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{
    "id": 325102,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/325102/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 100,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "(b) The Ministry has not researched to determine the root causes of rising cases of suicide among the young people in the country, but from experience and interaction with the youth, the following possible causes of suicidal tendencies have been observed and recorded by the Ministry. (i) increased responsibilities placed upon the shoulders of the young people arising from myriad psycho-social and economic factors confront young people with monstrous life challenges. (ii) Limited financial resources negatively impacts on the youth, especially in cases where incomes do not match financial responsibilities in relationships. (iii) It has also been observed that young people lack mentorship on many issues, especially in cases involving relationships. When relationships go awry, these result in depressions and sometimes violence. (iv) The society has also not been particularly successful to teach the youth on how to balance fame, money and responsibility and relationships. With increased opportunities for celebrity status, especially in sports and performing arts like music, many young people who accumulate wealth rapidly soon fall into all sorts of follies in the absence of matching guidance. (v) Over-indulgence in alcohol and drugs and general substances abuse have also been found to be a key factor. This is made complex by peer influence and bad company among the youth. (vi) There is also increasing concern that with increased pressures on parents to eke a living, parental guidance through quality time, especially with teen offspring has considerably diminished. (vii) High levels of poverty due to prevalent unemployment among the youth causes a lot of despair and disillusionment among this segment of the population. (c) As already indicated, the Ministry has not had a specific programme to address this challenge of suicide among the youth. I am pleased to state here that I have initiated internal discussions within the Ministry with a view of establishing a specific targeted way to address this obvious and critical matter. In the meantime, it should be noted that the Ministry already has and is implementing youth empowerment programmes to actively engage the young people during their pastime and diminish the impact of any negative influences. These practical measures include life skills training, formation of youth groups to enable young people to interact and socialize, establishment of Youth Enterprise Development Fund (YEDF) to enable the youth access funding to start small business and promote self reliance, guidance and counseling, increased partnerships with spiritual leaders to promote youth oriented programmes that are holistic in approach, youth exchange programmes to enable them interact and share experiences, implementation of youth focused work programmes which are designed to provide short- term employment opportunities for the youth, establishment of a national talent academy to nurture and tap talents in sports, music and other performing arts from the grassroots to the national level countrywide. We also offer some guidance to young persons who hit celebrity status. Finally, we need to sensitize the youth on the dangers of drugs and general substances abuse."
}