Last month the Finance Minister announced the national budget and a few weeks later, the President gave his state of the nation speech. The common denominator was that they were all centered around the youth.
It’s commendable that they finally came around to recognising that the youth are needed and are an important catalyst for the growth of any nation. 

It is only right that the largest demographic of the population gets the services they need to help play their part in the development of the country. The youths are the dreamers and executors of plans, with their high energy and insuppressible spirits, they give off an aura of being defiant and firm in the face of tough times like the country is currently facing.

Personally, I am glad about how the president addressed the nation, it shows that those around him are not so far off with the reality on the ground, it also shows that the young advisors that make up his team have not forgotten the issues that young people deal with countrywide. Even the way he conducted himself was commendable. But that was the easy part, the talking and giving of speeches is always the easy part, since most of it is written and rehearsed beforehand anyway. I just hope that this was not just talk as has been happening over the years. Many times before there have been instances where speeches were made and money allocated for projects and initiatives that in reality never materialised or worse even are half done. Especially projects meant to empower and uplift the youth.

It seems to be common practice for projects to be announced in official events and manners, but never leave that room. Sometimes I wonder when projects and initiatives are being planned, is there an intention of ever getting them done?
When the statistics are in front of them and they make plans and come up with ways to address them, what do they think happens to those statistics and the people affected by them? They never disappear, but the proposed funds and projects do. It’s the youths that make up those statistics.

Building a country and creating a strong and sustainable economy is a team effort and from the get-go the youth have always been ready to play their part, the government should just keep up their end and play their part.
Since this is the year of accountability and more importantly the year of elections, we commend what the Minister of Finance has tabled and what the president has addressed us on. Now we await results..  

* Olavi Popyeinawa has a diploma in Alternative Dispute Resolution and is currently studying law, LLB at the University of Namibia. He writes on youth matters. Find him on Instagram: niceguy_olavi, Facebook: Olavi Longfellow and Twitter: @ OlaviPopyeinawa