UDC must correct anomaly of BNYC placing for its vigilance

Gaontebale Mokgosi | Monday September 8, 2025 15:20

What is more, society and the world around us are changing continually and rapidly. This is exactly why it is so important to prepare young people to take advantage of opportunities and face challenges head-on, and to make sure they learn the skills they need to do both.

The purpose of writing this article is to highlight the role of the youth council in the delivery of youth work, including having to prevent risk factors related to violence, crime and drug use. This article is built on the accumulated experiences, knowledge and lessons learned from my local youth work so far, and it is based on the Law on Youth Participation and Youth Policies. By this article, I am agitating for the reinstatement of Botswana National Youth Council as an independent body for its vigilance to support youth participation at the national level.

In today’s fast-paced and ever-changing world, it’s more important than ever for young people to develop the essential life skills they need to navigate the challenges of adolescence and adulthood. Basic skills like maths and language alone are not enough. Young people need to master other skills too, such as the ability to understand complex issues, become solution-focused, think critically and formulate a coherent argument. Interpersonal skills like teamwork and communicating with others are also important, as are skills like self-regulation and resilience that are essential for personal development. Moreover, in today’s dynamic society, the future is very uncertain. BNYC BEFORE ITS USURPATION: This is where the Botswana National Youth Council (BNYC) comes in. Before usurpation by government, BNYC was committed to the development of programming that promoted a positive educational environment for youth across the nation. It had established Youth Centres that provided an environment where all participants, regardless of sex, race, religion, or economic status, felt safe and understood. Youth Centres provided a safe and supervised facility for youth to engage in educational programs and leisure activities, which encouraged the growth of positive self-esteem. Youth who dropped in at the centres were able to freely express their opinions without fear of judgment, and were encouraged to participate in a variety of supervised activities.

There were no barriers to entry, and centres did not charge a registration fee. Youth Centres offered a wide range of activities, including sports, guest presentations on current issues, computer and internet access, homework assistance, peer mentoring, and educational workshops that encouraged making healthy life choices. The sites connected youth with the local community, encouraging volunteerism to make a difference. Centres prided themselves on being smoke, drug and alcohol-free venues for young people to interact in a safe and non-judgmental environment. The participants’ ages ranged from 13 to 35 years, although their no restriction on the age category. Before government decided to subsume it under the then Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture in 2017, BNYC provided activities that developed mechanisms to mitigate youth vulnerabilities associated with crime and drug use. Its forerunners believed in participation, in social control and in a permanent process of dialogue with all segments of society. They taught young people how to live with differences, to learn the value of others, to respect others and to deal with frustrations daily.

They strove to understand the youth capacity and brought them into leadership culture to prepare them for the future. BNYC undertook during its formative years, several activities and programmes, among which were an active engagement of youth as ambassadors (e.g. Boy Scouts, Girl Guides, Botswana Work-Camp Association) for safe and healthy communities as well as a large number of national and regional youth-oriented initiatives in cooperation with partner organizations from the United Nations to promote life skills, civic values, peaceful societies and a culture of lawfulness in line with the Doha Declaration. This happened when BNYC functioned as an autonomous entity from the central government. However, ever since it was moved to serve as a government unit under the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture (which is now changed to the Ministry of Youth and Gender Affairs), BNYC was rendered defunct in terms of driving the youth agenda. As it is, there is no meaningful youth participation in terms of their involvement in addressing development areas affecting their lives. The participation of young people has become merely symbolic or tokenistic as the operation of the Botswana National Youth Council under the central government was short-changed, and thus it has not served as an instrumental agency in advocating young people’s concerns. The current BNYC scenery has rendered it incapable of facilitating a synchronised approach to youth development. This has resulted in pathetic coverage of children, adolescents, and young persons throughout the districts in Botswana. In a nutshell, the situation has created a manifest gap between BNYC and youth.

BNYC AS AN INDEPENDENT STATUTORY BODY: Given the current predicament, the UDC has to hasten to clearly express its resolve and determination to take care of the needs and interests of young people by establishing an independent BNYC which will serve as a National Advisory Body for Youth Policies where young people together with the representatives of the competent government authorities will have an advisory and supervisory role in the implementation of the national youth policies and activities. In addition, the UDC Government should oblige itself to promulgate the Law on Youth Participation so as to provide a legal framework and mechanisms that guarantee youth participation in creating policies that affect them. Furthermore, UDC should adopt a National Youth Strategy for a period of five years, which contains an Action Plan for Implementation. To implement all activities as would be envisaged by the National Youth Strategy, the provisions regarding funding have to be made clear; that is, at the national level, funds should be allocated from the National Budget in the amount of 0.3%, while at the local level, funds in the amount of 0.1% should be annually allocated for the youth.

Conclusion: Botswana National Youth Council serving as an independent structure can have an incredible impact on the lives of young people and can also play an important preventative role, because for some young people in difficult personal or domestic circumstances, BNYC through youth centres is the one place where they can meet safely and obtain the support they need. In their own right, youth centres are effective as they give young people: somewhere to go, something to do, some space of their own, someone to talk to. Importantly, there is need to employ skills teaching in order to increase adaptive and positive behaviour and address risk factors related to violence, crime and drug use. It is issues like these – which relate to children and youth that the BNYC, through Life Skills programmes, can address!

*Gaontebale Mokgosi is a community development practitioner