Youth should care. The main reason is because we’re paying, but not heard. Africa is the youngest continent in the world, with over 60% of its population under the age of 25. Yet despite being the majority, young people are among the most heavily taxed, especially through consumption taxes such as VAT on airtime, mobile money, transport, and everyday goods.
It’s a call to action for youth to rise, engage, demand, and drive transformative change and co-creators of a new financing paradigm that truly serves the people and the planet. This piece is also a call to action for governments, multi-lateral institutions and civil society organizations to rise to the challenge of meaningful youth inclusion.
The 2016 Africa Human Development Report highlights that gender inequality is costing sub-Saharan Africa on average US$95 billion annually. Gender equality is therefore instrumental to achieving sustainable economic and social development and should be mainstreamed into Africa’s trade agenda to achieve sustainable and inclusive economic growth. Domestic resource mobilization has become a concern for economies in the global south because of the changing international financial architecture.
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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.