Katima Mulilo
Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila recently revealed a range of government interventions aimed at empowering the youth when she opened the first General Assembly of the National Youth Council (NYC) in Katima Mulilo.
The three-day elective congress was aimed at reviewing activities of the board and council and to elect its new executive chairperson, as well as members of the council. It was the first General Assembly meeting since the ratification of the National Youth Council Act in 2009.
The NYC was founded in 1994, but the passing of the Act in parliament means NYC has since been transformed from a non-governmental youth development organisation into a statutory body.
According Kuugongelwa-Amadhila huge amounts of money have been allocated to the Ministry of Youth, Sport and National Service for programmes meant to capacitate the youth.
“The total allocation to the ministry of youth over the MTEF (Medium Term Economic Framework) ending in March 2018 is N$1.5 billion, of which 18% is meant for development projects. The national youth service is empowering the youth through employment activities and the provision of training in different skills”, said Amadhila.
She further said through the National Youth Credit scheme, young people’s entrepreneurial aspirations are also supported. Kuugongelwa-Amadhila believes youth empowerment interventions are multi-sectoral, as can be attested by other government agencies with similar approaches.
“The Ministry of Urban and Rural Development also manages rural youth employment schemes. The Ministry of Agriculture has engaged 5 047 unemployed youth in the weeding scheme. The same ministry has engaged youth groups for de-bushing. The Mashare Irrigation Training Centre was established with the main objective to capacitate the youth in agro-irrigation projects”, noted Amadhila.
She further said other ministries involved in supporting new start-up businesses include the Ministry of Trade, Industrialisation and SME development, which has assisted over 500 SME’s countrywide with equipment and machinery under its equipment aid scheme. The trade ministry has also helped with infrastructure, such as financing buildings to house SME’s at affordable rental fees, thus culminating in job creation.
Demystifying the widely-held belief that SME financing from the Development Bank of Namibia has cumbersome requirements and is entangled in bureaucratic red tape, Kuugongelwa-Amadhila said the opposite is in fact true, adding that during the 2013/14 financial year alone, the institution dished out over N$124 million to firms owned by young entrepreneurs.
She also revealed that tender board regulations further give preference to locally produced goods and small-scale industries, including those owned by the youth.
Similar sentiments of government’s relentless commitment towards the welfare of the youth were expressed by Minister of Youth, Sport and National Service Jerry Ekandjo, whose statement was read on his behalf by Deputy Minister of Works and Transport James Sankwasa.
“To this end government grants to the NYC have increased from just under N$8 million in 2008 to over N$26 million by 2015. Whilst the government grant to NYC may possibly reduce to N$15 million in the coming financial years, government has shown both political and policy commitment to the development and growth of the NYC,” Ekandjo noted.
The current executive chairperson of the NYC, Mandela Kapere, who stood unopposed, was re-elected for another four years at the meeting attended by over 250 delegates from various youth organisations across the country. The five new members of council include Dalah Hapulile, Marenga Kapanda, Benson Katjiriova, Lot Ndamanomhata and Beatrice Kotungondo.