By: Annakleta Haikera
The Kavango East Regional Youth Convention, held at Rundu on Saturday, is the first ever in the Region.
The youth from both the Kavango Regions all gathered to engage themselves in the problems affecting the youth in the Region.
Augustinus Ngombe, founder and managing director of Generational Focus Leadership, called out to the youth to stop celebrating those that buy them alcohol or have many girlfriends in town, but rather engage in things that matter the most and promote positive thinking for regional development.
Ngombe added, “Many youths are driven by what others will say or do when they don’t see you doing the coolest things around town.”
He also added, “The roaming of bars in town needs to be controlled. The Region cannot have a lot of bars and less production in the Region. How can we build homes as youths if all we do is go to bars in the morning and come back home in the noon.”
The Convention was held under the theme “Promoting Positive Thinking for Regional Development.” Some of the targeted topics were effects of peer pressure on youths’ academic performance, educating and empowering the boy child, women empowerment and youthful parents and positive parenting.
Frans Kandjilu, the founder of the Kavango East Regional Youth Convention, told The Villager that The Kavango East Regional Youth Convention created a positive mindset in all the youths of the Region.
For many years the majority of the youth have been pointing fingers at those entrusted with public offices and that they are responsible for everything that has not been going well in the Region.
According to Kandjilu, matters affecting youth in the Region must be re-examined by ourselves as young people to come closer to decision-making platforms so that we contribute what speaks to our needs and future as young people. Ideas reign in the youth, and officials can only use them if they come together from time to time and positively contribute toward development.
Modestus Kupembona, a youth activist in the Kavango West, who expressed his experience of youth in politics, said: “It is unfortunate that many young people’s interest in politics is antagonistic to the interest of the youth populace. Many have been parachuted into youth leadership not because they can formulate a clear programme of action that can respond to the youths’ needs nor defend or articulate youths’
position. But they are good hand clappers, defenders of the status quo, have joined the old age in corruption, greed and selfishness at the expense of the plight of the masses.”
“Meanwhile”, he said, “youth in politics do not see politics as the revolutionary struggle of liberation, instead a ladder to privileges, money and personal advancement.
Many have become facilitators and mobilizers of youth meetings designed by the elders with no purpose, direction or results for statistic purposes. Many have a father and child relationship with political leaders instead of professional political relationships where their views are respected and considered.”
Kupembona concluded: “It’s not too late to repent as youth leaders in different political formations before you become the enemy of the people and sell-outs of our generation. The truth is that we suffer from the crises of political strategies and broken organizational system on how we can conduct youth struggle.”
