The Minister of Finance, Hon. T. Biti this week presented the eagerly awaited 2010 National Budget. The 2010 budget took into account the need for the upliftment of our youths and women particularly in the often marginalized rural Zimbabwe.In looking beyond the corporate structures, Hon. Biti pointed out the role youths and women can play in Zimbabwe's economic recovery. Hon. Bit wrote, "Government’s economic stabilisation and recovery strategy seeks to embrace the contribution of all citizens, from individuals and communities to the corporate and industrial sectors. In this regard, the role of women in the attainment of this goal
cannot be overemphasized given their contribution at the household level up to the corporate level."
In acknowledging the economic hardships faced by youths in rural Zimbabwe and the externalities which they contend with on a daily basis, Hon. Biti wrote:
Youths and women, particularly in the rural areas have very limited choices of engaging in meaningful income generating activities that will capacitate them to withstand external shocks such as adverse weather conditions, therefore Government [through the relevant Ministries such as the Ministry of Youth, Indigenisation and Empowerment]will capacitate the rural communities through training and provision of start up capital for the implementation of various income generating projects.
CIYDA Says: Since its founding, CIYDA has lamented the lack of meaningful investment towards youth development in the past, particularly to those hard pressed in our rural communities. CIYDA therefore welcomes Hon. Biti's step towards addressing this problem. Having identified the harsh realities facing not only the rural youths but Zimbabwean youths at national level CIYDA encourages the government to go beyond its pledge and work towards a sustainable solution to youth development. The government should look to other entities namely, NGOs and the private sector in an attempt to address the lack of this sustainable solution to youth development.
The Hon. Biti identified external shocks such as adverse weather conditions as one of the problems youths are facing in an attempt to engage in meaningful income generating activities. There is however the issue of internal shocks such as positive & consistent informational engagement with the youths as well as commitment in advocating for sustainable youth solutions. CIYDA has been working to identify innovative approaches in the last year in readiness for 2010 that seek to work with both rural and urban based youths within its four pillars of information hub and project initiation.
Unlike our peers in other youth organizations purportedly looking to work with rural youths as highlighted in our article (
Youth Development: Success beyond the bright lights)in the November issue
newsletter, CIYDA has earmarked resources for 2010 to establish satellite points at universities within Zimbabwe. These points will act as informational hubs not only for the youths in educational institutions but for those that are in the rural communities nearby. With CIYDA working with these youths in information provision and project initiation as well as advocating for more support through the right channels in private and public sector, this guarantees to bridge that gap and maintain that push for sustainable solutions.
CIYDA has also committed to seeking and working with partners at private, corporate and governmental level that are equally ambitious and seek a sustainable solution to youth engagement and development in Zimbabwe. Our commitment has been evidenced through the organization being recently awarded almost $US2,500 which could rise to $US5,000 by the Swiss based organization, Jobzippers whose founder Mr Peter Vogel is a champion for entrepreneurial engineering as well as social entrepreneurship. Jobzippers has also reiterated its desire to continue being involved with CIYDA in working with youths at various levels in Zimbabwe. CIYDA also put itself foward in working with
Miss Ruvimbo Katiyo the candidate for Miss Africa USA 2010 who identified the need to work with women at rural level in exploring various small business opportunities.
Disclaimer: - Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information supplied herein from other websites, CIYDA cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions. Unless otherwise indicated, opinions transferred from other websites and expressed herein are those of the author of the ORIGINAL article and do not necessarily represent the views of CIYDA, CIYDA Executive Director, CIYDA Team or CIYDA Associates.
What is CIYDA Contemporary Indigenous Youth Development Africa (CIYDA) (www.ciyda.org) is a non-profit organization founded in 2008 and is based in Harare, Zimbabwe. CIYDA is working to develop and empower the youths of Zimbabwe for the benefits of the nation and Africa as a continent through the use of new media, information technology and networking amongst other things. Through these drivers, CIYDA aims to facilitate an information hub and service provision in the areas of Business Start-up, Social & Cultural Integration, Socio-economic Mentoring and Volunteering. Through current globalisation trends and dispersion of Zimbabwean youths, CIYDA currently has a network connection of approximately 500 Zimbabwean youths in many countries amongst them, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, United Kingdom, United States of America, Australia and Canada.
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