young men and women called for more involvement in such and other critical platforms for engagement so that they can be able to meaningfully participate in governance issues.