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Home / Youth should come up with business proposals and projects
Youth should come up with business proposals and projects
2018-02-09Staff Report 2 To the Editor I read the article, on February 1 2018 in New Era, titled: Witvlei endures high unemployment and poverty. The issue pertains to residents of Witvlei youth planning to petition Omaheke Region Governor Festus Ueitele to get government intervention in the increasing poverty rates in the area due to unemployment. This is a good inititive the youth of Witvlei are trying to do but it is wrong at the same time, because as youth, they have to come up with business proposals or projects to keep themselves busy and generate income for their families and themselves. As stipulated in Harambee Prosperity Plan, Chapter 4: Economic Advancement, with 36.8 percent of the population between the age group 15-34 years, Namibia has a bulging young population. Regrettably of the broad 28.1 percent unemployment rate, 39.2 percent (2014) unemployed are youth. It is, therefore, Government’s strategic intent to develop and harness this human resource capacity, to contribute towards employment creation and SME-driven economic growth, propelled by the youth. This sub-pillar of Youth Enterprise Development has the dual objective to create an enabling environment for private sector entrepreneurial start-ups and growth-oriented SMEs, as well as to facilitate the establishment of youth-owned enterprises, through government structures. Handing over a petition to the Governor is not a solution. Even though they tried to engage the Governor through sending him letters, maybe it was not the right procedure to overstep their constituency councillor because the councillor is the right person to talk to – even if you did not make an appointment, he is forever there for his community members to attend to you, not the Governor. A Governor is for a region and has enormous responsibilities. The high unemployment rate in the country is another sickness attacking our country’s development and with the economic downturn the country is facing, including Witvlei village, the challenge is further unemployment. For the youth to mobilise among themselves, for more people to have a march taking place next Wednesday, they have to come together for business proposals or projects and engage the Governor if the councillor fails to assist them on how can they raise funds on the ideas brought up by the youth of Witvlei village. By handing a petition to a Governor as intervention on the increasing poverty rates in the area due to unemployment, wasn’t a good initiative, because the Government is aware of the high rate of unemployment in the country and unemployment is not only attacking Omaheke region but the entire Namibia, and the region is blessed with COSDEC and VTC, where the youth can apply to register for technical courses which can develop them with skills and knowledge with the experiences which the market needs and get the jobs, or come up with their own business after finishing their studies and recruit other youth in combating unemployment. * Samuel Paulus Local government graduate student University of Namibia 2018-02-09Staff Report 2
