Government has dismissed speculations about establishment of a Youth Military Wing amid unveiling of a National Youth Service (NYS) that President Lazarus Chakwera is scheduled to launch on Tuesday.

Presenting a ministerial statement in Parliament on Monday, Minister responsible for Youth and Sports Richard Chimwendo Banda stressed that the Service is aimed at strengthening the country’s young people through skills development.

In an interview, Chimwendo Banda has ruled out the possibility of re-emergence of the Malawi Young Pioneers (MYP) as alleged by some opposition lawmakers.

“This has no single attachment to the military wing, there is nothing of that nature, it’s a programme aiming at strengthening skills and empowering young people,” said Chimwendo Banda.

Whilst commending government for the development, Democratic Progressive Party Thyolo Central legislator Ben Phiri has advised government to put aside politics when implementing activities under the Service.

“It is a very good initiative if we really put our acts together and leave politics out of it.

If not politicised, the programme would be beneficial to the youth of the country,” hope Phiri.

The NYS model for Malawi seeks to achieve four specific objectives namely expanding access for technical, vocational and entrepreneurial training; enhancing opportunities for work experience and orientation for entrance in the labour market; providing a reservoir/database for recruitment and deployment both in the public and private sector; inculcating the spirit of patriotism and volunteerism, a culture of self-help, hard-work, integrity and sense of discipline.

Though the NYS target all youth 10-35 years as defined in the National Youth Policy, the skills training window will target youth aged 18 to 35 who are Not in Employment, Education, and Training (NEET).