Precila Takabvirakare
The Deputy Minister of Public Service Labour and Social Welfare Senator Lovemore Matuke encouraged youth who attended a careers guidance held at Paradise Motel in Gutu recently to venture into various businesses as a way of dealing with high unemployment rate.
The career guidance event was running under the theme ‘Building Sustainable Livelihoods and Employment Promotion for Unemployed Youths’.
Speaking at the event Matuke said the President is trying to solve the problem so that the youth can be employed and take care of themselves but while they are waiting for employment they should start businesses.
“Our President is trying to create employment for you in all various government departments. We have a National Development Strategy 1 which says about 760 000 youths should be employed in government by 2025 but while you are waiting to be employed, start your business because if you do your business you get more money than waiting for someone to pay you.
“I also encourage you to start businesses and register them. If you register them government will then be able to assist you with funding. For those with academic certificates, I also encourage you to register with Public Service Commission (PSC) so that you can be shortlisted,” he added.
Speaking at the same event Deputy Minister of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Dr Jenipher Mhlanga said that as government knows that there is high unemployment rate in the country, having business minded youth is the way to go as changing government won’t be a solution.
“We have employment problems in the country. With this problem, do we really have to change government to solve the problem? If we work together we can achieve our 2030 vision. We cannot all be civil servants, therefore I encourage you to be business minded,” said Dr Mhlanga.
She also added that usually parents support their children up to tertiary level but from there, they have to take care of themselves and that is where most of the youth fail themselves.
“Age is just a number, after completing education at 18 years one can even venture into business and be independent, so go and start your businesses,” she added.
Unemployment in the country is above 90 percent with most college and school drop-outs forced to roam around streets while others have resorted to drug and substance abuses as a result of idle minds.
