Thu, 04 May 2017 09:41:40 +0000
By CHIKUMBI KATEBE
THE Government’s youth empowerment program lacks a mechanism to monitor its operations as well as its benefits to the target public, says Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) governance director Isaac Mwanza.
Mr Mwanza said it was important that the Government devised a mechanism to report the progress of the youth empowerment scheme.
He said since the program started, there has been no feed back to the people on its progress, on whether the beneficiaries were advancing in their businesses and if they were paying back for the funds to be extended to other people.
“There is need for Government to be issuing periodic updates on the progress of the Youth Empowerment Fund, on whether those who got buses were paying for the vehicles, and if the business was helping them sustain their livelihood.
“We are not being told how the beneficiaries are using the funds, and if they are complying with the conditions of the scheme,” he said.
He was commenting on the silence over the success, if any, so far scored by the Government initiative to support young people with funding towards self-employment or entrepreneurship.
Mr Mwanza also called for the establishment of the National Youth Development Council to help strengthen rapport between Government and the young people.
He said as long as the NYDC remained non-operational, there would be gaps in the operations of most youth programmes implemented without their involvement.
The YALI leader said there must be serious consultations over Government projects aimed at alleviating challenges faced by young people, because without their involvement, there could be misplaced project implementation.
He said the Ministry of Youth and Sports must establish the NYDC to allow for youth participation on finding solutions to their problems.
“Even the disbursement of Youth Empowerment Fund is being done without youth consultation, but we call on the Government to consult young people on youth issues,” he said.
And Mr Mwanza called for focus on rural youth in the scheme, who should be targeted more to help reduce the high poverty levels.
“We are particularly concerned on whether the rural youths are being catered for when planning the empowerment programme; if they are not, then it’s a misplacement of Government’s priority because rural youths stand more disadvantaged and require more attention,” he said.
