2.3. FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSIONS
are from the Zanzibar Development Vision 2050, the Zanzibar Development Plan (2021–2026), and the Blue Economy Policy.
The team conducted 38 key informant interviews as part of the stakeholder consultation process (Annex 4). Of these 38, 18 interviewees were representatives from government ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) (10 from the Tanzania mainland and 8 from Zanzibar). The remaining 20 interviews were with PSSA grantees: 7 from PSAs; 2 from agriculture-based associations; 6 from leading private sector organizations; 3 from research, academia, and think tanks; and 2 from financial institutions and international development finance providers. The general key message from these interviews is that youth unemployment levels remain persistently high. Economies stagnate, and GoT MDAs and private sector stakeholders increasingly pay attention to youth entrepreneurship as a powerful strategy to boost job creation and unleash young people’s energy and potential for national growth. The private sector is increasingly recognized for promoting investment and sustainable economic growth. Stakeholders admit that the private sector still faces several policy and practice-related challenges. For instance, investment in agriculture is constrained by limited access to long-term capital, poor capacity and business skills, and policies discouraging agribusiness growth.
Policy design, implementation, and review process
According to the respondents, the policy-making process is typically not linear. Five stages make up the public policy formation and approval process and reflect the involvement of other stakeholders: agenda setting, formulation, approval, implementation and monitoring and evaluation (M&E). [70] [71] [72] [73] [74]
Relevance of policies to the youth enterprise development agenda
Most respondents indicated that current policies do not capture youth enterprise issues exclusively but accommodate the youth agenda somewhat, at least by intention. It should be noted that policies are developed or reviewed with reference to the overall national, regional, and international development policies and strategies. These include SDGs, development visions, and development plans. These documents provide the overall direction on areas of strategic focus, including the youth enterprise development agenda where relevant. However, they fall short of how exactly this will be translated on the ground. The expectation is that appropriate strategies and action plans would cover the operational details of the policies, including relevant instruments, institutional arrangements for implementation, enforcement mechanisms, and even M&E. It has been observed that the above expectations are often not fulfilled. Several public policies include “general” statements regarding promoting private-sector enterprise development and competitiveness. There is need to create a conducive business environment. Since youth enterprises form a large percentage of private sector enterprises, the expectation is that the “youth” are already catered for and/or accommodated. Most youth- related policies and initiatives have suffered from this dilemma.
The following sub-sections present specific findings from the interviews in Tanzania mainland and Zanzibar.
2.3.1 Findings from Ministries and MDAs on Key Policy- Related Issues
Capture of youth enterprise development agenda in national policies
During the development or review of relevant policies, stakeholders must consider several key elements when incorporating the youth enterprise agenda. These include regional and country development visions that reflect sustainable development goals (SDGs), periodic development plans, poverty reduction strategies, and specific policies related to youth enterprises. Nonetheless, while crafting a specific policy, relevant entities undertake a review of other sectoral policies with direct linkages to accommodate and integrate youth issues. Some specific references in Tanzania Mainland include Tanzania Development Vision 2025, Vision 2025, and Third Five-Year Development Plan 2021/2022– 2025/2026. Key references for Zanzibar [69]
Integration of cross-cutting issues in the national policies
In principle, public policies, plans, and programs (including those in the agriculture sector) are expected to adhere to the national guidelines for integrating environment and climate change adaptation.
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Youth Enterprise Policy Analysis Report
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