







We recognize that the youth of Southern Africa represent an immense reservoir of energy, creativity, and potential that is critical to the continued progress and prosperity of our communities. As present leaders and change-makers of our region, we have a vital role to play in addressing the complex social, political, economic, and environmental challenges that we face. We have a role to complement our governments, the private sector, and all developmental actors to ensure access to quality and affordable education for the SADC child.
As the Harare Declaration states, the African youth bulge as an engine for the continent’s structural transformation agenda is at risk of being a missed opportunity due to being saddled with accumulated debt, while potentially being locked out of accessing finance that is desperately needed to invest in them, and making them carry the burden of a mortgaged future. Instead of investing in our potential, governments are forced to divert billions to creditors, too often to lenders who prioritise profit over people. This is not only an economic imbalance; it is a generational betrayal. We thus demand debt and tax justice that put people and the planet first.
Kutambua hili, Youth for Tax Justice Network (YTJN) inapendekeza Shindano la Sanaa kwa Vijana Barani Afrika. Lengo ni kutumia ubunifu wa vijana wa Kiafrika kukuza fikra mpya na kuelewa wa ngazi ya jamii kuhusu masuala muhimu ya utawala wa kiuchumi, yakiwemo deni la umma, AfCFTA, fedha za hali ya hewa, urejeshaji wa mali, na Mkataba wa Umoja wa Mataifa kuhusu Ushirikiano wa Kodi wa Kimataifa.
YTJN & ICOYACA are collaborating to combine their resources and expertise to jointly carry out activities like policy engagements, caravans bazaars, campaigns, etc. aimed at creating awareness of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) amongst the youth.
The pathway to a just and youth-friendly tax regime is clear: policies must keep pace with the realities of young entrepreneurs, formal and informal, urban and rural alike. Only through ongoing reform, robust support systems, and genuine participatory tax justice can Uganda unlock the full power of its youth as architects of a more prosperous future.
This year’s COP, framed as the “implementation COP,” aimed to move beyond promises and focus on how to make climate commitments real. Yet, deep disagreements on finance, trade, fossil fuel pathways, and other areas delayed progress until the final hours. More than 80 countries pushed for a roadmap to phase out fossil fuels, while many advocates and developing nations called for stronger commitments on climate finance, but the final text fell short of expectations.