Keetmanshoop
Ministers and deputy ministers are not in any way involved in the recruitment process of any advertised government jobs.
Jerry Ekandjo, Minister of Youth, Sport and National Service, made these remarks last Wednesday at a meeting with the youth of the town.
Responding to concerns raised by some youth at the meeting regarding the government recruitment process in general, which they say is slow and unfair, Ekandjo said people should not be of the view that ministers or their deputies are involved at any stage in the recruitment process, as this was not the case.
The Public Service Commission (PSC) recruits new staff in the government, which is an independent body that ministers cannot interfere with. “If there is a minister or deputy involved then its corruption,” said Ekandjo.
Other concerns raised by the youth are unemployment, the lack of parks and sports facilities at the town and the recruitment of people from other regions at the expense of the //Kharas people.
University of Namibia Southern Campus student representative Kennedy Kandjii lamented lack of sports amenities to preoccupy the youth and the parks in place are not suitable because they dilapidated and old. He also pleaded with Ekandjo to consider increasing the number of intakes by the police, vocational training centres and the nursing profession.
//Kharas Regional Youth Forum chairperson Gert Titus echoed his collegues’ sentiments by outlining the major challenges faced by youth in the region. He said although employment opportunities are hard to come by, when these opportunities do arise they are given to outsiders thus the local youth remain unemployed.
He gave an example of Neckartal Dam, saying that most workers employed there are not from the region although the project was intended to create job opportunities for the inhabitants of //Kharas.
“People employed by Salini are from other regions and thus youth from //Kharas Region stay unemployed,” he noted.
He also expressed concern over the low intake of local youth into the institutions of high learning in the region, adding that the costs involved make it impossible for the local people to afford, which means these institutions do not in any way benefit the local people.
Titus further stressed the youth’s unhappiness over the recruitment processes, as it seems that there is corruption, tribalism, nepotism and favouritism when it comes to the recruitment process and this should therefore be addressed immediately.
Ekandjo assured the youth that concerns that are not directly linked with his ministry would be communicated to the relevant ministries and urged the youth to be part and parcel of the planning and budgeting process of his ministry.
He encouraged youth groups to register as affiliates to the National Youth Council (NYC) in order to benefit from the ministry.
“Affiliates should submit budgets and plans so that they are incorporated in the 2016/17 budget,” Ekandjo said.