The strive to achieve a WISE society, one which is wealthy, integrated, sustainable and empowered not only in Lesotho but throughout Africa will be to the greatest extent effected and significantly affected by those forming the youth segment of the population. Great emphasis in this regard is on those in the Millennial and Generation Z groups.
These are the people best placed to lead our country’s push for an inclusive economy, a responsibility I am always at pains to highlight is not solely that of the government. It goes without saying. that in order to increase wealth it shall be inevitable that economic activity will have to increase as well. This will not only happen through employment of the youth into new jobs but rather the growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), the introduction of new technologies and the participation of young people in existing value and supply chains.
To acutely address the role of any scholar of the law or regulatory policy enthusiast to any Millennial or Generation Z would be to say to any such individual, no one is going to raise your issues for you and ultimately no laws will be adopted nor shall any policy likely be implemented to address any such. No other group nor segment within the populace is better placed to raise issues relating to digitization and the enablement to participate in in new and emerging technologies but millennials and those of generation Z.
The very same people that are to a large extent responsible for the status quo as prevails are ironically the very same people we expect to raise issues on our behalf. Maybe to wake up and to smell the coffee would be to recognize that they are not going to do so and that to ensure that pertinent questions about these issues which affect us as the youth, those that disenable us from participating in the economy, preclude us from effectively deploying our skills, pre-empt our businesses from entry into the value and supply chains shall be better asked by us than by anybody else and as such would be clearly articulated by us than by any other.
The lawmakers and everybody else shall then have no choice but to listen. And if they won’t, they shall have no choice but to endure or unbearable noises and whines just as they used to not so long ago. Or perhaps we shall contest to replace them. We are more than capable.