Stop looking for jobs, youth urged

UNITED States of America (USA) Ambassador to Swaziland Maurice Parker says the unemployed should stop seeking for good jobs, but begin to look into prospects of creating employment opportunities for themselves and others.

Speaking at Matata in Big Bend on Saturday during the launch of TechnoServe's Believe Begin Become youth business plan competition, Ambassador Parker observed that a large percentage of the unemployed always dream of finding good jobs instead of beginning to look into prospects of establishing their own businesses.

"My advice to the unemployed is that they should work towards establishing their own businesses so they become employers in future," he said.

Ambassador Parker said for a long time now, the government of the United States was trying to provoke economic development in Swaziland.

He said to complement the efforts that have been made in the past, his government decided on hiring the services of TechnoServe, a non-profit organisation funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to officially assist locals establish their own business enterprises.

"Through TechnoServe we have built many businesses around the country. Some of these businesses are even exporting their goods to the US, Europe and South Africa," he said.

In addition, the ambassador said after realising that the future of the country's economy lies with the youth, TechnoServe in turn established the School Age Youth Entrepreneurship (SAYE) programme. However, he emphasised that the BBB competition was TechnoServe's flagship programme.

Ambassador Parker urged young people to join the competition not only because they stand to win the grand prize of E100 000, but also because they would undergo rigorous business training exercises aimed at improving their business acumen.

Meanwhile, Minister of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs Hlobsile Ndlovu also encouraged the youth to join the competition and start being proactive entrepreneurs.

She noted that the youth constitutes a large percentage of the country's unemployed. "Young people should stand up and fight unemployment by creating their own business opportunities. Government aims at reducing poverty by half by 2015 and by 2022 our aim is that poverty should have been completely eradicated in the country," said Ndlovu.