Youth unemployment is serious — but not a national emergency

The call by McHenry Venaani for President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah to declare youth unemployment a national emergency may appear well-intentioned. Indeed, youth unemployment is a severe socio-economic challenge that demands urgent and sustained action. However, designating it a national emergency carries serious constitutional and security implications.

Namibia’s Constitution, the supreme law of the land, provides clear guidance on how national challenges should be addressed. Article 1(1) affirms Namibia as a sovereign, democratic and unitary state. Declaring youth unemployment a national emergency risks portraying the country as unstable or weakened, potentially undermining this principle and inviting undue external influence.

Moreover, Article 95 treats unemployment as a developmental issue to be addressed through long-term economic planning, job creation, education and skills development — not through emergency powers. Likewise, Article 98 obliges the state to maintain peaceful and mutually beneficial international relations. An emergency declaration over unemployment could inadvertently expose Namibia to external pressure or conditional interventions that compromise independent policymaking.

From a national security perspective, publicly framing youth unemployment as a national emergency signals vulnerability. History shows that economically marginalised youth can become targets for criminal networks and extremist groups, as seen in parts of Nigeria and Mali, where unemployment has been exploited to fuel instability.

Youth unemployment must be addressed with urgency, but also with constitutional restraint and strategic foresight. It is a structural economic challenge requiring sustained policy solutions — not emergency declarations meant for natural disasters or armed conflict.