Unity of purpose key to youth development

Youths in various political parties have been urged to promote tolerance and unity of purpose in addressing issues that they believe are a hindrance to national and youth development. 

As a way of achieving such unity of purpose, political parties’ youth wings have agreed that there is need to build a spirit of coexistence, tolerance and diversity within the political contours in the country. Speaking at a political parties’ forum organized by National Youth Development Trust (NYDT), a representative of the MDC-T said that there is need for young people to have a clear understanding of their respective political party ideologies so that the level of political debate among young people is enriched. 

“People usually become violent when they run out of ideas during a debate. As such it is important for young people to fully understand the issues they say they believe in so that they are able to defend it in a peaceful manner,” said Kunashe Muchemwa from MDC-T.  

ZANU PF representative, Fundisani Dewa urged the youths to desist from merely taking a partisan stance to critical issues. "We need to remove political jackets and critique issues that we feel are affecting our development as Zimbabwean youths. First of all we all have a part to play in building lasting peace in Zimbabwe and finger pointing will not assist us in any way,” he said. 

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.  

International Youth Day Commemoration

NYDT joins the rest of the world in commemorating World Youth Day under the theme Building a better world, partnering with the youth. This theme is commemorated in line with five priority areas under the UN System Wide Action Plan on Youth which include:

·         Employment,

·         Entrepreneurship,

·         Education (including sexual and reproductive health)

·         Political Inclusion

·         Citizenship and Protection of rights

As the world commemorates this day it is pivotal that Zimbabwe conducts introspection on the attempts at supporting the key youth priorities under the Youth Action Plan. The International Youth day is equivocal in recognizing and appreciating the youths as central towards the development of the world in general and country in particular.

As much as NYDT recognises attempts at youth inclusion and government supporting initiatives that are: The development of the National Youth Policy, the establishment of the Youth Funds and inclusion by the Indigenization and Medium Term Plan policies.

However efforts must be enforced by the government in partnership with other stakeholders in promoting Youth initiatives in Zimbabwe.

We strongly implore that political parties should mainstream the total inclusion of youths as key decision makers and proponents in party policy developments

We underline the critical need to implement the MTP in totality as it promotes entrepreneur development and attempts to reduce the unemployment rate from 80 percent to close to 55 percent

We encourage the Government to strategically partner with NGOs and Civic Society Organisations in promoting youth awareness on various issues that contribute towards national development.

We recommend that issues that promote youth development in totality should not be used as a smokescreen for political aggrandizement and machinations, instead they should be a base in developing a prosperous generation.

Building a better world, partnering with the youth

NYDT’s Position on the Draft Constitution

National Youth Development Trust held a youth Convention on the 23^rd of June 2012. One of the key outputs from the Youth Convention were the non-negotiable benchmarks that ought to be factored in the draft constitution.

The current draft constitution has managed to factor critical issues raised by the youths during the Youth Convention these issues are:

·         Broad based bill of rights that safeguards the right to education, shelter, health and life.

·         Establishment of the Independent Commissions. The commissions that have since been proposed in the draft constitution include the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission, Zimbabwe Gender Commission, National Peace and Reconciliation Commission and the Anti- Corruption Commission.

·         A clear recognition of 16 official languages in Zimbabwe.

·         The inclusion of the citizenship clause that ensures that youths are registered under the Zimbabwean law

However, the Draft Constitution as per the expectations of the youth did not recognise:

1.      The establishment of an Independent National Youth Commission to support youth economic and social developments programmes.

2.      A shift in the majority age from 18 to 16 years and the call for young people in that age to be allowed to vote and be voted for political office. The law recognises that at 16 anyone can choose a life partner if that is so why not be allowed to make a decision about voting.

3.      The total inclusion of devolution of power as a part of the governance architecture. Currently the draft contains a watered down version of devolution which is not clear on fiscal devolutions and has no provisions for the direct election of provincial governors into office.

NYDT will continue engaging with other stakeholders to ensure that the youth convention resolutions at the convention are factored into the 2^nd draft before it goes for a referendum.