Briefing Paper on the Proposed Dissolution of NYCOM
1.0 BACKGROUND
There is no denying that the youth have capacity to bring unique perspectives that need to be taken into account in the development agenda of any nation. In addition, the involvement of today's youth in development, decision-making, and in the implementation of national programmes is critical to the long-term success in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
On the other hand, the draft National Youth Policy recognises that more than half of the country’s population is below the age of 25, which means that Malawi is a youthful nation; and that the youth are the nation today and tomorrow. Besides, the youth are energetic, adventurous, industrious, and willing to learn. What they need is space, empowerment and motivation to contribute towards developing the nation and themselves.
It is against this background why in 1996, the National Youth Council of Malawi (NYCOM) was conceived as the only national body established by an Act of Parliament to coordinate activities by youth-led organisations in the country.
Specifically, the mission of the Council was stipulated as follows: “To work towards empowering the youth of Malawi to utilize their potential to realize their aspirations and ambitions for their personal development and for national development.”
Some of the key aims and functions of the Council were as follows:
(i) To develop, promote, encourage and coordinate all forms of youth activities in Malawi;
(ii) To facilitate and encourage cooperation among registered youth organisations in Malawi;
(iii) To initiate operation and management of non-profit making and profit-making projects in support of youth development;
(iv) To organize and promote scholarships for youth workers, members of youth organizations and relevant officials.
(v) To foster the promotion of training courses.
(vi) To carry out registration and support of youth organisations in Malawi
(vii) To advise government and any authority either specifically or generally on matters relating to youth, sport and recreation.
(viii) To develop and institute guidelines for cooperation between government and other organisations and agencies operating for the youth in Malawi.
2.0 RECENT KEY POSITIVES/TRENDS
A series of recent developments or trends in Malawi have attested to the fact that Government is committed to recognising young people as agents of positive change who are capable of contributing to the development of the country if given space.
One clear example is the official launch of the Youth Enterprise Development Fund (YDEF) on 12 February 2010, whose vote was unanimously endorsed during the budget session of Parliament last year. The fund is not only a significant step in the right direction, but also a milestone towards uplifting the majority of youth who are reeling behind poverty and high unemployment.
Another example is a case when the State President, Professor Dr Bingu wa Mutharika, appointed the Board Chairperson of the now defunct NYCOM, Ms. Thembi Thadzi, to represent the voice of the Malawi youth in his newly instituted National Advisory Council for Strategic Planning.
Another case is that the Government has made youth as a priority within priorities which means the Government attaches importance to the development of the youth in the country.
3.0 CONSEQUENCES OF DISSOLVING NYCOM
In spite of the recent positive trends/developments as cited above, Government’s latest decision to dissolve NYCOM may water down almost all the positive efforts and significant gains achieved so far as regards youth development, participation and empowerment in the country.
While one might appreciate and sympathise with Government’s worries concerning the undesirable performance of certain parastatals – including NYCOM – the general view of the majority of youth practitioners, however, is that the best solution should not have been necessarily dissolving the Council per se. What Government has done is only to worsen the situation on the ground, which may prove to be counter-productive. Killing NYCOM is killing the spirit of “youth participation” whose very concept is what the Act of Parliament actually sought to promote in the first place. NYCOM as a regulatory body was responsible for providing quality, benchmarks, coordination, capacity building and relevance of the youth organizations. The dissolution undermines and leaves a void in the delivery of the youth organizations.
Furthermore, the dissolution of National Youth Council of Malawi (NYCOM) means that all its functions as stipulated in Act no. 22 of 1996 which created National Youth Council will now be piled on the Ministry of Youth and Sports, which is already inundated with other functions and responsibilities. As such, we fear that the new development will have, but not limited to, the following consequences.
(a) Considering that one of the core functions of NYCOM was to register youth organisations in Malawi, its dissolution therefore means that all youth organisations and groups which were registered under it are equally dissolved by default. That means 131 youth organizations and groups lose their legal status.
(b) The governance structure – i.e. the Act stipulates that the National Youth Council shall comprise of the following, the General Assembly, the Board of Directors, the Secretariat and the affiliates – these are the platforms that the youth in Malawi used to exercise their right to participate in decision-making processes. Dissolving the Youth Council denies the youth of a vital participation structures. Practically, the Ministry cannot offer such participation structures; and consequently the practical meaning of “youth participation” will be lost.
(c) Young people will no longer have an independent platform through which they can voice their issues and concerns conscientiously against Government programmes since they will be reporting directly to it. Furthermore, if Youth Council stand dissolved, youth civic engagement will be stifled as the youth organizations will not be contributing to development at grassroots level.
(d) We do not believe that the Government, under the Ministry of Youth and Sports, has the capacity to competently coordinate all forms of youth activities in Malawi as stipulated in the Act.
(e) Government will no longer have an independent body to advise it “either specifically or generally on matters relating to youth” as enshrined in the Act.
(f) Links with the African Union – The African Youth Charter which is a framework within the African Union recognizes such structures as Youth councils in the delivery of youth programmes. Scrapping off the National Youth Council will not send a good message to the Africa Union Community particularly now that Malawi is chairing the African Union
(g) Links with the Commonwealth – The Youth Councils are part of the greater commonwealth programmes of undertaking and hence dissolving the National Youth Council means de-linking the youth of Malawi from the commonwealth family and this also has an impact on our relations in supporting the commonwealth agenda including the right to vote in commonwealth meetings.
(h) The dissolution also weakens the structures of strengthening the youth development as it is a priority within the priorities within the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy.
3.0 RECOMMENDATIONS
In view of the fact that the decision to dissolve NYCOM was based on the understanding that the Council was perceived to be among the parastatals that did not perform according to the Government’s expectations, the general feeling however is that the following two options should have been explored:
1. Government should initiate a process of reinstating and restructuring NYCOM so that it begins to deliver according to its aims and functions as stipulated in the Act. Such a consultative exercise, which would also involve the youth themselves, could expose critical gaps requiring urgent redress. The views/suggestions from the youths in particular could be useful in the whole restructuring process. It is sad to note that the youth in the country, especially those whose organisations were registered by the Council, were not even consulted on the dissolution of NYCOM.
2. Alternatively, Government should explore the possibility of merging NYCOM with another relevant body, such as the Sports Council of Malawi, so that the aims and functions of the Act must continue to be executed and accomplished thoroughly. The new body, which could be called “The Youth and Sports Council of Malawi” could be structured in such a way that it could be reporting to the Ministry of Youth and Sports; and it could have two main directorates as follows: (i) The Directorate of Sports, and (ii) The Directorate of Youth Affairs.
There is no denying that the youth have capacity to bring unique perspectives that need to be taken into account in the development agenda of any nation. In addition, the involvement of today's youth in development, decision-making, and in the implementation of national programmes is critical to the long-term success in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
On the other hand, the draft National Youth Policy recognises that more than half of the country’s population is below the age of 25, which means that Malawi is a youthful nation; and that the youth are the nation today and tomorrow. Besides, the youth are energetic, adventurous, industrious, and willing to learn. What they need is space, empowerment and motivation to contribute towards developing the nation and themselves.
It is against this background why in 1996, the National Youth Council of Malawi (NYCOM) was conceived as the only national body established by an Act of Parliament to coordinate activities by youth-led organisations in the country.
Specifically, the mission of the Council was stipulated as follows: “To work towards empowering the youth of Malawi to utilize their potential to realize their aspirations and ambitions for their personal development and for national development.”
Some of the key aims and functions of the Council were as follows:
(i) To develop, promote, encourage and coordinate all forms of youth activities in Malawi;
(ii) To facilitate and encourage cooperation among registered youth organisations in Malawi;
(iii) To initiate operation and management of non-profit making and profit-making projects in support of youth development;
(iv) To organize and promote scholarships for youth workers, members of youth organizations and relevant officials.
(v) To foster the promotion of training courses.
(vi) To carry out registration and support of youth organisations in Malawi
(vii) To advise government and any authority either specifically or generally on matters relating to youth, sport and recreation.
(viii) To develop and institute guidelines for cooperation between government and other organisations and agencies operating for the youth in Malawi.
2.0 RECENT KEY POSITIVES/TRENDS
A series of recent developments or trends in Malawi have attested to the fact that Government is committed to recognising young people as agents of positive change who are capable of contributing to the development of the country if given space.
One clear example is the official launch of the Youth Enterprise Development Fund (YDEF) on 12 February 2010, whose vote was unanimously endorsed during the budget session of Parliament last year. The fund is not only a significant step in the right direction, but also a milestone towards uplifting the majority of youth who are reeling behind poverty and high unemployment.
Another example is a case when the State President, Professor Dr Bingu wa Mutharika, appointed the Board Chairperson of the now defunct NYCOM, Ms. Thembi Thadzi, to represent the voice of the Malawi youth in his newly instituted National Advisory Council for Strategic Planning.
Another case is that the Government has made youth as a priority within priorities which means the Government attaches importance to the development of the youth in the country.
3.0 CONSEQUENCES OF DISSOLVING NYCOM
In spite of the recent positive trends/developments as cited above, Government’s latest decision to dissolve NYCOM may water down almost all the positive efforts and significant gains achieved so far as regards youth development, participation and empowerment in the country.
While one might appreciate and sympathise with Government’s worries concerning the undesirable performance of certain parastatals – including NYCOM – the general view of the majority of youth practitioners, however, is that the best solution should not have been necessarily dissolving the Council per se. What Government has done is only to worsen the situation on the ground, which may prove to be counter-productive. Killing NYCOM is killing the spirit of “youth participation” whose very concept is what the Act of Parliament actually sought to promote in the first place. NYCOM as a regulatory body was responsible for providing quality, benchmarks, coordination, capacity building and relevance of the youth organizations. The dissolution undermines and leaves a void in the delivery of the youth organizations.
Furthermore, the dissolution of National Youth Council of Malawi (NYCOM) means that all its functions as stipulated in Act no. 22 of 1996 which created National Youth Council will now be piled on the Ministry of Youth and Sports, which is already inundated with other functions and responsibilities. As such, we fear that the new development will have, but not limited to, the following consequences.
(a) Considering that one of the core functions of NYCOM was to register youth organisations in Malawi, its dissolution therefore means that all youth organisations and groups which were registered under it are equally dissolved by default. That means 131 youth organizations and groups lose their legal status.
(b) The governance structure – i.e. the Act stipulates that the National Youth Council shall comprise of the following, the General Assembly, the Board of Directors, the Secretariat and the affiliates – these are the platforms that the youth in Malawi used to exercise their right to participate in decision-making processes. Dissolving the Youth Council denies the youth of a vital participation structures. Practically, the Ministry cannot offer such participation structures; and consequently the practical meaning of “youth participation” will be lost.
(c) Young people will no longer have an independent platform through which they can voice their issues and concerns conscientiously against Government programmes since they will be reporting directly to it. Furthermore, if Youth Council stand dissolved, youth civic engagement will be stifled as the youth organizations will not be contributing to development at grassroots level.
(d) We do not believe that the Government, under the Ministry of Youth and Sports, has the capacity to competently coordinate all forms of youth activities in Malawi as stipulated in the Act.
(e) Government will no longer have an independent body to advise it “either specifically or generally on matters relating to youth” as enshrined in the Act.
(f) Links with the African Union – The African Youth Charter which is a framework within the African Union recognizes such structures as Youth councils in the delivery of youth programmes. Scrapping off the National Youth Council will not send a good message to the Africa Union Community particularly now that Malawi is chairing the African Union
(g) Links with the Commonwealth – The Youth Councils are part of the greater commonwealth programmes of undertaking and hence dissolving the National Youth Council means de-linking the youth of Malawi from the commonwealth family and this also has an impact on our relations in supporting the commonwealth agenda including the right to vote in commonwealth meetings.
(h) The dissolution also weakens the structures of strengthening the youth development as it is a priority within the priorities within the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy.
3.0 RECOMMENDATIONS
In view of the fact that the decision to dissolve NYCOM was based on the understanding that the Council was perceived to be among the parastatals that did not perform according to the Government’s expectations, the general feeling however is that the following two options should have been explored:
1. Government should initiate a process of reinstating and restructuring NYCOM so that it begins to deliver according to its aims and functions as stipulated in the Act. Such a consultative exercise, which would also involve the youth themselves, could expose critical gaps requiring urgent redress. The views/suggestions from the youths in particular could be useful in the whole restructuring process. It is sad to note that the youth in the country, especially those whose organisations were registered by the Council, were not even consulted on the dissolution of NYCOM.
2. Alternatively, Government should explore the possibility of merging NYCOM with another relevant body, such as the Sports Council of Malawi, so that the aims and functions of the Act must continue to be executed and accomplished thoroughly. The new body, which could be called “The Youth and Sports Council of Malawi” could be structured in such a way that it could be reporting to the Ministry of Youth and Sports; and it could have two main directorates as follows: (i) The Directorate of Sports, and (ii) The Directorate of Youth Affairs.
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