In partnership with COMESA the African Governance Architecture (AGA) Secretariat of the African Union Commission (AUC), will soon launch a Joint Project to enhance Youth participation in democratic processes and socio-economic development in Africa.

The project will strengthen the participation of youths in democratic governance and socio-economic development in Africa in line with aspiration six of Agenda 2063 of the African Union.

COMESA and the AUC-AGA engaged the Swedish Development Corporation (SDC) to solicit support for funding a Project on Youth Participation in Democratic Processes and Socio-Economic Development in Africa.  The SDC agreed to support the initiative and the different phases of the project development processes have already been completed.

Director of Gender and Social Affairs Mrs Beatrice Hamusonde, who represented COMESA in the first planning workshop hosted at the AU in Addis Ababa, last week said the project will greatly help young people get involved in governance issues.

“We are cognizant of the fact that Africa has the youngest population globally with approximately 65% of its population aged below 35 years,” she noted.

AGA acting Deputy Director Ms. Rizzan Nassum appealed to COMESA and AUC to actively implement the recommendations made during the planning workshop so that the project could be launched soon.

COMESA was chosen as the first pilot Regional Economic Community (REC) of the project in recognition of the close nexus between democratic governance and socio-economic development in Africa as stipulated in the COMESA Strategic Programme on youth.

In view of this, technical officers from COMESA and AGA Secretariat met at the AUC in December 2018 and developed the detailed project proposal that was submitted to the SDC for approval. So far, COMESA and SDC have signed the contract and funds to implement activities for the first year have already been transferred.