CONSTITUTING over 50 percent of Zambia’s population, the youth have the potential to turn the country’s economy around if their collective energy is harnessed and channelled towards productive activity.
But this potential has remained untapped because of limited resources.
the situation is not hopeless. The government has come up with a blueprint for addressing the plight of these young people.
Through massive infrastructure development projects in the roads and social sectors, the Patriotic Front aims to create thousands of jobs by the time it wraps up its first term in office.
President Sata has made it clear that the interests of the youth are close to his heart, and that he will do everything in his power to uplift their lives through the creation of jobs.
“My administration will guarantee educational, skills training and employment opportunities,” President Sata said.
He stressed that his government will address most of the challenges the youth are facing using locally-driven social and economic initiatives through the empowerment of Zambians while recognising the important role the donor community plays in complementing such initiatives.
This is a reflection of the government’s commitment to addressing the mind-boggling youth unemployment, which has contributed to the currently high levels of poverty in the country.
If there is one vehicle the government can ride on to achieve this noble objective, it is the Zambia National Service (ZNS).
This wing of the defence forces has almost everything it takes to deliver thousands of jobs and impart skills to the youth.
It has a large cadre of young men, women and officers who have been trained in construction-related fields.
Besides this, it also has camps dotted across the country with established infrastructure.
Unfortunately, this important institution lacks equipment to fully utilise its rich human resource.
Northern Province Minister Freedom Sikazwe cast the light on this sleeping giant, which he said could employ many youths on construction projects.
Mr Sikazwe said the service has the capacity to build roads of high quality, but that it is being hampered by the lack of requisite equipment.
“ZNS can help us in construction works if it is empowered. It can engage a number of youths. I have been told that Government has started buying equipment for ZNS,” he said.
We urge the government to equip this important institution because it has the capacity to construct good roads and extricate thousands of youth from the shackles of poverty and hopelessness.
Instead of paying foreign construction companies millions of Kwacha, which they externalise, the government can channel these resources to the ZNS so that they remain in the country and contribute to the health of the local economy.
Mr Sikazwe gave a hint on how ZNS can be used, and cited the construction projects awarded to it in Mpulungu district.
“For example, ZNS can only send two or three officers to the project sites and then engage the youths. The youths are ready to work,” he said.
Mr Sikazwe’s suggestion must be accorded the seriousness it deserves because it is practical.
Those who have seen the ZNS at work will attest to the attention it gives to the task at hand.
Even the quality of its works is higher than some of the foreign construction companies which are externalising the country’s limited resources.
We hope relevant officials in the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Transport, Works, Supply and Communications will read this comment and come up with a strategy on how to utilise the local construction giant.
Let them look for a way of equipping ZNS
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