Enhancing Youth Participation in Decision-Making Processes: A Catalyst for Empowerment and Progress in Botswana

Description

Page: 1622-1625

James Warona Brown Sekhomba (Department of Political and Administrative Studies, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana, Southern Africa)

With more than 61 percent of its population under the age of 35, Botswana’s political sidelining of youth jeopardizes democratic legitimacy and sustainable development. Despite forward-looking policy frameworks such as the National Youth Policy and Vision 2036, young people’s representation in decision-making remains tokenistic and constrained by structural, socio-cultural, educational, and economic barriers. It contests the disjuncture between policy rhetoric and institutional practice, revealing how symbolic participation through advisory-only bodies like the Botswana Youth Parliament fails to empower youth as co-creators of governance. Building on participatory governance theory, youth empowerment models and Arnstein’s Ladder of Participation, the research weaves together global and regional case studies, including success stories from Rwanda and Kenya, to contextualize a reform-minded conversation. It argues that serious youth inclusion is not a demographic distinction but a democratic and economic necessity. It recommends specific reforms such as youth quotas, statutory youth bodies, digital participation platforms and civic education integration. Ultimately, the study positions youth not as subjects of policy potential but as immediate constituents of equitable political and economic transformation. Botswana’s demographic dividend will materialize only if young people are enabled not just permitted to shape their nation’s future.