As the local government campaign for constituency 14 continued with ‘booths on the ground’, the constituency candidate Kibwe Copeland received unexpected yet promising support from young people in Roxanne Burnham and Rasville. These young people were not just interested in the traditional infrastructural promises that politicians usually make during election campaigns. Instead, they expressed a need for programs that would benefit their personal lives and enhance their skills and abilities.
During the campaign, the young people demanded programs that would provide opportunities for them to participate in sports, academics, creative arts such as music, poetry, and art. They also requested programs that would promote employment and entrepreneurship in the area. “Yes infrastructure is good, but if you can represent us in a way or create ways, whereby our personal lives can be affected and not just the elements around us, that would be even better,” said a positive young man from Rasville.
These sentiments expressed by the young people are a clear indication that they are interested in being empowered and are not merely passive spectators in the development process. This demand for personal empowerment dispels the myth that young people are not interested in development. Copeland, the constituency candidate, was pleased with the young people’s demand for personal development programs and promised to work towards their implementation if elected.
