BY NQOBANI NDLOVU
A Matabeleland South-based youth rights group has warned that young people are at the mercy of the Covid-19-induced socio-economic impact due to lack of representation in foras aimed at mitigating effects of the pandemic.
The youths have not been spared from the harsh effects of Covid-19, such as closure of their informal markets in the country’s highly informalised economy, where company closures are a permanent feature.
Government has announced plans to assist the most vulnerable members of society with $200 allowances during the extended Covid-19 lockdown, a figure described as a pittance in the face of high inflation and galloping prices of basics.
The Community Youth Development Trust (CYDT) urged the government to go further to engage and create spaces for the youths, where plans to mitigate the effects of Covid-19 on the young could be worked out.
“While young people are already taking action to stop the spread of this disease and mitigate the repercussions of this pandemic, it is critical to recognise the multiple and diverse impact the Covid-19 pandemic already has on them and their human rights,” CYDT coordinator Sichasisile Ndlovu said in a petition addressed to Matabeleland South Provincial Affairs minister Abednico Ncube dated May 15.
“Youths in Matabeleland South lament lack of representation in foras that seek to evaluate the short and long-term effects of Covid-19.
“This comes as a realisation that efforts to mitigate the effect of the pandemic requires an unprecedented level of collaboration for it to be comprehensive and ignite inclusivity.”
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Ncube refused to comment on the CYDT petition saying he had not seen it.
However, CYDT called on the government to “create spaces for young people to actively participate shaping Covid-19 responses that seek to assist the affected youths and their business-led initiatives to rescue them from the challenging economic strains.
“Limited efforts to engage and include the youths in such spaces have perpetuated lack of urgency by the government to draw stringent measures that reduce susceptibility of young women to gender-based violence and other physical forms of abuse as a result of increased duty of care during this period,” the CYDT petition added.
Analysts warn of tough times for many in the post-Covid-19 period, with company closures and job losses predicted at a time when the majority are already failing to make ends meet.
