Recycle waste to create jobs, youths urged
GOVERNMENT has called on youths to be innovative and create employment through recycling waste materials into finished products which can be sold to generate income.
Minister of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation Kirsty Coventry in a speech read on her behalf by the permanent secretary in the ministry, Mrs Thokozile Chitepo, at the Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV), Green Innovative Hub (GIHub) award ceremony applauded the organisations for empowering youths to create employment.
“The country has set itself on developmental trajectory of becoming an upper middle class economy by 2030,” she said. “Allow me to commend the wonderful work being done by SNV and its cooperating partners of promoting green innovations amongst the youths.
“This enables the youths to influence and take ownership of the future which ideally belongs to them. I am informed that over 100 young people from the country’s 10 provinces with novel ideas on solving environmental and energy challenges submitted their concepts out of which 20 were shortlisted to undergo boot camp training.
“The high response to the invitation to submit proposals is indeed encouraging and signifies the need for even more effort to support youth innovations.”
SNV senior advisor, GIHub project manager and deputy country director Mr Cloffas Nyagumbo said the organisation was moved by the need to create employment, solve the challenge of energy shortages and impact of waste on climate change.
“On behalf of SNV and GIHub we were pushed by the need to empower our youths by creating employment for them, then secondly we wanted to solve the issue of energy shortages in the form of gas manufacturing from animal excretion and last but not least, the issue of climate change which can be solved if waste materials like paper are recycled into finished products which can be sold again,” he said.
“We send a request to all the provinces for them to send their innovative projects. However, 20 were successful and we are issuing them certificates of participation. Out of these 20, 16 of them qualify to be given US$5 000 to boost their businesses.”