By: Kandjengo kaMKwaanyoka
Earlier this month, I went to Game, Bismarck Street. Approaching the store, I noticed a group of young people scrambling for shade in the parking lot, many of them holding files.
Next to Steers in the same complex is a restaurant and a club outlet, where I realised they may be hiring due to a number of young people waiting inside with said files.
I stopped and went in, ordered a drink, and opened my laptop to start working. As I walked in, all the young faces looked at me, probably thinking I was one of the candidates. I sat between two of them, a girl and a boy. They must have matriculated 2 years ago, gauging their fresh faces.
The interview was being conducted by two ladies in the far corner.
I started a conversation with the two candidates, just to make them comfortable. The girl was reluctant, but the boy and I hit it off, and I gave him some tips.
As I looked at the numerous faces waiting for their interviews and those having completed them, I felt saddened and helpless seeing their desperation. The interview was more of a speed date; quite fast-paced because the establishment knew what they were looking for.
Past conversations on unemployment made me recall one on economic dignity, noting that a man comes on earth to work and make use of the abundant resources to have a meaningful life. Thus, he is judged by his economic life and how he utilised his natural gifts (strength and intellectual capacity).
For this, linking youth unemployment and economic dignity would perhaps paint a better picture in pushing for the right tools, including changing our approach to education.
Namibia’s youth unemployment shouldn’t just be a metric to measure policy failure, but it should be one of the loudest voices lingering in the corridor of decision-making because it is eroding the economic dignity of the capable people.
The conversation about unemployment needs to be contextualised and analysed vividly for every policymaker, technocrat, and economic facilitator to fully comprehend the role they play in economic dignity. Once that is done, only then can we educate ourselves on what needs to be done to enable job creation.
I also want to point out that unemployment is not something you solve, for the creation of an enabling environment for entrepreneurial ventures and innovation plus creativity is needed instead. Unemployment is an economic phenomenon that requires a combination of efforts to challenge and rebuild the foundation of the economy.
Namibia’s unemployment issue is a structural matter, embedded in various factors that the country has not paid attention to for years, or that we have failed to address. Now, it has morphed into a national pandemic because most of the tools we have deployed are either ineffective, archaic, or not tailored for the issues they are meant to address.
More worrisome is the lack of honest dialogue about the causes and not accepting that what we currently have in place is not adequately addressing the matter. Thus, there seems to be an understanding that offering jobs in the security sector will somehow improve the situation.
The youth are treasures that we are supposed to marvel at to build the economy we want, as they are healthy, curious, and creative. But, in Namibia, the youth find no opportunities to contribute. This situation is not only eroding their economic dignity, but is depriving the country of critical contributions and innovation from the young minds.
The aim shouldn’t be about the number of jobs created for the youth, but the number of available platforms that the youth can use to earn income, the number of companies built, and new markets found for Namibian products.
The issue is not the unemployment figures; the issue is that businesses and income-generating platforms are not created faster and sustainably. Thus, the focus and the education should be towards policymakers and local authority leaders who are in charge of fixing and creating the enabling environment, instead of being directed towards young people to create their own opportunities.
The lectures must be toward the people in the municipalities that need to avail industrial and trading spaces, provide electricity and internet. It is up to the communal land board to demarcate land for commercial agriculture, and for the Ministry of Agriculture to prioritise rural commercial water supply, enabling people to set up their commercial gardens and other commercial activities.
It is up to Parliament and the Cabinet to create laws that enable entrepreneurship, innovation, and cross-border trading. Moreover, educational facilities should offer relevant courses in line with sectoral development, as opposed to now where they are just taking parents’ money.
Lastly, strengthening the practical skills and industry-linked vocational courses across all centres in the country is just as important.
The youth are willing, and they have acquired diplomas, degrees, and vocational skills, but they still cannot find jobs. It means structural changes are required collectively to expand/build platforms, build business, and enable market access for more employment and income-generating opportunities for the youth.
Their valuable economic cycle is running out while they are underutilised, and as a result, eroding their economic dignity and worthiness.
