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Precious Manomano Herald Reporter
Government in partnership with SNV Netherlands development organisation have embarked on a nationwide youth empowerment drive through income-generating projects that will see young people being self-sustaining.

SNV Netherlands is running a youth project titled Opportunities for Youth Employment (OYE) in Harare, Norton and Goromonzi that has already empowered thousands of unemployed youths.
The drive is targeting critical areas of energy, agriculture and recycling.

Director in the Ministry of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation Ms Pauline Karigambe said it was the Government’s thrust to harness youths through a coordinated skills development process for accelerated economic growth in line with National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1).

She also said the empowerment of youths will promote rural industrialisation which is key in reducing urban migration.

“Skills development will steer the young away from the vices of drug abuse and criminal activities which can completely destroy their lives. It is our hope that these efforts will indeed create a bridge to economic empowerment and will feed into the national objective.”

OYE project manager Mr Cloffas Nyagumbo said at least 13 000 youths have benefitted from the empowerment initiative around the country.

Youth empowerment has been a key enabler in including young people in economic processes while also addressing some of the challenges such as drug and substance abuse which have been rampant among youths.

“We have trained almost 11 000 youths on basic life skills and on technical skills for those who want poultry, horticulture, apiculture, solar and even those who are doing recycling. We have trained through companies and training institutions. We have trained almost 6 000. About four thousand people are employed,” he said.

Youths who benefited from this program thanked the partners for providing them with skills adding that they were making money to sustain themselves.

Other stakeholders hailed the move saying it was a step in the right direction toward fighting drug and substance abuse in the country.

Drug and substance abuse is a threat to the economic growth of the country.