By Musyani Siame
I can’t help but wonder if the young people of today are being heard. How many of us know what they are thinking? My observations show that it is almost impossible for a youth to get employed despite having struggled to get a good education. At what point do they give up and let their life go a different way?
We are living in an era where employment is becoming almost impossible to get as a youthful person. The majority of young men and women with great academic achievements and others with rich technical skills are looming the streets of many towns in our country with no hope of where to get employment, how to get employment and who to offer them with employment.
In this modern Zambia, the youth unemployment rate have escalated to unprecedented levels. According to Central Statistics Office (CSO) in the monthly volume 191 of 2019, the youth unemployment rate was estimated around 17.6 percent in the fourth quarter 2018. The figure is indeed quite a high in itself and every well-meaning Zambian must be concerned about it. I have consciously observed that the mind of unemployed young man and woman is slowly becoming dangerous and vicious. A youthful person with the zeal to give out positive energy tends to give out negative energy instead resulting from unemployment.
The mind of the young engineer from the University of Zambia (UNZA) is slowly becoming frustrated day by day due to unemployemnt. The mind of the youthful mathematician from the Copperbelt University (CBU) is slowly losing potential for the positive energy. The mind of the planner from CBU is slowly losing hope for the future. The mind of the forester from CBU is slowly giving up on life to mention just a few.
The youth of today are collectively becoming bitter at government for failing them. Considering the high levels of youth unemployment in Zambia, it is clear that government has failed to create a conducive environment for youth employment. Government has failed to employ young graduates in almost all sectors of the economy. The 65 years retirement age is both a punishment and a curse to youth with positive energy. Negative political cadres have taken pre and deprive deserving youth with positive energy of various employment opportunities. The mind of the youth is angry.
The fact is that most of employment opportunities for youths have gone to the corrupt and selfish politicians. Probable chances of youth employment have been sold to the unprofessional cadres who are unproductive. It is difficulty for a youth to get a government tender. It is almost impossible for a youth to get employment without having any relations with the human resource, or some big fish of the company, or a politician etc. Many government departments across the country have unfilled vacancies and officers have more workloads than normal to cover up yet there are a lot of youths crying looking for jobs. It is unfortunate that the unemployed youth did not envision this negative energy making him or her furious.
While government and private sector continues to deny youths of employment opportunities, it is slowly cultivating bad vices leading to negative energy such as alcohol abuse, drugs, prostitution, theft, mental disorders. Youths strive to wake up to hope, vision and determination but seems not to see light at the end of the tunnel.
Therefore, government must reconsider adjusting the retirement age from 65 to 55 years in order to create opportunities for youth employment in the country. Government should create a conducive environment for youth employment in private and public sectors. Government need to provide zero tax for start-up businesses for youths. There must be fiscal prudence of public resources to create opportunities for youths. Above all, government must prioritise the creation of manufacturing industries which have potential to create youth employment. While this seems better said than done, it is not impossible for government to accomplish.
When educated people like you can’t understand that not everyone can work in the government and that the government can’t create jobs for everyone, then Zambia will be a better place. Unfortunately Africans are still teaching their young in University irrelevant content that is not practical to our changing world. Our youth are not innovative. It’s only in Zambia where you see your neighbor selling tomatoes and making a good profit and the whole neighborhood starts selling tomatoes! Universities should move with times and instead teach these young ones to survive and create opportunities for themselves!
One day in 2016, a Vision-Less man stood up and proclaimed “I’ll create 2-million jobs” as a huge crowd of PF00Ls clapped, chanted, danced. Two weeks later he proclaimed to another huge crowd of PF00Ls “I’ll create another 500,000 jobs”.
Today these PF00Ls are job-less along with majority of us who rejected this corrupt humble thief who buys a $68-Million Missile-proof Gulfstream private Jet & a Maybach Limo Mercedes Benz while the youths wallow in hopelessness.
Proverbs 28 vs18: “Where there is no vision, the people perish”. The man warned you but you went ahead & voted/rigged for him bcoz he was humble, he came from your region or you liked his campaign song (Dununa-Regret). It’s harvest time bane. You can’t plant mangoes & expect to reap wheat.
Now we all know why…
CONT’D…
Now we all know why the doves refused to fly off.
How many of saw those pf cadres singing their popular song “boss,boss,boss” at the court premises for a politician who i presume should be their servant. Now that the mind of a very unemployed youth.
Jobs and Govt tenders are the preserve of those parroting ECL2021. These are the youths who will teach Edgar a lesson in 2021. He saw it fit to buy an aircraft when FRA hasn’t paid all farmers for last year’s maize. There’s general failure in institutions because of a lack of funds. Isn’t OP telling him these things? or he chooses to listen to Freedom Sikazwe and Kaiser Zulu? Shame!
Wonders shall never end, one youth was telling me that I can not vote for any tribal into power apart from eastern but I advised him that you are not going to eat your tribalism and you can imagine that youth is learned.pit for him up to now he is not working I thought was connected to one of these government officials nevertheless God has got more ways of reducing people who doesn’t know how to talk sense.
As the older generation you are contributing in shaping the mindset of the youth and the fixation on employment only is not a solution. Challenge them to think outside the box use creative thinking become employers … not only educated and maybe someone might hire you for services you can provide rather than just a good education
Government prioritizes the youthful cadre over a learned youth, it’s idea of job creation is giving the mining waste of the black mountain to youths as job creation or sending drivers and maids to Dubai. They have absolutely no plans for diploma or degree holders youth’s of our country, no scheme is in place to help their start-up companies or development their skills as fresh graduates.They rather not tax a foreign company that’s new to the country for five years than there own local businesses and companies….we need to get rid of those fossils in government from the colonial times that fear muzungu’s and frankly have run out of ideas
The psychology of this SIAME probably a UPND cadre,because of your bitterness and hatred spirit that subdues into your MINDSETS.
UPND CADRES please give us a space! If you don’t want to apply for employment just because the ‘YOU THINK THAT EMPLOYMENT IS FOR PF CADRES THEN GOOD FOR YOU.’ Even in PF strongholds unemployment is present and high too.
Government can’t employment all his citizens ,so as private sectors. As a concern patriot as you false claim try to bring about solutions not condemning the government day and night.ssues of moral mischief is as the results of poor social values and weak decisions.Binge drinking,abuse of drugs,prostitution as well as immoral vices should not be blame on government.
These youths living with moral decay have definitely parents and guardians…
Seriousness amoung the youths is lacking when they are being taught life surviving lessons. Most of them prefer to take life casuslly at the expense of what the future expects and demands of them! So blaming Government or private sector for one’s ill preparedness does NOT and will NOT solve the problem of unemployment until the youths themselves start creating and thing positively in this fierce one global environment. Otherwise trying to think someone from mars will come and create employment to lazy and confused generation is digging one’s bottomless pit.
The No 1 path to a job is learning a SKILL. Zambians think finishing grade 12 is enough . it is not at all. One has to train for a specific skill like welding, electric, mechanic, hydraulic or similar technician. These are the jobs where you can start your own business if you cannot get a job with a big company like mining. These are jobs related to producing goods that Zambia is importing at very high prices. These jobs and training also support agriculture for which we have lots of land. Government should also ask outside countries to produce goods not used by Zambians. Japanese produce cars and machines that they do not use or allow on their own roads. They produce more for others than themselves to earn foreign exchange and have become richer.
Young people are an easy target for criticism. Sustainable development starts from the bottom up.