–Chibombo youths bemoan poor infrastructure

—-Youths in Chibombo district
in the central province have bemoaned the lack of adequate infrastructure
in the district.

The youths have hence called upon government to enhance
infrastructure development in the area.

The youths presented their grievances to deputy minister of Health,
Dr. Patrick Chikusu who officiated at the Youth Day celebrations in Chibombo yesterday.

Speaking through their representative Paul Mweemba the youths
observed that the entire Chibombo district only has one recreational centre
Malambanyama which is restricted to children enrolled at the institution.

The youths further said they are aware of the different existing
government intervention programmes in terms of youth empowerment and
employment provision in their distric.

However, government should prioritize the provision of
appropriate infrastructure as it was the main hindrance and challenge for them to develop into

better entrepreneurs.

“If the goals set through this year’s theme [Opportunity for Youths
through enterprise] are to be achieved then there is ardent need for
government to move in and construct more infrastructure such as the
establishment of a youth skills training centre in our district,” he said .

The youths further demanded that there is need for the district youth office to be
established within Chibombo to enhance accessibility to the
youth development fund  disbursed by the government.

Addressing the youths, health deputy minister Dr. Patrick Chikusu welcomed the grievances

by the youths saying Youth Day was an opportunity for them to express their
views on issues affecting their well-being.

Dr Chikusu assured the youths that government was aware of the many challenges that they
the people in the area including the youths were going through.

“As government these celebrations provide us with the opportunity to
take stock of what we have achieved for the youths and to reflect on
what we need to do in order to improve their well-being.” said Dr.
Chikusu.

He observed that if the many challenges presented by youths are not
addressed properly they would compromise their ability to continue
being on the right path towards sustainable economic development.

Dr Chikusu, who is also the area member of parliament informed the youths that
government has embarked on a series of developmental activities aimed
at responding to the calls by the citizenry and enhancing the capacity of the
majority youths in the area by empowering them as entrepreneurs.

Among the activities is  the provision of grants under the Youth Development
Fund [YDF]; the deployment of district youth coordinators, the
revamping of the district youth forum and most significantly, the
establishment of modern day youth skills training centers in the
district.

“Uplifting the standards of living for the youths is essential for
achieving sustainable economic development and also a right way
towards achieving national development,” said Dr Chisuku.

Dr. Chikusu said it was time for a paradigm shift and repositioning of
youths perception in efforts to contribute positively to national
development.