Going to hell in a hand basket via Panya road? Probably!

So the Police Force has finally suspended the popular all night extra-curricular activities in the Dar suburbia – kigodoro, kangamoko and mnanda – the once harmless local dance festivities and now frenzied disturbances that attract swarms of youthful trouble maniacs.

The move follows recent torrents of armed robbery, vandalism and harassment by gangs of youth between 10 – 25 years – infamously known as ‘Panya Road’– who took over some Dar streets wielding crude weapons. Word on the street is that death of one of their ring leaders — who had been a victim of mob justice following alleged armed robbery — had fueled the attacks.

The dust seems to have settled for now and the Police Force is holding in custody 149 youth including suspect ring leaders pending investigations.

But after everything that has transpired, it makes me wonder if this is not just a sneak peek into the imminent cataclysm spawned by our failed education and social welfare systems. I fear that in the foreseeable future we may witness more bizarre domestic violence, religious conflict and terrorism if we fail to address real systemic issues hatching these problems.

The 2012 UNICEF Social and Economic Policy paper on global crisis and the youth bulge suggests that creating jobs for young people is crucial to addressing their underdevelopment. However let us not forget that the most vulnerable and volatile youth demographic is that of unskilled and partially educated youngsters, who either dropped out of school or did not manage to attain secondary and tertiary education, and many of whom had poor social conditions surrounding their childhood including malnutrition, illness, abuse and other psychological traumas.

These groups require innovative, community driven and result oriented interventions that aim to rehabilitate and empower them, while improving the overall welfare of their families and communities. Every district in Tanzania can manage to develop sustainable income generating activities and social rehabilitation programs but, this needs to be a team effort involving parents, teachers, social workers (yes, they do exist), local governments, faith-based organizations, NGO and other players.

I look forward to discussing more innovative ideas around this in the coming episodes of Novel Brainwaves. Be sure to share your own ideas via email or twitter:@rnakaka, @TheCitizenTZ #novelbrainwaves.