Youths ready to lead Malawi beyond 2019 – CSOs
As the fight for youth empowerment intensifies, civil society leaders in Mzuzu have affirmed that the youth in Malawi are now ready to take over political leadership positions.
Governance chairperson of Mzuzu Civil Society Network (MCISON), Peter Mumba, said this in an interview in Mzuzu on Wednesday.
“More young people are coming back to their senses to realize that they can have a country that they want through political participation as the result each and every party is trying to include young people in decision making failure to do so, young people will take over this country and we are ready to do so,” said Mumba.
The activist argued that the recent shift in the political trends where political parties are now making efforts to include young people in their leadership positions and the rising numbers of youth who have expressed interest to contest for parliamentary and council level positions in the forthcoming Tripartite elections are evidence that time has come for young people to be allowed to lead Malawi.
And Charles Kajoloweka Executive Director of Youth and Society (YAS) and Team Leader for Youth-Decide-2019 Campaign (YD-2019) has urged youth in Malawi to arise from being used by politicians and to maximize their demographic power to vote in youthful leaders in the 2019 Tripartite Elections.
“Young people this time should not just be used as pawns in the political game but that they should position themselves and use their demographic power of being a majority in this Country to choose a responsible Government that can listen to their aspirations,” said Kajoloweka.
Kajoloweka has also advised the youth in Malawi to not only vote in the coming elections but to run for various political leadership positions.
“Our view is that young people should not only participate as voters but they should also participate as candidates running for positions Councilors and MP. We need to be part and parcel of the decision-making process and that starts with active participation in the elections,” Kajoloweka said.
Youth activists in the Country have in recent months called for increased support for active youth participation in Malawi’s political leadership.
The Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) has since formulated new categories of youth-friendly nomination fees in a bid to support youth participation in the 2019 Tripartite Elections.
According to National Youth Policy, youth in Malawi are defined as aged between 10 and 35 years. The Population Reference Bureau factsheet of 2016 indicates that 40 % of an estimated 17.2 million people in Malawi are youth.
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We want wise , trustworthy youth not greedy ones. We cannot vote for a person simply because he/she is our fellow youth. I for one will vote for any politician who can address the needs of the electorate. Youth and older people can work together in taking this country to greater heights. My advice to those championing this campaign is that you should be objective in everything you advocate for otherwise what we see often times is greed, and jelousy.