Minister of Sport, Youth and National Service, Agnes Tjongarero, said Namibian youth cannot continue to be only job seekers but must also become creators of employment and other opportunities.
Tjongarero said this on Wednesday, during the launch of the third National Youth Policy, under the theme “Mainstreaming Youth Development into the National Agenda”. She called on various sectors to make a difference in the lives of the youth, by investing in them to create opportunities for themselves to be on the steering wheel of their destiny, rather than mere spectators.
She highlighted that the youth represents a rapidly growing segment of the country’s population, and it is thus important to strengthen enabling instruments, for the youth to play a meaningful role in determining their futures and contributing to the country’s development.
“Today’s youth continue to face enormous socio-economic challenges due to, inter alia, adverse global conditions, limited business and employment prospects, limited access to credit lines, and narrow scope for market access, and now, at the current juncture, being compounded by the effects of COVID-19 pandemic,” Tjongarero noted.
The launched policy acts as an umbrella framework to guide the Government, as it steps up its work with and for young people across sectors including health and social welfare, education and skills training, economic empowerment and inclusion, as well as civic and political participation.
It extends from 2020-2030 and this, according to the minister, gives the country ten years to implement it, noting that the implementation must, however, not be left to her ministry alone, but must be a cross-sectoral policy aimed at effecting positive youth development outcomes.
Speaking at the same occasion, Presidential advisor on youth, Daisry Mathias, said the premium placed on the development and empowerment of young people is beyond political rhetoric, but is rather a matter of sustainable development.
“Young Namibians will become the custodians of our social, economic and democratic governance infrastructure,” she said, while inviting young Namibians to study, internalise and champion the policy, both as implementers and beneficiaries.
Source: Namibia Press Agency
