Deputy Minister of Sport, Youth and National Service Emma Kantema-Gaomas on Friday called on the youth to hold the National Youth Council (NYC) officials accountable when failing to implement policies.
Kantema-Gaomas made the call here during her keynote address for the official commissioning of the National Taskforce Committee to Implement the Targeted Review Report on Youth Unemployment in Namibia.
She said the Sport, Youth and National Service Ministry (MSYNS) wants to ensure that the conversation reaches the very important stakeholders, which is the youth whom they are doing the work for.
“I am really using this opportunity to urge the youth to hold NYC accountable. Oftentimes when we present policies and reports the question that arises is, ‘how sure are we that you are going to implement this?’, so hold NYC responsible and accountable,” she said.
The meeting comes after Namibia undertook a Targeted Review Report on Youth Unemployment in December 2019, which was peer-reviewed by the African Peer Review (APR) Forum of Heads of State and Government in February 2020.
Vice President Nangolo Mbumba launched the Targeted Review Report on Youth Unemployment and its National Action Plan on 17 November 2021.
The forum approved the report and urged Namibia to spearhead its full implementation and to report progress at the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) Forum of Heads of State and Government in February 2024.
The National Taskforce Committee is expected to monitor implementation of the recommendations of the African Peer Review Mechanism’s Report on Youth Unemployment and prepare progress reports to be submitted to the APR Forum.
Chairperson of the APRM National Governing Council, Wilfred Emvula called on stakeholders to mainstream the youth agenda in their development programmes.
Sharonice Busch, Executive Chairperson of NYC whilst addressing her colleagues, stated that the taskforce has the duty to show the young people that the Namibian Government has its pulse on the ground and this peer review is one of the steps in which the urgency and success of implementing the recommendations can change the lives of the Namibian youth.
The National Taskforce consists of 15 members which range from the National Youth Service, the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development, the Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment Creation, the National Planning Commission, the APRM National Secretariat, the MSYNS, Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation and the Office of the Prime Minister.
(NAMPA)
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
