Combining the Directorate of Youth in the Ministry of Sport, Youth and National Service, the National Youth Council (NYC) and the National Youth Service (NYS) into a single body, will result in high-quality youth development and empowerment outcomes.
This was said by Member of Parliament (MP) Lukas Hamata in support of a motion moved by Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) MP, Maximalliant Katjimune to have Parliament discuss and consider combining the three into a single body to end the duplication of responsibilities, programmes, resources, and conflicting policies surrounding the same youth issues.
Hamata on Tuesday said the NYC Act focuses on developing young people’s inherent abilities and capabilities both individually and collectively, whereas the NYS Act aims to deliver relevant national services and offers recognised skills and personal development programmes to the youth in order for them to attain the necessary institutional capacity while engaging in revenue-generating activities.
“A single entity with focused goals and resources can therefore be more effective in successfully carrying out its functions and undoubtedly produce high-quality results,” he said.
According to Hamata, youth development and empowerment can play a critical role in reducing Namibia’s current high youth unemployment rate of 40 per cent by 2021.
The single strategic youth entity, he further said, would provide a well-calculated direction in addressing unemployment in Namibia, while financial resources and expertise will also be combined to ensure the best possible implementation of projects that will ultimately address unemployment in Namibia.
“The merger will address challenges that undermine youth development in Namibia, with the goal of ensuring that young Namibians take their rightful place in a united, inclusive, and prosperous Namibia. The role of this single entity will be to capture, foster, and harness the capabilities of young Namibians in order for them to make a meaningful contribution to the realisation of economic emancipation,” he said.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
