Lahja Nashuuta

Edward Siwiya is a dedicated civil servant with an array of youth development skills and experience, who dedicated his productive years to uplifting the lives of young people through the ministry’s programming designed to empower youth within communities.

Siwiya serves as head of the Frans Dimbare Youth Skills Training Centre, and is also the regional head for the Directorate: Youth Development in Kavango East under the Ministry of Sport, Youth and National Service.

He oversees the rolling-out of vocational skills training for the youth within Kavango East and beyond, and to accommodate the out-of-school and unemployed youth who do not meet university requirements.

The centre provides training for youths between the ages of 15 to 34, who are able to receive instruction in English but do not meet the requirements to enter conventional vocational training centres.

Among the technical trades offered are Plumbing and Pipefitting, Welding and Metal Fabrication, Bricklaying and Plastering, Joinery and Cabinet-Making, Clothing Production, Agriculture, and Hospitality and Tourism.

As the centre manager, Siwiya’s key responsibilities are to coordinate the implementation of all the directorate’s youth development and social empowerment programmes within the region, as well as administer regional government assets.

He is also responsible for advocating for human capital development for regional ministerial staff, popularising the current youth policy, and organising community and stakeholders’ engagements.

 “I believe in a bottoms-up approach, where young people design their own solutions to their challenges for high- level implementation, rather than the opposite. I, therefore, joined the public service in order to advocate on behalf of the young people, and empower them to have the voice to influence policy decisions which affect them,” said Siwiya when asked what attracted him to work in the public sector.

Starting

Born and raised in Rundu, Kavango East, he joined the public service in 2009 as a youth officer. He was promoted to a position of senior youth officer/centre manager in 2014, in which he serves to date.

He first joined the Ministry of Youth, National Service, Sport and Culture in 2007 as a volunteer at the entomology department of the National Museum of Namibia in Windhoek.

After three months as a volunteer there, he was given a contract through Finland’s embassy as a trainee technician at the display section of the same museum for one year, and proceeded for further studies in Finland.

However, towards the end of 2007, through the same ministry, he joined the Ecorat Research Project from the UK, which was carried out in the Kavango East region. “I cancelled the Finland contract, and joined the Ecorat Research Project as a field research technician,” he noted.

Siwiya holds a Bachelor of Technology in Natural Resources Management from the Polytechnic of Namibia (now the Namibia University of Science and Technology).

Challenges

“The most challenging part of my work is resources availability for programme implementation, especially during this time when the economy of the country is down and the budget is bleeding. The high rate of youth unemployment, especially in Kavango East, and as the ministry responsible to turn that statistic around, is not easy” he stressed.

“With the assistance of development partners such as USAID, UNICEF and UNDP, the centre is now able to implement our social empowerment programmes in the region”.

Being the voice of the voiceless

As an advocate for youth matters, Siyiwa considers himself as the voice of many youths in the region, who could not get an opportunity to present their difficulties and challenges at the high table.

“It is a privilege to work with the youth, and through this job I am developing as an individual. Youth matters are cross- cutting issues. As I strive to uplift the lives of young people, I learn new skills in the process. That, to me, is quite rewarding. The world is evolving, and so do youth needs”.

He said as an advocate for youth, his interest is on the policies which address inclusivity, speak to all levels of society, and address issues of inequality.

“Our focus on responsive programmes will lead to attaining set goals for the public service or ministry in particular,” he added.

Accomplishments 

Reflecting on some of his work accomplishments, Siwiya said “I mentored and worked closely with a young person from a vulnerable community who had an interest to establish a traditional village for tourism purposes, an initiative that successfully came to reality”.

“The traditional village was up and running, showcasing the culture of his ethnic group to the visiting tourists,” he said.

Siwiya further revealed that during the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic, all skills’ training centres were suspended, and training also halted at the Frans Dimbare Youth Skills Training Centre. However, through his persistent advocacy, the centre recalled the trainees from 2020 in 2023 to complete their training, and that resulted in the continuation of training offered by the directorate of youth development.

“In 2023, when the Frans Dimbare Youth Centre resumed with skills training, my office advocated to utilise Level Three graduates on a contract basis as instructors for the trades offered at the centre.

This resulted in the directorate entering into an agreement with the National Youth Service (NYS) to deploy their Level Three graduates through their voluntary service programmes. As a result, my intervention created temporary employment (with remuneration) to seven youth graduates for a period of nine months. A similar approach is now being used in 2024, and eight youth graduates will be given temporary employment at the centre. Other youth graduates will be deployed at skills training centres such as Kai//Ganaxab, Berg Aukas and Okahao,” continued Siwiya.

Here to stay

Asked how long he plans to serve in public service, he was upbeat. “My passion to uplift the lives of the community, especially young people, is not time-bound, but it is a lifetime commitment. This will bind me to public service for quite some time”.

Siwiya further revealed his intention to reach out to more young people, especially in hard-to-reach areas of Kavango East, and to create a more positive impact on the lives of his target group.

“I want to create a database of success stories, and share it with the public for them to know how the government is impacting communities. I’m striving for more inclusive programming, and advocate for changes to policies that talk to young people’s needs with the growing technology”.