Zimpapers Logo

Christopher Farai Charamba Correspondent
Whenever one refers to the youth, a common tagline used is that the youth are the future of the nation or, phrased differently, the future is in their hands. In Zimbabwe, those aged between 15 and 35 years, fall under the youth demographic and constitute 38.5 percent of the total population.

This group is almost twice the size of those aged above the age of 35 and those under the age of 35 are over 60 percent, making them a key demographic not only in terms of numbers but also as the vanguard of 21st Century Zimbabwe.

It is therefore important that this group be equipped with the necessary skills to ensure that when their future arrives they are capable of sustaining themselves and developing their communities and spaces for the generations to follow after.

American President Franklin D. Roosevelt once said; “We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.”

In September this year, the Government of Zimbabwe reintroduced the National Youth Service. At the time the then Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Minister Christopher Mushohwe said “67 percent of our population are youths and they are our future, they are our leaders and should be developed so that they work towards economic empowerment.”

Cde Mushohwe was certainly correct that youth development should be focused on capacitating them for economic empowerment both individually and nationally. By doing so it fulfils Roosevelt’s maxim of building our youth for the future.

NYS should therefore be an integral part of a nation particularly one like Zimbabwe which fought for its independence and continues to challenge oppressive, neo-colonialist Western forces.

Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment Minister, Patrick Zhuwao, recently pointed out that there are 80 000 graduates in the country willing to make the economy move.

He went to add that; “In line with the economic empowerment strategy that the Ministry is finalising, the NYS will play a crucial role through programmes such as Youth Build Zimbabwe, Youth Feed Zimbabwe and Youth Secure Zimbabwe which will be implemented at community level.”

These programmes can prove to be instrumental in developing the societal bonds and social capital that drive socio-economic development.

The NYS can be perceived as a mechanism to inculcate desirable social conscientiousness amongst future economic agents who will hopefully own businesses, manage public institutions and be captains of industry in an empowered Zimbabwe.

With societal mindsets ingrained within this future economic leadership, the nation can look to derive policy making, entrepreneurial ventures, industrial development and bona fide business conduct which will all be directed towards the greater economic good of the nation.

A nation without a firm grooming to on national interest becomes susceptible to the compromised intentions of national detractors and servants of foreign interests.

Cde Mushohwe in fact said that; “If this programme had been introduced in 1980, we wouldn’t be having youths who are being used by Britain and her allies for regime change. Every Zimbabwean should be proud of his or her country no matter the situation.”

NYS should therefore not only equip the youth with skills for individual development but also instil in them a sense of national pride and obligation. One should then graduate from NYS with the ability and desire to put Zimbabwe first with the focus of building a sustainable and competitive nation in the global sphere.

Through the NYS Zimbabweans can develop a national agenda and a national identity that will cut across all sections of society and promote unity and camaraderie among the citizens of the nation.

Unity is an important aspect of nation building and a key component in the fight against those who wish to reverse that which many gallant Zimbabweans fought for during the pursuit of independence.

For the NYS to be sustainable it must be aligned with a long term definition of what national interest is. People who are sceptical of the programme tend to leverage their mistrust based of experience where national interest has been compromised to serve interests of a minority.

Thus for Zimbabwe’s NYS to be successful we must continuously safeguard the intellectual contribution and awareness behind how we define national interest.

Zimbabwe is not the only country in Africa or the world to incorporate a NYS programme to influence its nation building agenda. Countries such as Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Seychelles and Jamaica all have different forms of NYS.

According to the National Youth Service Corps in Nigeria, the programme is one year long, compulsory for all graduates and was created “with a view to the proper encouragement and development of common ties among the youths of Nigeria and the promotion of national unity.”

The corps members are posted to different cities far from their homes and are expected to interact and engage with people of other tribes, social and family backgrounds and learn the culture of the indigenes in the place they are posted to.

NYSC in Nigeria also facilitated the creation of entry-level jobs for many Nigerian youth. It has also an avenue for corps members to share job information and career resources as well as getting loan from the National Directorate of Employment.

Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment has already shown its commitment to youth empowerment programmes through the $10 million Youth Empowerment Fund.

It is therefore imperative that the economic activities developed from utilising the fund retain the national consciousness and communal ideology harboured within the education of a NYS.