As a native of Khorixas, a beautiful town in the southern Kunene region, I want to see my hometown finally support its young people. This isn’t about comparing Khorixas to Oshakati but about facing the reality we experience every day.

Recently, I was among 50 youths selected from the Kunene region to attend a training facilitated by the ministry of education, arts and culture under the Namibia Youth Credit Scheme. During our stay at the National Youth Hostel in Oshakati, something simple but powerful stood out: just next door, the Oshakati Town Council runs a public swimming pool through a private operator. After our long training days, that pool was our refuge from the intense northern heat.

While cooling off with some fellow youths from Khorixas, a painful question kept coming up, “Why don’t we have something like this at home?”

Khorixas has potential

The truth is, there is nothing wrong with Khorixas. It is a town full of potential, talent, and ambitious young people. But our leadership seems out of touch with the community’s needs, especially the needs of its youth.

We have two swimming pools in Khorixas. Both are larger than the one in Oshakati. Yet in all my life, I have never seen them used. They stand abandoned, neglected, left to rot. Meanwhile, a single operational pool in Oshakati is buzzing with activity and even training young swimmers who may one day represent Namibia.

Why can’t we do the same? Imagine if the Khorixas Town Council partnered with a private company to renovate and operate at least one pool. Even if the operator temporarily keeps all proceeds to recover renovation costs, it will still benefit the town. Alternatively, the council could source funds from the government or development partners. A functional swimming pool isn’t just a place to cool off; it can be a training centre, a community gathering spot, a venue for family activities, parties, and youth programmes. It can even create jobs.

Youth need recreation, not events

In Khorixas, the only recreational activities we can rely on are sports tournaments, talent shows, and beauty pageants. These are good, but they are occasional. When nothing is happening, many youths end up at shebeens and bars, not because they want to, but because there is nowhere else to go.

Let’s be honest, alcohol and drugs won’t solve our problems, but for many young people, these places become the only refuge where they feel heard, where they speak freely without judgment or political labels. That alone shows how desperate the situation is.

A town without a clothing shop

Setting aside the swimming pool issue, another concern is the lack of clothing stores like Style and Dunns in Khorixas. Since graduating from Cornelius Goreseb High School and starting my first job as a cashier, I’ve seen my town stay without a proper clothing shop.

How can someone earning less
than N$1 500 afford to travel to Outjo or Otjiwarongo to buy clothes? Many young people still live with their families and must contribute to rent and food. 

Where will the extra money come from? How are we, decades after independence, still forced to leave our own towns to buy basic necessities?

Forget politics, serve the people

To the local authority councillors, both UDF and Swapo, please put politics aside and focus on developing our town. Khorixas has remained the same for far too long. Please do not wait until our young people leave in desperation and only return home in coffins. Create opportunities here, so that we too can grow, work, and live with dignity.

Be leaders who put young people first. Work with us to fight alcohol and drug abuse. Invest in recreational infrastructure, attract local businesses, revive abandoned facilities, and make Khorixas a place where youths feel seen, valued, and catered for.

Let 2026 be the year Khorixas finally listens to its youth.

*Clemans Miyanicwe is a former freelance journalist, events organiser, artist manager, and volunteer at Khorixas Community Radio, where he hosts current affairs and community programmes.