Youth urges govt to invest in education, health
MANZINI – In as much as the youth of the country is concerned about the unemployment statistics and want it addressed, they want government to invest in education and health.
The Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA) Youth Structure Secretary, Nondumiso Fakudze, said it was not only the youth that was concerned about the alarming rate of unemployment in the country, but the whole nation.
Currently, the unemployment rate stands at 33.3 per cent and according to the Eswatini National Skills Audit Report, about 60 per cent of the young people in Eswatini are unemployed.
Relevant
The unionist said as young people, they believed that if the country could offer relevant education and have proper health facilities with drugs, the issue of unemployment would be easy to address.
“An educated nation is a wealthy nation and a healthy nation is a prosperous nation,” the TUCOSWA youth structure secretary said.
In this regard, she said they expected government to prioritise the education sector, as it budgeted for the 2023/34 financial year and going forward. She said the education sector needed to be prioritised because in order to have change of mindset, the young people of Eswatini needed to be given the right and relevant education from preschool to tertiary.
“By right and relevant education, we mean one that will make young emaSwati adapt and prosper in the fast changing world,” she said.
Prioritise
Fakudze suggested that the budget for the education sector should setaside money to conduct a research about the labour demand in order for government to draft a relevant curriculum and prioritise the right courses in tertiary.
“Again, government as the main employer in the country should have a budget that will equip it to give graduates job experience to help resolve the issue of lack of experience, which was another contributor to unemployment among qualified people,” the youth structure secretary said.
She added that as a nation and youth, in particular, they expected a huge chunk of the budget to be allocated to the health sector. She said the nation needed proper health facilities with drugs.
It is worth noting that from time to time, there would be reports suggesting that the country was hit with serious shortages of drugs in hospitals.
Destination
Recently, a report was issued suggesting that drugs were being stolen either at the Central Medical Stores (CMS) or before they reached their destination in health facilities.
Furthermore, she said the country needed enough ambulances for transporting the sick or injured, even from remote places.
Also, Fakudze said they expect government to pump in more money to assist youthful entrepreneurs to start businesses, which would create employment opportunities and stimulate the economy of the country.
“Government should be seen passing enabling policies for the development