By Robert Kumwenda
Malawi is expected to hold its second tripartite elections on May 21, 2019 with the first being the one held in May 20, 2014 which saw President Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika emerging victorious.
Given the current economic situation in Malawi a degree of perseverance is called for. However the younger generation lacks the kind of patience that is required looking at the challenges they are going through.
Unemployment, access to quality education and loans for the youth to run their own businesses so that they are empowered remains a major challenge among the youth not only here in Malawi but across the World.
Because of the challenges which many youth face in their countries of origin, some of they opt for other alternatives like migrating to other countries to seek for other opportunities. Some of the ended up in the hands of human traffickers on the way and some doing jobs which is hazardous to their lives, worse still, the majority of them live in foreign countries without regal documents.
The recent xenophobia attacks which took place in South Africa and some Malawians who are stranded in Middle East are some of the challenges that many youth face in foreign countries.
Having looked at these challenges, opposition Umodzi Party has embarked on interface meetings with students from institutions of higher learning to create a network of young people to see how best they can share information and address the challenges they are facing.
Professor John Chisi President for Umodzi Party has over time and again said what is needed for the youth is to empower them by giving them education, jobs because without jobs they will become beggars and they cannot take part in national development.
Chisi said they are convinced that Malawians need jobs and education and the challenges they are facing can be a thing of the past if the countries uses human resource saying that they want to create good fundamental principles for generations to come.
Leadership requires a clear a vision which ought to be demonstrated by the younger generation first. We cannot talk about meaningful development if we leave them aside since they are strong and energetic and contribute to a larger population in the country, he said.
Director of youth in UP Poliyambo Mkwanda said the party teaches the youth to be peaceful and productive citizens as opposed to other political parties where the youth are used to cause violence and castigate their political opponents who later dump them after achieving political desires.
He said the youth are betrayed in development and are pondering over the possibility of taking leadership and power into their hands so that they stand to decide their fate and destiny.
So far, the party has engaged with students from Mzuzu University and Technical College, Chancellor College, Lilongwe University of Science and Natural Resources (LUWANAR) and Blantyre International University (BIU).
