Tanzania: Youth Empowerment Gains Momentum in Mwanza

 Mwanza — OFFICIAL figures indicate that unemployment rate in Tanzania has for the last five years stood at 10 per cent. Such record remains substantially high and therefore there is a need for the government and other players to play a decisive role in addressing the matter.

Experts defined unemployment as the number of people actively looking for a job as a percentage of the labour force. Indeed seeking a job in Tanzania especially for youths is a great challenge. That is because most of the youth do not want to be employed by themselves doing other activities, but to be employed in office work.

They believe that employment is about working in an office. This is a big challenge facing the government. The Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are part and parcel of the mechanism to address such a matter through empowering the youth in various aspects of life.

One of these NGOs, based in Mwanza City, is known as Mwanza Policy Initiative (MPI). The organization is currently implementing a special Programme called Kazi Nje Nje Oparesheni Moto wa Nyika" to youths in Mwanza City for the support of International Labour Organization(ILO). Officials say the MPI is a network of not-for - profit Civil Society Organization established in July 2004 and registered in 2008.

It is geared to provide a forum for Mwanza Civil Society Organizations (CSO's) to come together sharing knowledge and experiences as well as undertake strategic which ventures to influence policies and practices on good government in poverty reduction in Mwanza Region, while linking with national level frameworks and processes.

In a nutshell, the network of CSOs seeks, among other responsibilities, to accomplish the following strategic, improving democracy, governance and accountability among people in the region. Accomplishing public engagement in constitution making and other policy processes and also promoting issues of human rights of marginalized groups just to mention a few.

It also coordinates policy intervention activities of Mwanza based CSO's building their capacities and it also monitoring budgets allocations, expenditures and assessing its impact in the rural communities. According to the KNN/ Business Development Service Apprentice for Kazi Nje Nje/Operesheni Moto wa Nyika Musa Mashishanga, the MPI was established in September, this year, and has already engaged the local youths in twelve (12) districts across the Mainland Tanzania and Isles of Zanzibar