National Youth Policy and Advocacy
Am Rodgers Mulenga from Zambia.
According to the Zambian ‘National Youth Policy – 2006’ point number 3.3.2.1 0n page 16 and 17, “youth Entrepreneurship Development is aimed at promoting sustainable livelihood among youth in order to reduce poverty, and enhance living standards.
Youth entrepreneurship has also been recognized as an integral part of development. Entrepreneurship development can be attained through enterprise training, micro financing, provision of market outlets and advisory services as well as research.” As the Policy state I looked at some elements that promote entrepreneurship on specific objectives;
- To provide financial and material resources for entrepreneurship development.
- To promote enterprise training in order to give an opportunity to the youth to improve their livelihoods.
And some of the strategies that have been put in place to promote entrepreneurship are
- V) Develop and strengthen the market outlets for the youth’s products at all levels
- vii) Establish youth friendly credit lending facilities and micro-financing schemes
- x) Strengthen NGO activities in youth enterprise development
- xiii) Provide the youth with ‘START UP’ capital
- xiv) Develop entrepreneurship skills among the youth.
- xv) Establish and maintain an entrepreneurial Development Fund for skilled youths in order to contribute to their successful entrepreneurship.
- I just saw some contribution from my Zambian Brother, who is looking at a document that is very far from the current one please you can walk to the MSYCD HQ they will indeed provide one Youth Policy-2006 for free or any provincial office in the country.
- I have seen some these strategies being implemented by our government, there are funds such as CEEC which has a youth component which supports the objective "i." above the Ministry of Sport, Youth and Child Development also has a Youth Fund which some of the youths last year managed to access. This year I understand that the budget was upgraded to about K5bn. this in itself is promoting entreprenurship.
Thanks Roger's for your contribution that has provided some updates on the Zambian youth policy scenario. I note that you have cited examples of a fund that is operation - CEEC - for the benefit of all of us elaborate on the initiative including what the acronyms stand for (CEEC). Do we have a youth group/individual that has benefited from the fund, how accessible is it to young people, and how long has the fund been in operation?
Allow me to chip in and say that CEEC stands for Citzens Economic Empowerment Commission. CEEC was set up by an act of Parliament. This is a body that has a role of uplifting targeted citizens who have suffered marginalization by faciltatiing acceess to financing so the playing field is leveled for citizens for then to effectively participate in the national economy. Special targets groups for the Fund are women, youth and physically challenged. The Citizen s Economic Fund aimed at supporting the development of broad based empowerment programmes. More information can be obtained from: http://www.ceec.org.zm and http://www.mcti.gov.zm/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=60&Itemid=9
[Gabriel Konayuma, Zambia]
Thanks Gabriel for giving us the link to CEEC, I trust that we will be able to learn more about the Fund. I note that 'marginalised' groups like the physically challenged are catered for in this fund - any other country with similar visibility of 'hard to reach' communities in their policies?
Thanks. In my Ministry we have a Youth Inventors Fund which the Government created. The Fund is used to finance innovations by the youth that can be commercialised with specific focus on inovations that are relevant to wealth and employment Creation.
Gabriel, I really appreciate what your government is doing in terms of youth empowerment. I am really touched about the considerations given to the physically challenged and the HIV and AIDS guys. I anticipating that in the near future the approved funded projects will grow bigger like that of the women. Thanks for the elaborate info.--Kafuiaheto 22:51, 18 February 2011 (UTC)
Aheto is very right.In Ghana, little emphasises is laid on the youth who are disadvantaged. It is time the youth also consider doing something for their counterparts who are in such positions.
I think we need to do a lot of advocacy in our countries, sorry to say that we may have a lot of good policy and also sign a lot international agreements but how do we really implement this. the CEEC that we have in Zambia how many young people have accessed funds from their even our own so called youth funds how many have accessed the funds, these funds are miss applied year in year out because we have agreed to have structure that don't initially promote an enabling environment.
Thanks, chiping in Gabriel, I have not yet known who or which youth group has so far acceed the CEEC FUND,my coleague sits on the lusaka district appraising board, I will be able to contribute if am given information, but I have in mind of two Youth groups who were funded by the Youth Fund under the ministry of sport youth and CHild Development (MSYCD) these are:
- Chifundo Youth Project based in Lusaka
- Ndola Resource Centre based in Ndola
This fund is available even to the groups that are established and very flexable and the conditions are freindly. they have minimised on the issue of collateral, this is as far as I know
I got this information from the CEEC website: http://www.ceec.org.zm
In 2010 the following target groups had their applications for funding approved:
Target Approved
Youth 53
Women 105
HIV/AIDS 4
People with Disabilities 5
Total 458 (Source: CEEC, 2010:1)
GabKon, I find something very interesting on the CEEC website.Under its Vision, specifically, strategic direction, the CEEC hopes to empower disadvantaged groups such as Youth, Women, Disabled and citizens living with HIV/AIDS. This is to encourage increased participation in economic opportunities without discrimination. Why is the Youth classified as disadvantaged. Don't their voices get nowhere in your country?--Kafuiaheto 22:42, 18 February 2011 (UTC)
Reading through most your view and that of the others, it looks there is little governmental intervention in youth policy matters, especially in Zambia. This obviously could make the policy work better. But what I am emphasizing here is that a youth policy should dwell more on skill development than giving money to people who may not be able to manage it well
