By Ennety Munshya | MakanDay
Hundreds of youths who participated in a government internship programme are still waiting for their promised stipends—months after completing their one-year placements.
The internship, run by the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Arts in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), was meant to give 2,000 young people across Zambia hands-on work experience. But many say they haven’t been paid for up to seven months.
The Ministry had advertised internship opportunities across various government departments to offer young people hands-on professional experience.
The Internship, Volunteer, Apprenticeship and Graduate (IVAG) Programme was launched to test job placement initiatives in Zambia by providing youth with practical experience, soft skills, and improved employment prospects, while promoting collaboration to expand job opportunities.
Phase one of the joint government and UN programme for youth—targeted around 2,000 participants and ran from October 2023 to September 2024.
The government said the nationwide call for applications was conducted through both print and social media, and the selection process ensured regional representation by choosing 200 interns from each of the ten provinces, including youths with disabilities to promote inclusivity.
The interns were placed in various government ministries.
However, despite the programme’s completion, many interns have not received stipends for up to five months of work.
Several interns who spoke to MakanDay, all requesting anonymity for fear of reprisals, expressed deep frustration over the government’s failure to pay them in full. They say they signed one-year contracts with the expectation of receiving a K2,000 monthly stipend, but many have gone unpaid for several months—some for up to seven.
Despite completing the programme, their efforts to follow up on the payments have largely been met with silence or explanations citing a lack of funds.
The interns described the situation as disheartening and demoralising, saying it has eroded their trust in government initiatives meant to empower youth. While they acknowledged that the programme initially gave them hope by offering valuable work experience, they feel the poor handling of payments has undermined its credibility and impact.
“There needs to be change—they should pay us what we’re owed. We worked for a full year and completed our internships,” said one of the interns.
The UNDP, which provided technical support and funded stipends for 500 interns over a 12-month period, did not respond to MakanDay’s request for comment.
However, the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Arts attributed the delays in payments to financial constraints. In a statement to MakanDay, Principal Public Relations Officer Nchimunya Ng’andu explained that the nationwide drought prompted budget reallocations, which in turn affected the disbursement of IVAG stipends.
He added that the Ministry has begun clearing the arrears and is committed to settling all outstanding payments. Ng’andu named Western, Eastern, and Central provinces as areas where payments are currently underway, and assured that Southern, Northern, and the remaining provinces will be addressed soon.
Phase one of the programme had a total budget of K36 million, with UNDP covering K9 million for 500 interns and the remainder funded by the government.
Although the government intends to continue with the programme— with phase two set to begin in July this year— the source of funding to ensure its sustainability remains unclear.
“As at now, the ministry is clearing the money owed to all beneficiaries. With the lessons learnt from the first phase, the ministry has ensured that the gaps that were identified, are worked on in the second phase,” Ngandu said.
Discover more from MAKANDAY
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
