The Zimbabwean Parliament is pushing for a constitutional amendment to have more representation of youthful lawmakers in Parliament.
Speaking in Parliament last Thursday, the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Youth chairperson Mathias Tongofa acknowledged the government’s efforts to create structures that accommodated youth participation and representation and asked for the youth quota to 25 percent.
“The Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs ministry should submit a Bill to Parliament by December 31, 2021 amending the Constitution to increase the youth quota from 10% to 25%,” Tongofa said.
His argument was that young people faced stiff competition from financially stable adults, thus limiting their chances of success, necessitating the need to increase the youths representation.
President E.D had approved that 10 youths be proportionally elected to represent youths in Parliament from the proposed constitutional amendments which stated the addition of ten youth quota seats in Parliament.
Official figures show that Zimbabwe is a youthful population with over 50% of the demography classified as youth.
