By Anneline van Wyk
KEETMANSHOOP
Despite the fact that education and training are imperatives, they do not provide direct jobs. They only empower, enlighten and liberate people.
This was said over the weekend by the Minister of Youth, National Service, Sport and Culture, John Mutorwa, when he officially opened the Karas Regional Youth Expo at Keetmanshoop under the theme, Our Youth, Our Gem, Our Assets.
He warned that the youth must remain focused and constructively engage themselves in the country’s socio-economic, political, cultural, intellectual, moral and educational activities and development.
Young entrepreneurs, artists, youth and cultural groups from all over the Karas Region participated in the event. The overall winner of the Karas Regional Youth Expo 2007 was Thomas van Niekerk from Karasburg, trading under the name Shareez Leather Designs.
Thomas expressed his profound happiness as overall winner. The winning prize of N$10 000 he pledged to invest in his leather business.
His dream is to enlarge his business and share his knowledge with others through training in leather carving and other kinds of leather work.
Namdeb’s Group Human Resource Manager, Percy McCallum, patron of the Karas Regional Youth Expo 2007, said that there is no excuse for anyone in Namibia to be poor because Namibia is endowed with more resources than the 2 million population of which the majority is young people.
“The biggest resource each person has is nothing but entrepreneurial brains through which the capacity to work, competence, confidence, consistency, conviction and courage shine through,” McCallum said.
The Karas Regional Youth Expo was on Saturday officially closed by Dr Albert Kawana, Minister of Presidential Affairs, who reminded the youth to hold the government accountable to provide the necessary tools for development.
Other speakers at the event included the Karas Regional Governor, Dawid Boois and CEO of L??????’??