AR leader questions structure of National Youth Development Fund
• Amupanda flags gaps in plan
Job Amupanda warned parliament this week that the fund's current set-up could limit its ability to support Namibian youth and create sustainable businesses.
Chris KaukemuaWindhoek
Affirmative Repositioning (AR) leader Job Amupanda has raised concerns over the structure and effectiveness of the National Youth Development Fund (NYDF), warning that the initiative risks failing Namibian youth.
Amupanda told parliament this week he initially believed the NYDF would be a fully-fledged institution with a governance framework, board, executive and structured procedures to consolidate existing initiatives such as the Credit Youth in Business (CYB) database and the Youth Credit Scheme.
Instead, he described it as “a mere desk in the Ministry of Finance” with no independent capacity.
The much-anticipated fund closed for applications on Thursday.
“CYB already has a loan book, a database, records and staff. The Youth Credit Scheme has the same. I thought these would be integrated into a new institution. But there is no institution, no board, no executive, nothing, just a desk,” Amupanda said.
He added that “the National Youth Council, which is an institution established by an act of parliament, is dysfunctional now,” and accused education minister Sanet Steenkamp of not “acting decisively on it.”
While supporting the principle of the fund, Amupanda questioned the pilot phase between August and September, arguing that it failed to show how many businesses were actually created.
Risks outlined
He also cautioned that the N$257 million allocation for 2025/26 could encourage young people to register companies purely to access funding, many of which might later collapse.
“When the fishing quotas came, a high number of companies were established only to get quotas. The same thing will happen here,” Amupanda warned. “The Business and Intellectual Property Authority (Bipa) is now deregistering companies that never complied. You establish a company to enter, but it will never survive,” he said.
“What we need is incubation, a place where a young person can walk in with a brilliant idea, and someone helps them develop it. But now the requirement is that you must already have a business.”
‘Beating the system’
Amupanda also expressed concern about the application process, suggesting submissions risk being lost at governors’ offices and advising that successful applicants not be announced at the fund’s launch.
“Go ahead with the launch of the idea, but don’t present beneficiaries yet. Some people have already told me how they are beating the system. Others’ applications are already missing,” he said.
Amupanda further questioned whether the finance ministry has the capacity to implement the programme effectively.
“With my eyes closed, the Ministry of Finance does not have the necessary capacities to do assessments and implement this programme,” he said.
In response, finance minister Ericah Shafudah defended the NYDF, describing it as a transformative initiative set to tackle youth unemployment and stimulate economic growth.
Affirmative Repositioning (AR) leader Job Amupanda has raised concerns over the structure and effectiveness of the National Youth Development Fund (NYDF), warning that the initiative risks failing Namibian youth.
Amupanda told parliament this week he initially believed the NYDF would be a fully-fledged institution with a governance framework, board, executive and structured procedures to consolidate existing initiatives such as the Credit Youth in Business (CYB) database and the Youth Credit Scheme.
Instead, he described it as “a mere desk in the Ministry of Finance” with no independent capacity.
The much-anticipated fund closed for applications on Thursday.
“CYB already has a loan book, a database, records and staff. The Youth Credit Scheme has the same. I thought these would be integrated into a new institution. But there is no institution, no board, no executive, nothing, just a desk,” Amupanda said.
He added that “the National Youth Council, which is an institution established by an act of parliament, is dysfunctional now,” and accused education minister Sanet Steenkamp of not “acting decisively on it.”
While supporting the principle of the fund, Amupanda questioned the pilot phase between August and September, arguing that it failed to show how many businesses were actually created.
Risks outlined
He also cautioned that the N$257 million allocation for 2025/26 could encourage young people to register companies purely to access funding, many of which might later collapse.
“When the fishing quotas came, a high number of companies were established only to get quotas. The same thing will happen here,” Amupanda warned. “The Business and Intellectual Property Authority (Bipa) is now deregistering companies that never complied. You establish a company to enter, but it will never survive,” he said.
“What we need is incubation, a place where a young person can walk in with a brilliant idea, and someone helps them develop it. But now the requirement is that you must already have a business.”
‘Beating the system’
Amupanda also expressed concern about the application process, suggesting submissions risk being lost at governors’ offices and advising that successful applicants not be announced at the fund’s launch.
“Go ahead with the launch of the idea, but don’t present beneficiaries yet. Some people have already told me how they are beating the system. Others’ applications are already missing,” he said.
Amupanda further questioned whether the finance ministry has the capacity to implement the programme effectively.
“With my eyes closed, the Ministry of Finance does not have the necessary capacities to do assessments and implement this programme,” he said.
In response, finance minister Ericah Shafudah defended the NYDF, describing it as a transformative initiative set to tackle youth unemployment and stimulate economic growth.
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