Youth Challenged to Take Up Governance Seriously

The Centre for Young Leaders in Africa (CYLA) Executive Director Jones Malungu says youths in the country should reorient themselves as regards what they want to achieve in the fight for inclusiveness in the governance of the country.

Featuring on Pan African Radio on Tuesday evening Mulungu said youths in the country seem not to know what they are fighting for.

He explained that old politicians will continue to use them as ladders to political offices because they have not created value among themselves.

He observed that unity of purpose among young people would ensure that they identify areas which needs to be worked on such as law reforms which would improve numbers in leadership positions.

He observed that the governance structures of the country are rigged against youths hence the need for youths to orient themselves and fight against laws which are oppressive towards the youths.

“The governance structure is engineered in such a way that when you are below a certain age certain positions you cannot be appointed or contest. For example the constitution bars people who are below the age of 35 to run for the presidency,” he said.

“All those are structural issues, for one to stand he or she has to pay K60, 000 as nomination fee at the ECZ, now in a third world country like Zambia with an average age of people coming out of University at 25 meaning at the age of 30 how much money have you accrued for you to be able to accumulate 60, 000 as nomination fee and later on the constitution does not even allow you to contest.

“The laws themselves are engineered in a such a way that you cannot aspire for certain positions because you are young,” he said

The centre for Young Leaders in Africa is conducting an electoral research project aimed at enhancing Zambian youth participation in governance through electoral reforms. The study is one of the program under the Program for young Leaders in Africa (PYPA).