Paheja Siririka

Freshman parliamentarian Maximalliant Katjimune says it is important to call for a state of emergency on youth unemployment because frustrated and hungry youth have the ability to cause social unrest and topple the government.

Katjimune was referencing the Arab Spring, a series of anti-government protests, uprisings, and armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. The reaction stemmed from corruption and economic inertia in Tunisia.  From Tunisia, the demonstrations extended to Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Syria, and Bahrain, where either the ruler was overthrown (Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Muammar Gaddafi, Hosni Mubarak, and Ali Abdullah Saleh) or major uprisings and social ferocity occurred including riots, civil wars, or insurgencies. “Before we get there (Arab Spring), let us declare a state of emergency around this particular issue, we can follow the particular provisions of the constitution which calls for that during a public emergency,” he said.

He said this at a public dialogue on participation of the unemployed youth in Namibian economic development. 

The Friedrich Ebert Stiftung and the Youth Leadership Programme organised the event.

 “You cannot have over 60% of youth unemployment who are sitting in the streets, frustrated and hungry. This presents a massive situation; we will find ourselves in social unrest in this country,” he said.  He said the state of emergency will enable the state to decisively intervene in the matters of the economy, adding that the suggestion is practical with other countries contemplating it. 

The Namibia Statistics Agency in 2019 said Namibia recorded an overall unemployment rate of 33.4% between 2016 and 2018. United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) country representative Sheila Roseau last year estimated that Namibia’s youth unemployment could reach 50% by the end of 2021.

In 2020, the estimated youth unemployment rate in Namibia was 41.17% as opposed to 39.53% in 2019. 

According to the Ministry of Higher Education, Technology and Innovation (MHETI) there are over 67 000 unemployed graduates in the country.

Executive chairperson of the National Youth Council (NYC) Sharonice Busch said the question of what challenges are faced by unemployed youth in economic participation, is the factors contributing to the staggering high rates of youth unemployment. 

“Youth are often excluded from economic participation, which in turn hampers economic development. The commerce sector tends to suffer the most, as they have a higher number of unemployed graduates not being absorbed by the market,” she said.

NamRA’s spokesperson Yarukeekuro Ndorokaze encouraged cooperation from everyone in the country to comply and pay their dues as this can impact the activities at government level. 

“Revenue collected from individuals, organisations, and entities, helps government carry out its intended projects and ensures efficiency for the State which in turn allocates funds to deal with youth unemployment as a priority area,” he shared.

In 2020, the Nigerian House of Representatives calling an emergency on youth unemployment reaffirmed the crisis continues to persist. In 2016, then Gauteng (South Africa) premier David Makhura also proposed a state of emergency be declared around youth unemployment in South Africa. He said unemployed youth were getting lost in the scourge of drugs and crime, highlighting that the number of young unemployed people addicted to nyaope, a low-grade heroin that was smoked or injected, was increasing.

Asked whether Namibia is in a position to declare a state of emergency on youth unemployment under the financial situation, executive director of the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) Graham Hopwood wondered what good a state of emergency would do in such a case as it will only be rhetoric. “The President would have to declare it but what good will that do? Unless someone can craft policies for job creation maybe. The bigger picture here is how do we get the economy going post Covid-19? There is a need to craft policies for job creation. I don’t see the need for a state of emergency,” he reiterated. psiririka@nepc.com.na