By Prince Bill M. Kaping’a Political/Social Analyst
Thousands of youth turned up for aptitude tests as enumerators at various locations countrywide. The images circulating on social media of job seekers jostling for vantage positions in snaking queues hoping ‘Lady Luck’ would possibly smile at them are stomach-wrenching…….nay scary! It reveals absolute desperation on the part of our youth; the sooner this cancerous disease is diagnosed and treated, the better.
While a good number of them will obviously be selected for these part-time jobs; sadly, not all of them would make it. This is the legacy of the previous administration, unfortunately; inherent failure to create more jobs for our youth during their 10 years at the helm! Instead of working round the clock to get the economy back on track, they wasted time wining and dancing, plotting and scheming how to fix their opponents, and above all, involving themselves in corrupt activities.
It’s quite encouraging that the New Dawn Administration is doing everything possible to destroy the monster of youth unemployment. Out of 100877 that applied for the teaching jobs, at least 30500 were successful, and of the 137129 applicants for jobs in the health sector, no less than 10,000 made it. And as if to add icing to the cake, the Minister of Defence, Hon. Ambrose Lufuma has revealed that an additional 5000 soldiers will be recruited before the end of the year. This is how it should be!
However, we should be mindful that there are still thousands of more youth waiting to be employed……..some with employable skills, others without any semblance of skill at all. Whether we are in government or in the private sector, we ought to respond to the question of youth unemployment with supersonic speed! As Namibia-based academician, Prof. Kazhila Chinsembu foretells, the “youth-quake is coming” if we don’t treat this matter as an emergency.
What should be the way forward, some of you may ask?
The government might need to instigate an industrial revolution on one hand, and agrarian reforms on the other under the auspices of the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and the Zambia National Service (ZNS), respectively.
There’s always a high demand for Soya beans in Brazil and Sweet beans in China; what is preventing us from breaking into this market when we have vast swathes of fertile land? And do we have to stand akimbo and watch as Angolans import their chickens and eggs all the way from Brazil when we equally have the means to produce these farm products? What about the fish that is hauled to Congo DR all the way from China, don’t we have abundant water bodies to grow the fish? The problem is that we all want to make fast money extracting chrome at the Black Mountain or operating Tuntembas!
Those that have been tasked to run ZNS and IDC, in collaboration with their line ministries, of course, must be proactive in leading the way in establishing sector-by-sector factories, which are going to add value to our minerals or farm produce as was demonstrated in Mwinilunga, North Western province recently.
The last 10 years of PF rule have been a disaster for zambia…………..
10 years and $20 billion in debt , yet zambia ins can’t even build a car park…..!!!!!
They need Chinese to do a decent job…..and the theives boast of unparalleled infrastructure development ?????
And Zambians still can’t build a car
park ???
What a shambolic calamity ………
Indeed, every one who supported PF should be embarrassed……..
Iwe Zambia built a carpark at Mass Media Complex and the minister of broadcasting officially opened it with pomp and splendor
Spaka
A$$HALL – Look who is talking. Why are you hiding in UK doing nothing 24/7, chained to Lusakatimes while claiming unemployment benefits?…. If really you are an engineer, should you not be in Zambia, developing the nation. Come back and you will find us – who are doing our bit to take this nation forward….
Do you think Zambia will develop if everyone is an online critic? You talk Sh*t all the time.
Iwe ka zambia today
Ati we are doing our bit…….you theif.
It is theives like you outed by koswe every day on FB……….
Tribal supremacist theiving rat…
Zambia today
These were the same useles PF rats stealing from Zambians while singing alebwelelapu…………
Meanwhile zambias coffers were being emptied……….
You should be embarrassed of your self……….
Munalula
It was the Chinese who built that car park………….
Unfortunately we un privatised ITT supersonic in Livingi. Then we ostracized Prof Chirwa the man who could have given us the technology to lift us from third world misery
The negative effects of privatisation are being seen today
The author is confused. The IDC and Mwinilunga projects are PF projects. What upnd is doing is like a man who marries a woman who has already given birth of twins and the man is just giving the kids names
Continue dreaming if you think upnd will change your lives for the better. Your kids will continue selling their bodies to old men just to survive. Everytime I visit my niecr at unza all I see is fat bellied men visiting very young students with food and other goodies. This is life under upnd.
+++ Zambian Commercial Banks have so much money unbelievably sitting idle, waiting for someone who can borrow for a worthwhile project.
If any Zambian wants to build a fee-paying-car parks in our inner cities and towns, they can do so. You just need to write a business plan and present it to the Bank. Once you get the money, you assemble/recruit a Project Team. That itself is creating jobs for the *Youth, *Civil Engineers, *Surveyors, *Bricklayers, *Security Monitors, *Fee Payment Collectors, *Management Team, *Cleaners, and many more…
You think a bank can just lend money to someone without assesing the risks and clear evidence of collateral?
6.1 Christopher
100% you can. Banks will give a business loan to a person without collateral if they see that you have a good investment idea/product. You need to show the bank your 1. forecast, 2. Operation Cost, and 3. Target Market in your business plan. Don’t limit your dream from fear of not having collateral. The world is paying millions of dollars to thinkers, and creative ideas who don’t have to have collateral. Search the internet about – how to get a business loan without collateral. You will find many ways how to do it. Walk into Zambian Banks and ask.
Ba Christopher @@ 6.1………………..
You have an old way of thinking. I am a building architect with 20yrs working in government. I borrowed money from Citibank Zambia. I told the bank that I was to buy land in Chongwe and then build 8 apartments that I would put on rent. The money from the rentals would in return pay the loans with interest. The bank saw potential investment and I had no collateral and just insured the project.
GRZ and low-hanging fruit, Because of political parties.
GRZ Does not demand Hypothesis from political parties but pathological science.
Low hanging fruit: Custom duties, road blocks, excluding Grade seven From participating, no mention of governors, and neglecting small investors the list goes on hold back for now until election time.
GRZ What’s going on?
Govt shd impose limit on nuber of kids per couple like wat happened in China.say max 2 kids. Otherwise no solution in sight.evryone wil keep saying it requires attention,knowing hw gd zambians are at talkig thy will keep talikg about unemployment bt no solution
Resolving Youth unemployment is not an overnight task?