Freeing Malawi’s youth from the yokes of marginalisation

By Janet Karim

Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. — 1Timothy 4:12 

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. — Ephesians 6:1-4

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. — Proverbs 22:6

The youth are a vital component of any nation’s economic growth and prosperity, yet they are often marginalised and excluded from decision making processes, leading to a lack of representation and opportunities for their relevance and contribution to national development. In the words of former United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Anan who said “Young people should be at the forefront of global change and innovation. If empowered, they can be the key agents for development and peace. If they are left on society’s margins, all of us will be impoverished.” Such sentiments were the backbone of former President Kamuzu Banda, who through his 31-year rule in Malawi capitalised on using the youth through numerous programs including the infamous MYP, Youth Brigade, and leadership training, farm resettlement schemes, to name a few.

Globally, history is awash with consequences of an exasperated and neglected youth. I highlight three samples:

1.      The 78-year-old Zambian opposition candidate Michael Sata succeeded in unseating the ruling party on the strength of backing by the youth.

2.       The Gen-Z uprising that brought the Kenyan government to its knees was due to youth participation.

3.      This week, Malawians witnessed the unfettered demonstrations and subsequent march to the Parliament Building by youthful vendors in Lilongwe that had no visible leadership or warning on which security personnel could deploy the “divide and conquer” strategy.

In spite of politicians from government or the opposition, who regularly touch on the subject of the youth with aplomb, Malawi is inundated with comprehensive policies on the topic; after all the youth comprise a sizable and majority of the population.

However, lip service, nepotism, and political cronyism have relegated matters dear to the wellbeing and empowerment of the youth to mere rhetoric, and false fulfilment of political chicanery.  Whilst Malawi after democratic change, has made positive strides in so far as policies are concerned on youth engagement (e.g. training and capacity building), and retention strategies (e.g. creating opportunities for growth, and access to finance opportunities), the country is yet to fully implement heartily these policies and through successive administrations. The country has scored poorly on several metrics; these include:

1.      Engagement: mentorship programs, youth-led initiatives, and inclusive decision-making. “Young people have the ideas, the energy, and the courage to shape a better future” another former S-G, Ban Ki Moon said.

The major setback on engagement is two-fold namely:  

o   The predisposition of our leaders to regurgitate scholarly theories vis-a-vis the plight of the youth, and suggesting recycled suggested solutions to negate them instead of hearing from the youth themselves map out strategies with Government and/or political party support and backing.

o   Implementing generic training programs. Whilst there are positives to be drawn on vocational training programs, in our technical colleges, a blind side is turned on:

§  The fact that the country is awash with plumbers, mechanics, members in culinary arts, carpenters, welders, and electricians scrambling for a diminishing market.

§  Government pays little attention and advances fewer resources to training of other vocational skills such as weaving, fashion designing, cosmetology, and animation, to mention a few. Some of these used to be taught in primary and secondary school during Kamuzu Banda’s administration.

§  Malawi’s education syllabi pay attention to vocational skills at tertiary education level as a get-out-of-jail card for those that did not flourish in the first two tiers of education, instead of making it an integral part of the development of the youth.

§  The missed opportunity to collaborate with Kondwani Kachamba who, on his own initiative, in 2023, embarked on country wide workshops to train Malawians on the art of food processing and consumer products such as soaps and toiletries et al, manufacturing, puts the country in danger zones: how seriously does the country desire to progress? The Ministry of Trade and the Malawi Confederation Chambers of Commerce and Industry could have partnered him to create awareness of his efforts and thus, increased attendance. Furthermore, The Malawi Bureau of Standards could have partnered with him on this initiative to ensure his students do not slip on standards and quality control throughout the nation. “We cannot always build a future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future” former US President Barack Obama said.

2.      Retention: Fostering a sense of community (tonse ndi aMalawi and Malawi is our land) by promoting social and cultural sensitization, and addressing systemic barriers such as lack of access to education, healthcare, and infrastructure.

Last but definitely not least two strategies that could empower the youth that should not be overlooked in this matter include:

1.      Inter-generational collaboration: Abraham Lincoln once said “…You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong….” In the same vein, you cannot empower the youth by disempowering the elderly. Inter-generational collaboration must be fostered to bring together the zeal and energy of the youth with the knowledge and experience of the elderly.

2.      Monitoring and evaluation of policies: To help the improvement of strategies to ensure that they remain effective and relevant beyond one political administration. To be effective, it is imperative that this process is apolitical ensuring it remains free from bias and political bootlicking.

Incorporating the youth into and obtaining their buy-in to the national agenda is crucial for promoting economic growth, prosperity, and social stability. By truly understanding the challenges faced by young people and employing strategies that are void of cronyism, nepotism, and political self-interests, to address these challenges, government, civil society organizations, religious entities, and policy makers can help ensure that young people are at the forefront of economic development. Deuteronomy 6:7 advises us that “You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”