All eyes will be on President Hage Geingob tomorrow when he delivers his penultimate State of the Nation Address, with many pondering how he intends to address the country’s unemployment quagmire, which has reached crisis proportions. 

Fresh in his memory will be last week’s incident, where 2 000 desperate Namibians thronged the premises of a local restaurant to compete for six casual positions. 

According to a report by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, Namibia’s unemployment rate stood at 33.6% in 2021, while the young in the age group 20-24 made up 57.0%.

Over the past few years, droughts, a global economic meltdown which affected commodity prices, the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict had
muddled attempts by Geingob’s administration to address the country’s biggest challenges.

However, if the recent N$84.6 billion national budget and projected revenue is anything to go by, Namibia is a country getting out of the woods. Tomorrow’s Sona will not be a walk in the park for Geingob, as he will be expected to inspire confidence in those seeking answers. 

“At this point, the most concerning issue is youth unemployment. We are at a point where as government, we must accelerate our efforts to curb youth unemployment. 

We, therefore, expect that the President will drive us in a direction that will guarantee jobs to young people,” said Swapo Party Youth League secretary Ephraim Nekongo in response to New Era questions. 

“Secondly, we expect the Sona to highlight the importance of the agricultural sector, and reiterate government’s commitment to ensuring food security and independence. Our country has witnessed the discovery of oil and other mineral resources. We would like the President’s Sona to highlight our gains as a republic in the bargaining position in terms of State shareholding, skills transfer, envisioned revenue-generation and job-creation. 

“We are confident that during Sona, the President will continue to restore hope in the masses of our people as the Swapo-led government continues to demonstrate that it indeed represents the hopes and aspirations of the people of Namibia,” said Nekongo.

His sentiments were echoed by Landless People’s Movement youth leader, Duminga Ndala.

“The skyrocketing youth unemployment rate in the country should be top of his priority. We are definitely in a crisis, and the government is unresponsive to the call at hand. 

The Head of State should pronounce his position on how best we can curb the unemployment rate in the country,” were the observations of Ndala. 

The youthful politician also expects Geingob to provide a blueprint on how his administration will reform the agricultural sector. “As a country, we should strive to address poverty and hunger by becoming food-secure. Lastly, the president must provide an in-depth analysis on corruption
in the allocation of resources. This relates to the N$2.8 billion health tender that was corruptly allocated to the politically-connected elites,” Ndala stated. 

Like Ndala, political commentator Ndumba Kamwanyah expects the former Prime Minister to face the unemployment crisis head-on by taking the country into his confidence. 

The Sona, he said, should move away from rhetoric and confront the situation on the ground by being specific and detailed. 

“The issue of the unemployed youth is a national crisis. Education is a national
crisis, and the distribution of resources through the procurement system is a
national crisis,” he said.

The pundit also wants the president to provide an accountability report from the last Sona. 

“What are the outcomes of the investment board’s Dubai camping? How much and how much money have been secured from all travelling? Where are we with the green hydrogen project, and who are the investors (local and international)?
Where are we with the education crisis, in light of the President’s meeting with the education leadership?” Kamwanyah wanted to know. 

Genocide 

Additionally, another commentator feels that it is high time that Geingob sets the record straight once and for all on government’s genocide stance, following a widely rejected N$18 billion appeasement extended by Germany. 

“I would love the President to provide guidance as to how his administration intends to proceed with the genocide negotiations in the aftermath of the rejection of the joint declaration by the affected communities. He should provide clear directions on how and when the negotiations will commence again,” lawyer and social commentator Natjirikasorua Tjirera said. 

Similarly, he branded the unemployment crisis a “ticking time-bomb” that warrants urgent interventions.  “The President should deal with how he seeks to address the pandemic of youth unemployment. To this end, I would want him to announce how government intends to create employment by ensuring that most Namibian raw materials are processed at home, and that we become self-sustainable,” he continued. 

On the education front, Tjirera anticipates alternatives on how to go about getting better results, going forward. 

“Government needs to create a conducive environment for learning and teaching, and stop blaming the teachers. The teachers, like many of us, are probably confused by the continuous changing and chopping of the system. We should have a clear system, and be consistent in its implementation,” the soft-spoken analyst asserted. 

Economy  

Leading economist Salomo Hei said there is a need for Geingob to provide certainty around economic policies still hanging in the air. 

“There is a need for certainty in terms of the Investment Bill, the status of the National Equitable Economic Empowerment Framework (NEEEF), and other pending policy documents. There is a need to also speak to government policy in terms of the oil discovery,” he added. 

Namibia confirmed its third oil discovery offshore this month, and Hei believes the government should be at the forefront to ensure that the blessing does
not turn into a curse.

Another economist, academic Omu Kakujaha-Matundu, lamented the fact that Namibians are swimming in a pool of
poverty. 

The country, he said, needs to be rescued, and soon.

The economist is also adamant that the President should unequivocally tell the nation how his government is going to take them out of this quandary. 

“The nation is in a bad state; with high levels of unemployment, more so the very high unemployment among the youth. The problem is made worse by the cost-of-living crisis, which has thrown many Namibians into deeper poverty. So, we have a nation living on the edge,” said Kakujaha- Matundu.

He proposed that Geingob comes up with a plan to rescue the economy, and put bread on the table for many Namibians who are going to bed hungry.

-emumbuu@nepc.com.na