Reverend Jan A. Scholtz
Sustainable development is the application of process and systems that ensure a developmental activity can be maintained in terms of reaping positive reward for years to come.
The role of youth in a development is to be evaluators and be implementers of every system be it at political or economical.
In order to do this, the youth must be mentally geared, possessing correct meaning, vision and acceptable behaviour.
Youths who are an integral part of the development process and as such need to be a driving force in social, economic and political changes. They should be of a curious mind, willing to understand their environment and synergize with it while proposing innovation as is required.
Innovation is the backbone of all development, and the youth, by nature of their being exposed to new ideas and forward thinking, should be proponents of such ideas.
It is imperative that Namibian, in and out of school youths should have mission and goals in cohesion with the National agenda.
The behaviour portrayed by some present youths can best be described as that of a person who jumps upwards and then starts looking for somewhere to land on. This is retroactive in execution and is the reason while many youth driven initiatives falter.
Therefore, the energy that the youths have must be focused, aimed with a vision and objective as they are the builders of their own future.
The Ministry of Youth, Sport &National Service has been created by the government to stimulate the activities of the youth in various arenas, through skills provision and empowerment activities to allow the youth galvanise themselves to tackle challenges and bring real world solutions and innovations to the fore.
The National Youth council was also created to empower such activities, as an umbrella to go into the region and stimulate youth forums even on a constituency level.
The youth must use these agencies as well as acquainting themselves with the resources the government has placed at their disposal. They should be conversant in the provisions made in NDP5, the Harambee Prosperity Plan (HPP) as well as Vision 2030.
To take if further to the grassroots, comprehensive knowledge of their local and regional strategic plans is a must. This knowledge will empower thinking in the right direction.
Economic knowledge is also a core ingredient in the growth of youth and youth initiatives. The youth must acquaint themselves with funding programs, schemes that empower youth driven activities. The Harambee Prosperity Plan specifically mentions youth enterprise development as a core facet of the plan. Implying government and the private sector is more than willing to engage well set out proposals that show clear viability and guarantee the development.
Youth should be introspective, instead of looking for whom to place blame upon. They should be part of the solution, not part of the problem. They should look at how to positively impact the nation.
A sound democratic process is also bedrock for sustainable development. The youth should be involved, working on the benefit of the nation and guaranteeing the futures. The youth as young and energetic people strengthen democracy, as they carry the torch to future generations. They should be participatory, in line with channels the government has opened for engagement.
In conclusion
The youth is a critical facet of any nation willing to establish sustainable development. Therefore, to be a part of this sustainable drive, research on the countries laws and policies, understandings of the way things work and introspection will empower our youth to aid in making Namibia great.
As I conclude allow me to read quote former South Africa president Nelson Mandela “The past is our lesson, the present our gift, the future our motivation.” By working together as a nation we can do more to move Namibia to reach higher and greater unforeseen heights that will benefit the country for years to come.
• Reverend Jan A. Scholtz is the Regional Councillor of !Nami#nus Constituency and has 16 years’ experience working at the Ministry of Youth and Sport from 1994-2010, with a diploma in youth work and development from the University of Zambia (Unza).