Gibson Nyikadzino — Zimbabwe is a young country, with 62 percent of the population below the age of 25 years, according to the 2022 census.
It is these young people who have been disproportionately affected by economic challenges forcing them to look for greener pastures elsewhere.
Far too often, Africa is simply seen as the "dance stage", leaving little or no room for African opinions or influence on important events.
In the evolving landscape, Africa, long relegated to the margins of global affairs, is now standing poised to play a pivotal role through youth engagement initiatives more sustainable and effective to solve global and local challenges.
At a time Zimbabwe has received regional applause for launching the rebranded National Youth Service, the Youth Service in Zimbabwe programme, the UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, has been pummelled by condemnation.
Prime Minister Sunak's condemnation, even among his Conservative compatriots, has been so because of the intention of the call; to formulate national service as an electioneering idea. Britain goes to elections on July 4.
To Sunak, the scheme is intended to "foster a culture of service that would make society more cohesive".
Former Boris Johnson adviser Thomas Corbett-Dillon said the effort by Prime Minister Sunak will not prove successful, ridiculing the government for resorting to a "last ditch attempt" to stoke patriotism.
Analysts have accused Sunak of selling the idea targeting more right wing voters, who may have been leaning to vote for the Reform Party and may now switch back to Conservative.
This, however, has been a different case with the Youth Service in Zimbabwe, which comes after Government has acknowledged that without co-opting young people and making them an important vector in national awakening, they may be lost to vagaries of drug abuse challenges.
More so, Zimbabwe's Government is also coming to terms with the idea that in the generational transition, ways should be developed to save the "millennials and Generation Z" so they emulate the model heroes of their country.
Former National Youth Service public relations officer, Dr Musara Lubombo, who is based in South Africa, said globally youth service programmes are crucial for preparing an engaged citizenry through structured initiatives that nurture national pride, civic responsibility and community service.
"In the Zimbabwean context, where young people make up a significant portion of the population, a responsible, patriotic and civically engaged youth is essential for sustainable development and stability of our nation that continues to be politically and socially polarised," said Dr Lubombo.
The National Youth Service graduate asserted that the programme should be seen in the context of providing youths with opportunities to not only acquire practical skills that help steer them away from social vices such as substance abuse, "but also to develop them ontologically, politically and ideologically".
"Young people should become conscious beings with habits of mind and social skills that are necessary to defend our nation through active participation in public and community service," he added.
Mr Lazarus Sauti, a political analyst, feels the Youth Service in Zimbabwe initiative should not be compared to the one PM Sunak wants to revive in Britain.
He rebutted an online narrative in Zimbabwe that suggested the British programme will be more "nobler" than the one in Zimbabwe.
"Those who suggested the UK service as nobler over Zimbabwe's are suffering colonial hangover. They need to decolonise their thinking and delineate youth service as key in alleviating poverty, combating the spread of social ills and building relationships within and across communities.
"The youth played a crucial role during the liberation struggle. They were highly valued as key players in the fight against white minority rule. They are still valued, even though there are narratives that characterise them as pawns in political processes. The youth service is thus key in urging the youth to participate in economic, social and political processes that improve their communities," Mr Sauti said.
According to Mr Sauti, the goal of Zimbabwe's youth service programme is "about building solidarity among the youth and fostering collaboration in socio-economic transformation".
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Historically, the youth have been at the centre of socio-economic and political change, as was the case with Zimbabwe during the years of the liberation struggle, the country's education and innovation revolution, as well as protecting the liberation ideals through guidance of national leadership.
Mr Charles Mutemeri, a political commentator, urged Government to keep the programme in continuity and ensure its vision and objectives are organised in a scientific and logical manner.
"Government should organise this programme for eternity and ensure that key ideological expositions reflect the Zimbabwean worldview from the point of view of the liberation struggle, fight against imperialism and neo-colonialism.
"My anticipation is that young people should encounter and re-encounter the Zimbabwean way of dealing with challenges and providing solutions," he said.
The Government is at the progressive realisation that the young people, who are future leaders, should be reoriented and guided to think Zimbabwean at a time the onslaught of globalisation, and shrug off foreign thoughts to solving local challenges.
