ZIMBABWE YOUTH COUNCIL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S SPEECH FOR THE YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT WORKSHOP: 29 MARCH 2012 (HICC)

.ZIMBABWE YOUTH COUNCIL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S SPEECH FOR THE YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT WORKSHOP: 29 MARCH 2012 (HICC)

Youth unemployment is now a global pandemic. It has now overtaken HIV and AIDS. February 2009 witnessed massive riots in Greece due to increased youth unemployment. There is panic and anxiety over the prospect of more protests by young people throughout Europe and chances are high this may spread to Africa. Youth unemployment and underemployment is increasingly recognised as a potential trigger for social instability in the other world regions.

Africa and Zimbabwe included is currently facing demographic challenges with most of its young people aged between 15 and 24 failing to secure jobs.

Employment and the creation of jobs for young people should therefore form a key component of any youth development policy. The energy, skills and aspirations of young people are invaluable assets that no country can afford to squander.

After having been largely neglected in national development agendas, the immense challenges youth face to get a job has obtained growing prominence since Zimbabwe’s independence to date.

The youth employment challenge confronts all youths in Zimbabwe, regardless of their stage of socio- economic development and political affiliation.

Beyond economic costs, high rates of youth unemployment and under employment have social ramifications. Most youths today will resort to criminal activities or joining armed conflicts if there is little to no hope in securing a job.

As we speak Zimbabwe is one of the countries with a fast growing youthful population contributing to about

68% of the national populace hence the need for employment creation.

Unemployment and underemployment has also caused demographic challenges as youth rural to urban migration is bringing imbalances and negative social implications to both the rural and urban communities.

On that note, I would want to thank (ILO) Zimbabwe for introducing the Zimbabwe Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP)

In particular the YES JUMP Project has contributed immensely in creating socially responsible and community driven solutions to poverty alleviation, with at least 50% of its target group being young women. An estimate of 800 jobs had been created to date for the young people in Zimbabwe through this programme.

Such initiatives should be emulated and Zimbabwe was on the right track in the late 1980s when youth employment was well spelt out under the vision 2020 framework which has since remained a document never to see the light of the day.

Through the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education and with assistance from ILO the government of Zimbabwe crafted the National Skills Development Policy aimed at tailor making the education and training system to be more responsive to the socio- economic development of Zimbabwe.

To date over 50 Vocational Training Centres have been instituted and that can be pointed as a tremendous achievement but believe you me a bigger percentage is operating way below capacity with outdated technology. This is indeed a major blow to youth employment creation in Zimbabwe.

In addition to employment challenges Zimbabwe faces a challenge of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Zimbabwe is ranked as one of the worst HIV/AIDS infected countries in Sub Saharan Africa hence the need for government and other stakeholders to make frantic efforts in curbing the pandemic. The youth being unemployed become a primary target for HIV/ AIDS.

Today we are all gathered here with the same intention, desire and focus of mapping the way forward in employment creation for the youths. As stakeholders it is important to bear in mind that the youths are the future and the future is in the youths.

Where as we could go on describing our problems, I have opted at this point to propose the following solutions to end the unemployment situation in Zimbabwe.

1. There is a great need to strengthen partnerships for youth development i.e. Private sector, government, civic society, churches, youth serving organisations and many others.

2. More focus and emphasis on entrepreneurship development training. This should be encompassed and engrafted in the educational curricula.

3. Intensified Compulsory Apprenticeship Programmes. Every company with a net asset value of one million dollars must as a matter of policy engrain a meaningful apprenticeship programme.

4. Greater commitment from government. Our government is spending less than 1% of its national budget on youth development programmes and this is totally unacceptable and against youth development.

5. Complete overhaul of the countries educational curricular. More emphasis should be on skills development. Our education is producing more tertiary skills than practical life skills. This needs to change.

6. National investment in Information Communication Technology. Youths need access to opportunities and this cannot be possible by relying entirely on traditional media such as newspapers.

7. The youth must engage and be radical. National processes for development cannot happen without the energy of the youth. We urge young people to remain engaged in all the national processes and advocate for their interests, not that of patronising politicians.

8. Indigenisation of the economy. It is on public record that while FDIs in Zimbabwe brings capital, FDIs also tend to bring more foreign nationals to work in companies owned by the foreigners. While we support FDIs we strongly support the indigenisation of the economy which will reduce the excesses of FDIs.

9. Public Works Programmes. Local authorities have the responsibility for public works programmes. We will soon be approaching every local authority in the country to ask them to develop youth public works programmes as a way of creating employment.

10. Banking Sector Reforms. We believe that government should promulgate regulations that will set a minimum quota for every bank operating in the country to lend money to young people and women. We thank CBZ, CABS, IDBZ, but we ask where is Barclays, Standard Chartered, ZB, Royal Bank, Kingdom Bank amongst others. These banks must help us create jobs by lending to the youths.