Government says it is keen to set up financing for youths entrepreneurship projects in the 2013 National Budget in a bid to create more jobs. Finance and National Planning Deputy Minister Miles Sampa said this on Monday after attending the opening session of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) 2012 Annual Ministerial Review meeting focusing on “promoting productive capacity and decent work to eradicate poverty in the context of inclusive, sustainable and equitable economic growth at alllevels for achieving the Millennium Development Goals”.
This is contained in a press statement made available to the media by Chibaula Silwamba, First Secretary for Press,Permanent Mission of the Republic of Zambia to the United Nations.
Mr Sampa, who led the Zambian delegation to the High-Level meeting at the UN Headquarters,said youth unemployment was a global problem.He noted that all countries were grappling with unemployment especially among the youths.
“What we observed from the meeting today is that the solutions are not only in providing jobs to the youths from Government and companies. The youths should become innovative and come up with bankable ideas that can be financed either by the Government or the private sector,” the Deputy Minister said.
He urged the youths to start thinking of becoming employers and not depending on being employed. “I am happy to say that this Government is keen to set up, in the 2013 national budget, financing that will particularly target innovations coming from the youths,” said Mr Sampa, who is also Member of Parliament for Matero Constituency in the Zambian capital, Lusaka.
The Deputy Minister called for concerted efforts from all stakeholders including opposition leaders and chiefs to address unemployment.
“Everybody needs to come on board and assist in getting the youths to be innovative to resolve the issue of unemployment,” Mr Sampa said. “Waiting for job offers is a slow and unreliable approach while innovative entrepreneurship ideas will render the youth instant employers.” The Deputy Minister advised that “youths should also think more of providing jobs than being given jobs”.
Delegates from across the world – developed and developing nations – bemoaned the high levels of unemployment, especially among the youths, mainly in the aftermath of the global economic crisis. At the meeting, ECOSOC’s president and Slovakia Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Milos Koterec said ECOSOC was scaling up its efforts to tackle youth unemployment and the creation of jobs.
“For today’s 205 million unemployed, work is worryingly difficult to find – and finding decent,meaningful work, harder still,” said Ambassador Koterec.UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon told the gathering that “only by generating decent and decently paid employment can we help the poor and vulnerable to escape poverty”.
ECOSOC, a founding UN charter body, deliberates and makes policy recommendations on world economic, social and environmental issues.Zambia is the immediate past-president of ECOSOC.
Mr Sampa will speak at two sessions of the UN Development Cooperation Forum (DCF) on Thursday
All these are things they should have planned for before they came into power, ba Chimbwi aba! And see Ambassador Dr Mwaba Kasese-Bota, it’s Bembas konse konse!
iwe # 1, chimbwi is a bemba word. use your own language chikala iwe.
Chimbwi no plan…you mean you were in oppostiion for donkey yrs without a plan for the youth?
I sincerely pray that the majority of us reading this article are reading it with an open mind, such are ideas that I welcome open handed we need a government that is looking into the welfare of the people regardless of their political affiliations. I own a company but its slagging because I do not have proper funding, as much as i would have innovative ideas if I have no backing from the government then my ideas are in vain, the Citizens Empowerment Commission in the previous government was not transparent at all we do not even know how many people have actually benefited so far from the CEEC, well ofcourse apart from the relations of people that were involved I pray that in this one there will be transparency and no favoritism. cnt..
Do you know why the Chinese always seem to be doing fine when they come to Zambia? its because their government really backs them up in their ideas, they come to Zambia properly funded by their government settle in and make money out of our resources, you can not blame them for taking advantage of us, the initial foundation was built on selfish grounds but lets not look back and move on…. Mr Sampa we are behind you on this one please do not disappoint us.
i know this guy!!!
this is the same as some fund MMD made. its ends will be the same unless they subcontract expert to administer the fund either banks or other reputable financial organisation
Kasese does not know about ECOSCO, she is medical doctor, with no background of diplomatic issues, only and only the so called Lazarouse Kapambe, when he is talking the whole un clapps, miss this guy. Mr President, do not forget people like him. he is so smart and intelligent, with any issue, answers are on his fingure tips. The Muchangas, Kapomas these are real men.
This sounds very much farmiliar!!!
I want to thank KK for trying his best to unite Zambia during his presidency. He was indeed a president for ALL people. Sata seems to be a president for Bemba’s only. Can Bemba’s develop Zambia on their own, time will tell. I believe each of the six major tribes should be equally represented in Government. A president needs to rise above petty politics and try their level best to unite all tribes even those that don’t like him. This is the kind of Maturity that is needed in Zambia. Sata is too childish and is always trying to settle scores against Tonga’s and Lozi’s and sometimes against Easterners. This needs to stop. Zambia needs ALL tribes to help move the country forward. This posting is especially for Bemba’s and Notherners!!
KAIKULIKE NGACAKUKALIPA….YOU TRIBALIST
Twaliwina you are useless, Ukwa kind of thinking….2016 kuya bebele. Nature or the ballot will boot your UKWA out of office….choose your poison you shallow minded creature!
Pointless reading a post when your mind is filled with old beef :) The next generation needs a fighting chance given the mindset of those before them. Pump money into education and make these youth initiatives worth the effort. Everyone who can should do what they can be it within their families, extended families of beyond to be positive, productive and prove that their own skill set is strong enough to challenge the defeatist mindset that dominates life not just in Zed but in countries now facing the fact they are not growing economically. Our blessing is we are capable of doing so and potentially faster and larger with the right hands on deck. Those hands could be yours :)
…or beyond
It’s doomed to fail because of nepotism, politics and plain selfishness; factors evident even before establishment of the fund. The CEEC failed because of the same. Why repeat a fail? Do a forensic assessment of the workings of the CEEC, and then implement the new ‘whatever’ without that which caused the CEEC to fail.
Why should I believe this promise when previous ones have been broken? Who is going to hold Sampa to account in 2013? Why not the next budget which is due later this year?
Honestly, nothing new. The MMD ran such a fund under Ministery of Youth and things never changed. Lets face it, Zambians were cheated, and that the end of the matter.
Wouldn’t teaching these youths some entreprenuership skills first before throwing money at them be a more sensible approach? No sense in sinking money at folks who are not primed to handle it otherwise it’ll be money down the drain.
http://www.materoconstituency.com
Names for such projects just change, the syndrome is the same failure! Ceec was a different name 10 years ago. Can’t just remember what it was called. Can someone help. Their office was close to Kafue round about.
the idea of CEEC is good. the fund just neede to be administered by a competent administrator not gov department
No doubt that every country needs an institution that supports small business expansion but with corruption the efforts are effortless
The only way youth unemployment can be solved is thru job creation, especialy by alowing the participation of the private sector.
flag Augustine; I totally agree with you on the issue of transparency with CEEC. I did try to get a loan with some innovative concept which was going to creat upto ten new direct jobs for youths. How a simillar project was started by another person who I later came to learn could have been given the same proposal by some staff from inside. Anyway, the worries still remain;
1. there is chance that some names or provinces are going to be favoured as been seen with appointments in govt?
2. What has happened to the funds which were allocated in the 2012 budget?