FOCUS ON YOUTH INTENTIONALLY

One of the most glaring gaps I discovered in our Constitution, after perusing it many times, is its non-mention of the youth. There is mention of the family institution, women and the elderly as sectors of the population to be given priority, especially in the directive principles of state policy and duties of the citizen, but absolutely nothing on the youth.

This, I find most concerning, especially in a country that has a relatively young population. I would be somewhat consoled if there were, in place, some other law that focused exclusively on the youth to demonstrate that as a country, we are deliberate in acknowledging this energetic and productive sector of society. I have not come across such a law.

Hope

The establishment of a Ministry of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs some years ago gave hope that youth issues would finally be prioritised and mainstreamed in government programmes. Unless I am totally uninitiated in government programmes, I am struggling to see what benefits the youth have gained from the establishment of an entire government ministry dedicated to them, with a political head, who is a member of Cabinet. Since the establishment of this ministry, it has been discouraging to note the meagre allocations it receives each time the budget speech is read.

The youth just seem to be an appendage or afterthought in government priorities. The only document that speaks to issues of the youth in detail is the National Youth Policy, which was first adopted in 2009. Eswatini then went on in 2013 to ratify the African Youth Charter. Several other well-written government policy documents, such as the Poverty Reduction Strategy and Action Plan, the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Policy, and other seemingly well-meaning road maps, mention youth employment as a pillar of economic growth and poverty reduction, but nothing ever materialises.

The level of unemployment and poverty our young people are enduring is dangerous, to say the least, and may lead to a plethora of issues if left unattended. Our economy is not responsive to youth needs, and I am not convinced there is any political will to fully implement the objectives of the Youth Policy and the other policies mentioned above.

Need

This Youth Policy, among other issues, speaks of the need to invest in an educational curriculum that is responsive to the needs of the labour market, expanding public works and infrastructure to provide youth with the much-needed jobs. The call to overhaul the education system has fallen on deaf ears for years now. No study has been done to explain the huge variance of the children who leave primary school and do not make it to secondary school and those who never make it to high school after secondary level.  Those of our children who are not so gifted academically cannot make adequate use of the 12 years of schooling to eke out a decent living, because the education does not equip them with the necessary skills.

The lucky ones are absorbed into the informal sector, while some make up the overwhelming majority of the textile industry, which employs only a fraction of them. A selected few make it to the limited tertiary institutions in the country. The rest lie idle at home under unfavourable economic and social conditions. Youth unemployment in Eswatini stands at a staggering 58.3 per cent, which is almost half the youth population. With economic growth forecasted negatively, this number can only be expected to grow. Now, this is a recipe for disaster. This tiny kingdom also has one of the highest HIV rates in the world, and there can be no prizes for guessing that this has a correlation to the high rate of unemployment.

Sector

Other countries, realising that the youth are a very productive and energetic sector of society, have put in place programmes to ensure that this group is kept busy and contributes to the economy of the country. Heavy investment in sport is one such strategy. Others have invested heavily in technical and vocational training education (TVET), as opposed to heavy investment in a straitjacket model of education that does not embrace the varying capabilities of children and has very little benefit to the economy. Policies can be put in place, which encourage businesses to employ and invest in the youth through various forms of incentives, which may include tax relief. As a country, we really need to stop paying lip service to our commitment to the youth.

In section 59 of the Constitution, the State (government) undertakes to take all necessary action to ensure that emaSwati secure maximum welfare, freedom and happiness, and to provide adequate means of livelihood, suitable employment and public assistance to the needy. We need government, as a dutybearer in this regard, to step up and put the youth at the forefront of development by implementing the catalogue of policies that should serve the youth.

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