The President of the Republic of Seychelles, Mr. Danny Faure and the Speaker of the National Assembly of Seychelles, Mr. Patrick Pillay have supported long-running efforts to transform the SADC Parliamentary Forum into a SADC Regional Parliament while also calling for more investments in the youths.

The two leaders spoke at the official opening of the 41^st Plenary Assembly Session of the Forum which got underway here on Monday. More than half of the cabinet and the leader of the opposition of Seychelles Mr. Wavel Ramkalawan, joined the President for the official opening ceremony.

"The recognition we can give to the SADC Parliamentary Forum for its contribution in advancing the region's democracy, governance peace and development agenda is to earnestly consider its quest for transformation into a Regional Parliament," the President said.

He said Africa is in the middle of a process of massive transformation and was home to many of the world's 10 fastest growing economies. Additionally, the continent has rich natural resources, a young population and scope for growth, with many companies and countries alike turning to Africa's promise.

"It is a continent of hope with immense potential," he said.

The President said in spite of its vast potential, Africa continued to face many developmental challenges.

"In the context of globalization, regional integration is imperative for Africa. But effective implementation of regional frameworks will only take root in healthy and democratic environments where economic management is transparent and accountable. Building this kind of political and economic security requires that we think and act regionally and continentally in the spirit of solidarity and shared commitment."

He said to prosper in a globalized economy, Member States needed to act as organized regions to improve the quality of lives of their people "including the reinforcement of the values of democracy and good governance."

He urged SADC Member States to ensure the meaningful participation of the people and institutions of the region to achieve an effective and transparent regional integration process.

"Parliament is the embodiment of representative democracy and its untapped potential to deepen SADC's regional integration should be appreciated and recognised."

The President added: "The setting up of a SADC Regional Parliament will build more stable foundations for peace and security, better promote the implementation of policies, democratic standards and best practices resulting in greater political stability, more sustainable economic development and increased regional integration."

His view is that a SADC Regional Parliament would provide a platform for leaders, Governments and people of southern Africa to share best practices and developments in governance and socio-economic advancements.

Earlier, Speaker Pillay said Seychelles was "lengthily discussing" the transformation of SADC PF into a SADC Regional Parliament in line with its founding objectives.

"I see the (President) taking copious notes. Perhaps Seychelles may consider - small as we may be - if we get funding we could, like Namibia has done (hosting the SADC PF Secretariat), consider hosting you (a SADC Regional Parliament). I know it is a bold statement, but we are an ambitious small nation," he said to applause.

The theme of the 41st Plenary Assembly Session is: " Harnessing the demographic dividend in SADC through investments in youth.' '

President Faure said the theme was in line with the commemoration of the African Union's 54th anniversary and the Organization's vision 2063. The adoption of this vision, he said, was a "colossal milestone" towards inclusive development and the empowerment of the people.

"The theme provides us with the opportunity to continue valorizing our youth with more vigor and dynamism. The involvement of youth in the development of our continent and indeed in southern Africa will mean more inclusive participation and development. Our youth are an extraordinary asset to our region."

Speaking at the same occasion, SADC PF President Fernando Da Piedade Dos Santos, MP, who is also Speaker of the National Assembly of Angola, called for more investment in young people.

"The high population growth rates in most of our countries have resulted in the number of youth and children to be higher than that of the adults. As a result, the number of those who need to be supported and cared for is higher than that of those who are independent and have to take care of them. Consequently, the youth are feeling left out and as politicians who value each and every vote, we should consider this theme earnestly," he said.

Malawian lawmaker Dr Jessie Kabwila who is the Chairperson of the Regional Women's Parliamentary Caucus advocated for the inclusion and prioritisation of young women as well as for clear policies backed by implementation to eradicate teenage and unplanned pregnancy. She said SADC PF should think about how it can provide oversight as the region invests in the demographic dividend.

"The problems of corruption, patronage agreed, the practice of governing for personal aggrandisement, and power run by a few to the detriment of many cannot be formula for harnessing the demographic dividend. We need to remember that corruption retards and destroys."

LEADERS: (Seated L to R) Speaker of the Parliament of Zimbabwe, Adv. Jacob Francis Mudenda; Speaker of the National Assembly of Zambia, Justice Dr. Patrick Matibini, SC; Speaker of the National Assembly of Swaziland, Hon Themba Msibi; Hon Moses Masango, representing the Speaker of the Parliament of South Africa; Hon. Sebatian Karupu, representing the Speaker of the National Asembly of Namibia; Hon. Jaime Augusto Neto, representing the Speaker of Mozambique; Hon. Terence Mondon, Treasurer of SADC PF; and Hon Monica Mutsvangwa, Vice President of SADC PF at the official opening of the 41st Plenary Assembly Session of SADC PF in Mahe, Seychelles.

SADC Secretary General Dr Esau Chiviya said the Forum exists to promote the principles of human rights, democracy, peace and security, regional integration, human and social development, economic governance and gender equality through collective responsibility within the SADC Region.

Chiviya added that SADC PF advocates, also, for the harmonization, ratification, domestication and implementation of SADC Protocols, treaties and other decisions at national level, while strengthening the implementation capacity of SADC by involving Parliamentarians in the affairs of SADC.

Delegates to this Plenary include Speakers or their representatives and Members of Parliament from 12 of the 14 SADC PF Member States. Lesotho and Tanzania are not represented due to pressing national commitments. The Plenary is expected to adopt the Made Declaration, which captures recommendations from the first ever Women's Parliament that took place in Seychelles last week.

The Model Law guarantees the respect for human rights principles, rejects coercive approaches, addresses the root causes of vulnerability to infection and ensures the protection of members of vulnerable and marginalised groups.

This pace-setting SADC Model Law on Eradicating Child Marriage and Protecting Children Already in Marriage would not have been developed successfully were it not for the financial, technical, political, moral and other support that the SADC Parliamentary Forum got from many cooperating partners, people and institutions.

Mahe, Seychelles - Africa will account for approximately 80 percent of the projected four billion increase in the global population by the year 2100, according to the United Nations.

Africa's population currently stands at about 1, 2 billion. In East and Southern Africa, adolescents and young people aged between 10 and 24 years represent nearly 33 percent of the total population. That population of young people is projected to double by the year 2050. This can be an opportunity or a challenge, according to Frederick Okwayo, a Population Data Policy Advisor with United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in East and Southern Africa.

He said this to SADC PF Members of Parliament during a symposium at the beginning of the 41^st plenary of the SADC Parliamentary Forum, which began in Seychelles on Monday.

The SADC PF organized the symposium to interrogate the theme: "Harnessing Democratic Dividend in Africa through Investment in Youth." Okwayo warned that the continent's growing youthful population can pose a major challenge "if it is not properly invested in."

He the Members of Parliament drawn from 12 SADC Member States that Africa's population was projected to constituted 40 percent of the world's population by the year 2100. In other parts of the world that include Europe, populations are not increasing. Okweyo said as things stand, people aged below 25 years of age make up approximately 60 per cent of the population in Africa.

"We have a resource which, when invested in, we can leverage."

The African Union has declared 2017 the year for harnessing demographic dividend through investing in the youths. Accordingly, African Member States are reportedly trying to figure out how they can tap into the demographic dividend that young people present. Angling for the demographic dividend is being done through a variety of instruments that include Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs) and Agenda 2063.

The demographic dividend refers to the economic benefit that can arise when a country has a relatively large proportion of working-age population due to declining fertility and mortality and when it effectively invests in their health, empowerment, education and employment through public action and private sector involvement.

"With timely, targeted and simultaneous investments at macro and micro levels, this shift can accelerate inclusive socio-economic development. Changing the age structure can produce a window of economic opportunity in countries undergoing a fertility decline." Okwayo said.

He explained that typically, demographic dividend starts when fertility and mortality decline.

"When fertility goes down, the population age structure changes so that there are more people in the working age group population. When that happens, the dependency ratio declines."

He stressed that demographic dividend presents potential for economic growth. However, it is not a given and should not be squandered.

"For it to become real, duty bearers who include Members of Parliament, development partners and the private sector need to make a lot of investments. The working age population has to be empowered, kept healthy, be educated and be highly skilled in an environment that offers decent jobs."

Countries that have benefitted from the demographic dividend have done so through, also, increasing or expanding family planning commodities and services to change the population age structure. Such countries include those commonly referred to as the Asian Tigers. In those countries there were, among others, assured reproductive health; major advances in the use of modern family planning; empowerment of women and girls to stay in school; avoidance of child marriage; improved quality of education; and expanded access to decent employment.

Okwayo cited a few of the many parameters that African countries, working closely with Members of Parliament, can focus on to derive the demographic dividend. They include maternal mortality; women in agriculture; low life expectancy; rampant poverty; high inequality; low school enrolment rates in early childhood; and illiteracy as well as unmet needs for family planning.

"We need to provide resources or services to women so that we continue changing the population age structure but in a human rights perspective, " Okwayo said.

Research conducted by UNFPA shows that to meaningfully contribute to the demographic dividend, the youths need education, empowerment and gainful employment.

Members of Parliament in the SADC Region have their work cut out. The AU has identified four pillars that require focus: employment and entrepreneurship; education and skills development; health and wellbeing; and rights, governance and youth empowerment if Member States are to realize the demographic dividend.

Okwayo called on Members of Parliament to embrace and promote the concept of demographic dividend, allocate resources to undertake relevant research, and develop a roadmap and action plan. There will be need, also, to enact laws that ensure ratification, domestication and full implementation of all the AU shared values and instruments.

"There is need for laws that improve access to credit facilities for youths and establish and operationalize national and regional youth funds to increase young people's access to business capital."

Okwayo's presentation sparked animated debate.

OUTSPOKEN: The speaker of Malawi, Richard Msowoya

The speaker of Malawi, Richard Msowoya said unless African members states begin to shun corruption, the demographic dividend would remain an elusive pie in the sky.

"While he (Okwayo) was speaking, I opened my smartphone and checked the index on corruption. There is a direct correlation between the level of corruption and the number of women who are dying in our country," he thundered.

He said technocrats - among who Okweyo numbers - should help SADC Member States to stop corruption and all else would follow.

"We know all these things (how to realise the demographic dividend). We are eating that money; we are banking that money outside. Look at the neckties we are wearing here," he quipped.

He added: "If we fail to be honest to one another, we are not going to help this continent. The time has come to call a spade a spade and stop stealing from our governments," he said.

Malawi lawmaker Joseph Njobvuyalema took issue with Okweyo for not talking about the youths' responsibilities in the quest for the demographic dividend.

"Much as the youths enjoy rights, they have certain responsibilities and obligations to observe. We can invest in health but it is their responsibility to protect themselves against contracting HIV. You can invest in education but if they don't observe the rules or not attend school, that investment would not be meaningful at all."

NOT IMPRESSED: Malawi lawmaker Joseph Njobvuyalema Njobvuyalema said some youths had no respect for the public or public property.

"Some of us come from very poor backgrounds but here we are with Masters' degrees. We have secured good jobs because as youths, we carried personal responsibilities. Today if a country makes a simple decision of hiking fees, the youths will go demolishing buildings. Very irresponsible! In your presentation these things did not come out."

Senator Monica Mutsvangwa from Zimbabwe said today's youths lacked mentorship. She called on MPs to fill that gap.

Zambian MP Elizabeth Phiri said some youths needed help in understanding the difference between wants and needs.

"Instead of moving sensible things, they are crying for things which are not helpful. As a parent, I find it very, very awkward. What agenda are they moving?"