By Neo Kolane
Maseru’s Kingsway Road was teeming with young people in graduation regalia on Monday, who decided to heed a call by the #Bachashutdown Movement to highlight the reality of youth unemployment in Lesotho.
#BachaShutdown is a movement by the youth of Lesotho, working towards holding the government of Lesotho accountable and pushing them to act towards solving issues that are faced by the citizens.
Speaking to theReporter, the chairperson of Bachashutdown, Thuso Leina said Monday marked the beginning of what he called ‘the Unemployed Youth Graduates Week’ which will take place for three days in a bid to pressure government to declare youth unemployment a national crisis.
Leina emphasized that, contrary to gender, youth, sports and recreation minister Likeleli Tampane’s claims, the graduates are not lazy but are just unemployed.
“We do not have capital to start income-generating projects like poultry and pig farming which we were told to engage in.
“Not all of us want to be employed by the government or be given money without working; we want the parliamentarians to make laws that will allow private companies to work in suitable environments that will enable them to employ as many young people as they possibly can,” Leina said.
