BEST YOUTH DAY SPEECH FROM A YOUTH

MARCH 12 is always a special day for me because we get to renew our commitment as youths to strive for better livelihoods and a better Zambia at all cost. We also weigh our efforts in the betterment of our country as compared to youths before us.

The commemoration of this day was prompted by the selflessness, bravery and courage exhibited by the youth cadres who were at the helm of the struggle for independence on March 12, 1962.

These brave young men and women faced the danger of sudden death heads on because they believed that it's better to die on your feet than to live on your knees. Such sacrifice is the reason we are enjoying this freedom.

These acts of selflessness exhibited by these youths should serve as a source of inspiration for this generation of youths. We are forever indebted to their acts of heroism and we must make a vow never to let their blood be in vain.

It must never elude us that imiti ikula, empanga (today’s young people are the future) and the failure of our leaders to groom us and the failure of ourselves to push for that grooming and adequately prepare us or ourselves for tomorrow’s responsibilities is tantamount to shooting ourselves in the foot.

Zambia is a young nation, having 81.9 percent of people below the age of 35, this demands that more emphasis needs to be put to pay particular attention to young people and their integration in the national development process. Programmes must be created and perfected to mainstream the lives of young people. The government and the private sector should work tirelessly side by side to facilitate our integration into economic sectors.

The bursary scheme has helped a good number of youths from inception, I being a direct beneficiary of the same. But, it cannot be over emphasised that the majority of the youth are being left out. Hence these programmes need to be scaled up to increase their capacity so that the majority of youths can benefit.

Steps should also be taken to operationalise the National Youth Policy and the Action Plan For Youth Empowerment and Employment. At least 50 percent of the plans contained therein should be included in the National Development

Plans if they are to work. Much emphasis needs to be placed on the implementation of the decentralisation policy of the Ministry of Youth to increase access of information by youths on government development programmes because despite the fact that from the time these national youth documents were revised in 2015, the government has taken major strides in implementing them, the access of youths to these packages has remained extremely low.

Cap. 144 of the laws of Zambia, the National Development Council

Act, should also be amended as it is an outdated and redundant act.

The NYDC is the committee which proposes youth programmes to the Ministry of Youth and Sports which need to be implemented, hence, it needs to be based on a functioning and updated legislation.

Real skills development remains at the core of efforts to build a generation of youths that will lead the country with diligence and take it to higher heights. More skills development centres should be created.

In Kalulushi the old library needs to be turned into a youth centre because it's no longer operational, in Chembe a service area should be chosen to facilitate for the establishment of the same. We need another centre in Chambishi. The more of these centres that we have, the easier it's going to be for youths to gain skills and be part of the economic development solution and not the problem.

The government and other cooperating partners should focus on the following main challenges which youths go through.

- Lack of or access to capital - Alcohol and drug abuse

- Age discrimination - Unemployment

- Poverty

- Crime and violence

- Lack of access to entrepreneurial skills.

To my fellow youths, let us be architects of the future we want, because as Fidel Castro said - a revolution is not an apple which falls from a tree.

Let's think big and outside the box, let's think of bringing manufacturing industries because they have a multiplier effect. Let us not think of what the government has done or can do for us but what we can do for Zambia. Once we have this mindset, then we are already half way to glory.

Happy Youth Day to my fellow youths.