The Malawi Government has unveiled new steps to tackle youth unemployment, pledging to expand training centres, revive empowerment programmes and accelerate digital monetisation policies.
Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Patricia Wiskies outlined the plans in Parliament last week after legislators demanded clarity on stalled initiatives and mounting joblessness.
Wiskies said the ministry’s core priority is giving young people practical skills to generate income independently.
“We want to ensure that young people have as many skills as possible. We want to give them the capacity to do other income-generating activities,” she said, adding that government will revamp technical centres and construct new training facilities in communities to widen access.
In her response to Lilongwe Msinja South lawmaker Francis Belekanyama (Malawi Congress Party) who asked whether government will continue the Youth Innovation Fund, Wiskies said consultations are underway and they are working with other ministries to determine the best way of continuing the programme.
But the minister was non-committal on whether the government would continue with the initiative while Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Ben Phiri chipped in and said government is working on supplementary measures to create opportunities for young people to secure work and generate wealth.
Chiradzulu Nyungwe MP McPherson Ndalama (Democratic Progressive Party) asked government to expedite social-media monetisation, arguing that in other countries, content creators make money on TikTok, Facebook and similar platforms.
Wiskies said government in collaboration with the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (Macra) is finalising a framework to make monetisation possible.
The minister said with over 70 percent of Malawi’s population being young, programmes in youth empowerment remains central to economic transformation.
“Every aspect of our development is driven by the youth. We want to build a Malawi where every young person can thrive,” she said.
Reacting to the youth unemployment, Youth and Society executive director Charles Kajoloweka urged government to stay consistent, urging the administration to anchor its decisions on the National Youth Policy.
He said: “If you look at the initiatives undertaken in the past five years, including the Youth Innovation Fund and monetising social media, they are progressive moves that uplift Malawians.
“The government must consult with people working in the youth space before deciding whether to continue or discontinue any programme.”
A survey by Centre for Social Research of the University of Malawi conducted in 2024 indicated deep economic frustrations among the country’s youth, with the findings showing that only eight percent of youths are employed and five percent in part-time roles and three percent in full-time jobs.
