Speaker of the National Assembly, Rt. Hon. Nelly B K Mutti, MP said Parliaments are key in increasing youth representation and participation in political processes.

She said this during the launch of the Zambia Youth Parliamentary Caucus (ZYPC) under the theme, “Bridging the Gap between Parliament and the Youth”, on Wednesday 28thSeptember, 2022at Parliament Buildings in Lusaka.

“You will note that youth representation and participation in institutional political processes and policy making remains relatively low globally. This underscores the critical role youths ought to play in order to achieve SDGs and social economic development,” Ms Mutti said.

She said it has become imperative for Parliaments to establish platforms like caucuses for youths to participate in political processes and Acting Clerk of the National Assembly, Mr. Roy Ngulube said Caucuses are established to provide platforms for parliamentarians to promote and identified interests in the House as these allow them to collaborate and effectively acquaint themselves with critical, current policy issues and other areas of interest

Speaking at the launch, ActionAid Country Director, Mrs. Nalucha Ziba said that the establishment of Zambia Youth Parliamentary Caucus will address the challenges faced among youths. “It will help to push the youth agenda on the floor of the house and bridge the gap between the youth and the National Assembly,” She said.

In the same vein, Youth4Parliament Representative, Nalishebo Sinyama said that the current misinterpretation that youths do not have experience to take up decision making processes will now be addressed.

Meanwhile, Zambia Youth Parliamentary Caucus Chairperson, Ms. Jean N Chisenga, MP, informedthat a number of activities aimed at laying a foundation for the successful implementation of the Caucus have been undertaken.

A Poem titled Building Bridges from Raphael Kreed summed up the event with words such as, “I love to think of Parliament as a democratic restaurant, a place whose meals are designed to be served, through the people and back to the people. Meaning, a well representation of youths in Parliament will result in a country with balanced laws”.

The Zambia Youth Parliamentary Caucus in partnership with ActionAid is platform aimed at providing a podium for the youth to engage Parliament on issues that affect them. It was established in December 2021 with support from organizations such as DANIDA, SIDA, Norwegian Church Aid, DanChurch Aid and many others.