Malawi youths urged to be responsible citizens -Govt

Malawi government official  has  challenged youths in the country to be responsible citizens and be valuable resources as the vision of the nation lies in their hands.

Principal Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Justin Saidi, said on Wednesday that youths in the country must rise above the many challenges facing them and be enterprising.

He was speaking in Blantyre as he officially opened a two-day workshop on youth engagement and inclusion at Hotel Victoria.

“We are aware that youths in the country are facing a lot of challenges including unemployment, but as we are looking at avenues to empower them, we challenge them to have a vision.

“Unemployment is a global challenge, even in America the youths are facing the same problems, and we ask the youths of Malawi to change their mindset and start thinking about businesses not just white collar jobs,” said Saidi.

The PS however noted that there was need for engagement for the youths to realize the potential they have towards national building and bringing about economic change.

“Population of the youths in Malawi is almost 40 percent and this need to be properly managed to safeguard the future of the country.  Hence, young people need to be engaged and included in different programs and should be part of decision-making,” he said.

The workshop, which ends Thursday, is a partnership between the World University Service of Canada (WUSC) and the National Youth Council of Malawi (NYCOM) organized to get feedback from the youths on how they can be engaged and included in various programsin the country.

“There is a lot of stereotyping regarding the youths and as a country we need to start engaging young people to address the issues that affect them, including economic empowerment,” said WUSC Malawi Sector Program Officer Alice Gomonda.

She added that for the good of the nation, there was need for the country to be conscious on programs that target the youth, saying it was vital for young people tobe involved in design and decision-making from the beginning.

Executive Director for NYCOM, Aubrey Chibwana, for Malawi to make a great impact, there was need for institutions in the country to be forging partnerships which put the youths at the center.