Annakleta Haikera
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Human Resources met with members of the
public in Rundu on Wednesday, regarding parliamentarian Inna Hengari's motion on
youth unemployment.
During the proceedings, Eliud Mwaamenange from National African Student
Association (NASA) said the country relies heavily on imports for basic products and
goods. Mwaamenange suggested to the lawmakers how the state can be able to solve
unemployment.
Statistics show that youth unemployment in Namibia stands at 33.4% and in 2021 it was
estimated to reach a staggering 50.30% by the end of that year.
Mwaamenange further said that not much is being produced in Namibia, but he says the
country has plenty of natural resources to do so.
"The government is not doing enough to solve the issue of youth unemployment," he
said, claiming that the type of courses offered at the University of Namibia are not
toiler-made to reduce youth unemployment.
"At Rundu campus, many youth opt to study for nursing and teaching. These are the
only courses that they see are meant to create job opportunities but at the end many are
doing the same course and they will be left home without any employment. That is why
many youth are falling intor depression," Mwaamenange added.
Fernando Kashiwetu, an entrepreneur of Ngato Vocational Training Centre, is of the
view that reinvestment into smaller businesses does not happen, resulting in no growth
in Rundu's small to micro enterprise ecosystem. He added that tenders are given to
people who do not have offices and employees.
Kashiwetu pointed to the infamous condom tender of the Ministry of Health and Social
Services, stating, "imagine, a vocational centre with many employees were not given
such tenders. We only get below a thousand whenever we ask for assistance. How can
Namibia solve unemployment?"
"Government must create targeted intervention policies aimed at promoting youth
employment, similarly to the Affirmative Action Act," Kashiwetu said.
Meanwhile, Swapo Party Youth League's Secretary for Kavango East, Anselm Marungu
indicated that the best hope and remedy to limit unemployment is if the government
prioritises the youth.
"Youth unemployment in Namibia in 2022 remains nearly unchanged with 78% of
youth still unemployed. In March 2016, Kavango East and Kunene regions had the
highest youth unemployment rate at 62. 5%," Marungu added.
He said inadequate budgets are always allocated to the region, which causes high rates
of youth unemployment in the region.
"The central government should consider allocating an amount that is proportionally to
the population," he pleaded.
The Ministry of Higher Education, Technology and Innovation reported in 2018 that
there are over 67,000 unemployed graduates in the country.
The National Assembly agreed to Hengari's motion last year and deputy Speaker Loide
Kasingo referred the motion to a parliamentary standing committee to conduct
nationwide consultations with young people and civil society organisations.