BY DELISA THWALA
MBABANE – The Minister of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs Harries Madze Bulunga has shared that his Ministry is working hard to ensure the right policies.
He said as a Ministry, their commitment is to continue to play the role of being a mobilising force within Government in ensuring that the right policies and laws are in place for the youth.
Bulunga said this was to ensure the youth does not remain idle and that they are properly equipped to make the right choices for the future.
“We are already doing a lot on the ground, through our Youth Enterprise Revolving Fund, our vast programmes spearheaded by the Eswatini National Youth Council, and through arts and sport development, among others, although these are clearly not enough to address the challenges confronting our youth,” said Bulunga.
He said for them as a Ministry of Sports, the newly launched Career Expo addresses a key challenge that is faced by young people today.
“The issue of unemployment and underemployment. With approximately 60 percent of our youth struggling to find jobs, such events are imperative as they give our youth a wide array of options to choose from when they decide on their career paths,”said Bulunga.
He further mentioned that the Career Expo focuses on areas where there are urgent challenges and exciting potential for young people to take action in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals and the National Youth Policy of 2020.
He said the four day Expo will enable the youth to access relevant resources and get exposed to the opportunities needed to reshape them.
“This Expo is characterised by discussions, skills-building deliberations, and networking, to name a few, which is a platform for the youth to rethink their goals and aspirations and to give them the much needed guidance which will channel their thoughts to career paths that will unleash their potentials,” he said.
In addition to that, Bulunga said it pleases the Ministry to see different players join hands in youth empowerment, with different spheres of Government and state entities working in unison with other development partners to ensure impact-oriented performance.
He said this will ensure a coherent service delivery and development outcomes, which will both immensely benefit our youth.
