20 April 2005
GOVERNMENT is making every effort to address the views of young people, Youth, Sport and Child Development acting Minister Judith Kapijimpanga has said.
She said Government was committed to ensuring that the views of young people on national issues were respected and heard all the time to make them partners in development.
The minister said this at the official opening of the Children's Press Bureau (CPB) journalism training programme at the Commonwealth Youth Programme Centre.
She said in Lusaka yesterday that to achieve the aspirations of young persons, Government had re-introduced the youth parliament association for them to air their views.
Mrs Kapijimpanga said the International Labour Organisation (ILO) had given Government directives on how young people could engage into public employment.
"This Government should be applauded because we are making gigantic steps in addressing issues of youths.
This ministry is revising the Penal Code and Child Policy so that they can give stiffer punishment to child abusers," she said.
Mrs Kapijimpanga, who is Lands Minister, urged the young people to make submissions to the Constitution Review Commission (CRC) on how they wanted the Constitution to suit them.
On the Press bureau, Mrs Kapijimpanga said young people had not found it easy to access the national media to air their views but was hopeful that the CPB would change the situation.
The CPB is a national news agency delivering young people's views to the national media organisations on various issues directing affecting them.
"The CPB will give young people the means to express themselves through the media and in the process reach the whole country," she said.
The minister said in an effort to manage the implementation of youth welfare and development, her ministry was ready to partner with organisations to reach out to more young people and address their concerns.
CPB executive director Mary Tembo said the paper would enable the young to participate in both national and regional issues.
She said due to lack of a platform for the young people to air their views, they were exposed to a lot abuse, injustice and crime.
Mrs Tembo said apart from training 25 youths as reporters and editors in Lusaka, her organisation would also train more in Mazabuka in Southern Province.
Speaking on behalf of other CPB members, Chikumbutso Phiri said through CPB he was hopeful that his colleagues would be able to air their views freely and influence national issues and decisions.
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