By Mcdonald Chipenzi
By constitutional definition under Article 266 of the Constitution of Zambia, a “young person” is one between the ages of 15 years and 19 years olds.
This is different from being a youth which, by definition, goes up 35 years old.
Now, coming to the issue of elections and “young” or youth persons, it is a good debate worth noting where, in some political parties, the youth call for “YOUNG” people to be adopted in majorities in 2021 general elections has echoed through hills, trouphs, crests and mountains.
However, the experience with “young” elected leaders in the almost ending electoral cycle (2016-2021) has been non impressive and sometimes frustratingly frustrating esp among rural councilors.
Most of the resignations that have triggered costly by-elections have been purportedly been occasioned by the “young” elected leaders from the wards.
Some have abandoned their wards to pursue education opportunities and other lucrative ventures in urban centres becoming visiting Councilors during this electoral cycle.
In as much as we have visiting MPs whose place of work is in Lusaka at NATIONAL Assembly and their stay in Lusaka justified unlike the councilor who must be resident in that district, the rate of resignations among MPs has been low during the 2016-2021 electoral cycle.
At Parliamentary level, I only remember of one resignation occasioned by Harry Kalaba for Bahati then while at Mayoral level, we had only 2 casual vacancies as a result of resignations ie. KAFUE AND KAOMA.
What could be the reasons behind this instability among the young elected leaders as ward councilors?
One reason could be that some or most of these elected young leaders had just completed Grade 12 without any established life and homes, most could have still been kept by their parents.
They are/were still in high gear of searching for jobs and pursuing educational opportunities so they had to have divided attentions more esp that being a WARD Councilor is not as rewarding as being an MP or council chairperson or Mayor.
Unless our Youth/YOUNG people direct their energies to correct the wrong impression created by those youth elected in the last elections in 2016, many political parties will be hesitant to adopt persons unestablished as Councilors due to the experience currently being obtaining in some parties but will only offer politics and lipservice on their adoptions promises in order to win the youth votes.
It must be born in mind that once elected councilor, u must plan your life of being one for 5 years thereafter, one can pursue other opportunities unless those opportunities have little impact on one’s representative role.
In oldern days, only retired civil servants or established persons in that particular ward(s) with minimal possibilities of mobility in search of jobs or educational opportunities were optioned.
I for see political PARTIES in 2021 asking for established persons to be recruited and adopted for Councilorship to avoid casual vacancies ocassioned by resignations among other reasons leading to costly by-elections.
I submit.