The youth is said to be the leaders of tomorrow; however, for these advocates of change, they are leaders of today, and their involvement in politics might boost youth activism in the country.
Youth Corner caught up with some of the young activists currently at the forefront of community activism and candidates for the upcoming regional council elections set for November.
Speaking to Youth Corner, young community activist and independent candidate for the Samora Machel constituency Elifas Nghitomoka said it is a mandate for young people to be involved and concerned about the day-to-day affairs of the country.
“Every revolution starts with young people. If we let the old generation mess up while we watch, nothing will be left for us and for generations yet to come. We must realise the power that we have when we unite; we must unite and shouldn’t let ourselves be divided by those trying to destroy our future with their selfless acts of power greed and corruption. We must take charge of our destiny,” said Nghitomoka, whose aspiration is to serve his people.
Asked what his plans are once elected, Nghitomoka, who started his activism at the age of 20, said “The constituency that I am living in is underdeveloped with poor sanitation, lack of water and no electricity. These are basic needs, denied to us for quite too long. When we take over, we will work towards finding solutions to these problems.”
Nghitomoka is a resident of Havana in the respective constituency he is contesting for and the regional vice chairperson of the Students Christian Movement of Namibia.
With the help of the community, he was able to start a community self-reliance programme when City Police demolished residents’ shacks. They built two shacks for two separate homeless families under the programme.
As an activist, Nghitomoka stood with the victims and halted the police from demolishing the houses; this contributes to many works he has done for his community.
The 27-year-old leader believes there is a leadership vacuum in his constituency, which prompted him to run for public office at that age.
“Probably why things haven’t changed for the past 30 years is because there has never been a leader who is part of the people and understands the people’s situation with realities on the ground. Leaders haven’t felt what we feel. I have been through this since the situation is uncalled for, and we have to change this,” he stated.
Another activist currently taking up space in the political arena is the Landless People’s Movement (LPM) candidate for the Khorixas constituency, Mckay Losper.
Losper told Youth Corner that some of the issues he would like to tackle once elected are youth unemployment, corruption within government structures, lack of land among community members, as well as drug and alcohol abuse.
“All mines planning to operate in the Khorixas district will be made aware that 60% of labour comes from the Khorixas area and only skills which cannot be found in the Khorixas area will first be sought in Kunene before searching nationally,” he promised his people.
– ashikololo@nepc.com.na