Banda said this on Wednesday after an International Youth Day that all the councils last received funding in June, saying the status quo is a setback to program implementation, including for the youth.

Banda said the council is committed to include young people in development programs.

He however said a four-month funding delay is affecting operations and programs even those targeting the youths.

"It is unfortunate to say this but the funding delay is really affecting all the district councils. The Other Recurrent Transactions (ORT) help u to pay bills and other needs," he said.

On her part, the district's acting youth officer, Olga Mlambe said youths are facing challenges and has urged parliamentarians to help them with business capital and technical skills which would also play a role in curbing growing crime in the district.

She said: "Young people are really facing challenges. They don't have capital for business and lack technical skills. This is why I asked in my speech that stakeholders including politicians should help them".

An entrepreneur, Kondwani Kachamba Ngwira, suggests that the department of youth should be embedded with the ministry of economic planning, not the youth and sports, to take the youth onboard and achieve the Malawi 2063 worthy creation aspiration.

The youth day was observed under the theme: "Green skills for youth: towards a sustainable world".