Youngsters want access to their political leaders

Addis Ababa, 18 November - Young people attending ADF-V had frank exchanges of opinion with political leaders who came to speak to them on Saturday.

In an interactive debate, the young Africans pointed out that this African Development Forum should not be reduced to a talking shop. They suggested that the African Youth Charter, devised by the African Union, should be used as a monitoring tool to evaluate progress on youth issues and be included in the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) process.

Speakers included the Tanzanian Vice President Dr. Ali Mohammed Shein and the former Canadian prime minister Paul Martin.

Vice President Shein pointed to several initiatives by the government of Tanzania to involve the youth in national affairs, including the allocation of some parliamentary seats. He also cited the example of Tanzania's founding father, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, who led the national independence movement while still a youth himself, and urged today's young people to emulate such examples.

Paul Martin called on African countries to form a single market, saying the fact that Africa was divided into 53 countries was holding back economic progress. "Don't let national self interest stop you from developing," he told the youngsters, and urged them to "take charge" of the continent's, and their own futures.

Many of the young people stressed that social integration was as important as economic integration, and to this end, the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa ( ECA) Abdoulie Janneh suggested that this ADF could be the start of a process bringing young people together across boundaries. He said the African Youth Forum could be used to popularize the youth charter and agitate for African integration.

Many youngsters called for direct dialogue between themselves and their political leaders. They preferred to stay put in Africa, rather than seek their fortunes elsewhere, but they wanted incentives. "Leaders must recognize their weaknesses and limits regarding the youth," one young interlocutor noted.

Two representatives from the diaspora also noted the great contributions in remittances made by Africans living outside the continent to boost national economies. "The diaspora is the new driving force for Africa," one of them pointed out.

There was much debate on the vast natural resources that Africa possesses and yet grinding poverty continues on the continent. All were in agreement that these resources should be exploited to help the poor, but the former Canadian premier cautioned against focusing solely on natural resources. He said if the economy was only linked to natural resources, this would drive up wage scales which could not be matched by other sectors. And the infrastructure would be geared only to exports which would not benefit the interior of countries. He said a "complete economic policy" was preferable.

Winding up the session, the AU commissioner for social affairs Bience P. Gawanas urged the young people to make sure their respective governments signed and ratified the charter. "There is a huge difference between an instrument and its implementation," she said.

She called for decisive youth action, advising them to enter into partnerships with each other rather than depending solely on their leaders and to follow up closely implementation of the charter's provisions.