“Nothing can be celebrated about National Youth Day unless and until efforts are made to incorporate the youths in political, social and economic spheres as enshrined by National Constitution; Section 20”
According to statistics, youths constitute almost 70% of the entire Zimbabwean population and, as such, it is no doubt that the youths should be instrumental in developmental outcomes. We claim to be celebrating the so-called National Youth Day but what boggles the mind is that the day came to be celebrated after the demise of Robert G. Mugabe since independence.
National Youth Day is a day to commemorate the happenings in the country which seek to emancipate the youths but in Zimbabwe, it is a different story altogether. The day seems to be a cover-up for the unfulfilled promises which have never come to life. It’s apparent that the day is nothing but a menace to society as the youths have been wallowing in poverty, faced rampant unemployment and immense drug abuse. The youth who are into politics are being tortured, abducted, victimized, sexually abused and perpetually incarcerated for sham reasons.
So it is against this backdrop that we as the youth are questioning why there should be a commemoration of youth day since we the youths have not been given an identity by our government. We are in an identity crisis where we are failing to put ourselves in any position and thus we have resigned everything to a fate where street corners are characterized by a hub of immoral activities.
The government needs to put maximum effort into addressing the plight of the youths. Our youths are our future so let us not tamper with our future. Action is needed because action is the water and light that grows the seeds of ideas into flowers and fruits of life. As Youth Decide Zimbabwe, we clearly suggest that there are three A’s to ultimate fulfillment, that is, the government needs to acknowledge that they have failed the youths, let them apply their skills in developmental projects and thus we will be able to attain our desired goals.
Considering the current situation, it is of unparalleled significance that National Youth Day leaves a lot to be desired since youth policy is not being equally implemented. We strongly believe that the successful development of nations, including our Zimbabwe, is a process of human development and a process of social transformation in which people, especially the youth, are both the subject and the object.
#YouthMatters #LeaveNoYouthBehind #Youth4Change
Source: Youth Decide Zimbabwe
