Lesotho - Pressure group demands 'youth fund'

(MENAFN- The Post)

MASERU – BACHA shutdown, a pressure group of disgruntled youths, want Finance Minister Thabo Sophonea to set up a 'youth fund' to back their projects in the next budget.
The youths delivered a petition to Sophonea on Monday.

The minister is expected to deliver his budget speech before end of February.
In their letter, the youths said poverty rates were on the rise in Lesotho.
“The facts are that half the working age population in Lesotho is not participating in the labour market, does not have a job or is looking for one, with young people being disproportionally affected by joblessness,” reads the petition.

The Covid-19 pandemic, they said, has worsened the situation as some businesses closed resulting in job losses and worsening food insecurity.
They proposed that to try and tackle these challenges, the minister must establish a youth and women fund that will be funded by revenue collected from sin tax for real empowerment initiatives.

“Getting 20 percent (approximately M54 million) of the revenue collected from alcohol and tobacco levies each year, the fund will stimulate the establishment and growth of the youth and women businesses, promote digital skills, grow the economy and foster job creation,” the petition reads.
They say the fund should not be administered by politicians but by experienced Basotho women and youths to ensure transparency and accountability.

They also requested that the government removes Value Added Tax on telecommunications which they said makes data very expensive and inaccessible for low income consumers.
“Access to (the) internet has become a necessity for modern living and is a matter of survival. Unemployed graduates have trouble accessing job opportunities advertised online while students face barriers in remote learning conditions because they cannot afford access to high-speed internet in their homes.”

The youths also asked that the government must urgently implement monthly cash grant to vulnerable Basotho struggling to make ends meet.
These, they said, must be unemployed individuals aged between 18 and 59.
“This will ensure that each Loti spent in transfers goes directly to the poor. Also, linking the eligibility to employment status will ensure that the support is only temporary and falls away when beneficiaries graduate out of unemployment.”
The youths argue that job creation and economic growth are key long-term goals but do not address immediate crises.

Therefore, the argument that the government should only focus on attaining long-term goals is untenable, they said.
They say the government has failed to address the plight of the youths despite numerous plans that were announced to tackle their challenges.
The chairman of BachaShutdown, Thuso Leina, said they expect the minister's budget speech to address the issues they have raised.
He said over the years the government has never really responded to their issues in writing but what they have observed is that each time they raise issues something on the ground changes.

“We have realised that there is progress regarding some of the issues we previously raised like the Gender Based Violence Bill which we learned that the UNDP has supported its formulation with funds,” Leina said.
“We have also had a slight change in minimising the stringent conditions that the National Manpower Development Secretariat had for those who wanted to further their studies,” he said.

“The cancellation of the 50 percent upfront payment is not everything we had asked for but it is a start because what we want is a restructuring of the entity that will benefit both the academically gifted and those gifted with vocational skills.”
He said even this time around“we are hopeful that the budget will address part of what we proposed”.

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