WINDHOEK
The intended food banks which are being proposed by the government are going to be managed by the unemployed youth who are going to be organsied into street commitees, says the President, Hage Geingob, in his state of the Nation address in Parliament yesterday.
In this regard participating unemployed youth will receive some form of compensation for the work that they are going to render. The unemployed youth to be trained in basic community policing will be tasked with identifying the vulnerable people who are afflicted by hunger and poverty, thereby keeping the streets clean. The president also said that among the key outcomes of the Harambee Prosperity Plan (HPP), is a spirit of entrepreneurship resulting in an increased entrepreneurial development of the youth. One of the five pillars of HPP is the second pillar which deals with Economic Advancement. Youth Enterprise Development falls under this pillar. This is intended to stimulate an entrepreneurial spirit among the youth and entrepreneurs at large by addressing constraints such as access to finance and information.
“This sub-pillar targets the establishment of one hundred and twenty (121) one enterprises by the rural youth to create much-needed income opportunities for youth living in the rural areas,” says the President. At the same the government is planning to consolidate its various funds, grants and schemes targeting the youth into a single, ring-fenced Youth Enterprise Development Fund to focus exclusively on entrepreneurial youth start-ups with innovative funding mechanisms such as venture capital and collateral lending.
The Social Progression pillar emphasises, among others, the importance of strong vocational education. In this regard the number of trainees in Vocational Education Training (VET) will be increased per year from the current 15,000 a year to 25,000 by the end of the Harambee period. “We will also introduce, to the extent possible, apprenticeship, mentoring, coaching and equipment aid, including financial assistance to enable VET graduate to start own businesses,” says President Geingob.