. Kambwili

By FRANCINA CHOMBA –

GOVERNMENT has said it will involve the full participation of the youth to ensure meaningful national development.

Youth and Sports Minister Chishimba Kambwili said Government had realised that no meaningful development could be achieved without the participation of the youth in Zambia’s development agenda.

In a speech read for him by Copperbelt Permanent Secretary Howard Sikwele during the official opening of the national Girls Brigade rally at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola yesterday, Mr Kambwili said since assuming office in September 2011, the Patriotic Front (PF) Government had been making a lot of investments in the areas of youth development.

Mr Kambwili said, Government was trying to empower the youth by increasing access to university education, skills training and promoting youth entrepreneurship development for employment creation.

He said Government decided to construct at least one public university in each of the 10 provinces and that so far, five institutions of higher learning were under construction.

The minister called for the private sector participation in setting up of private universities.

Mr Kambwili said Government was scaling up the provision of skills training to the youths by upgrading the existing infrastructure and equipment.

National Girls Brigade president Dorothy Chimpampwe said Government had built a multi-purpose training center in Luanshya for the youths and had been awarded the right to host the next international conference in 2019.

Ms Chimpampwe said the Girls Brigade’s role was to empower the girl-child by inculcating the sense of control to enable them not indulge in bad vices.

The three-day National Girls Brigade rally has attracted participation from all the 10 provinces.