NYS before varsity, suggests Shivute

Namibia Revenue Agency (Namra) commissioner Sam Shivute last week floated the idea of requiring young Namibians to complete National Youth Service (NYS) training before accessing free tertiary education.

“Because now higher education is free, we may just encourage and advocate that before people get that free ticket and do higher education, they must first go through the training and the National Youth Service,” he suggested.

Shivute made the proposal on the sidelines of the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Namra and the NYS last week, saying the country should consider ways of building discipline, patriotism and a stronger sense of national responsibility among young people before they enter institutions of higher learning.

He stressed that the idea was only a suggestion, not future government policy.

“When we recruit, we must also look at National Youth Service, because unemployment is a serious problem in our country,” he said.

He said Namibia needs young people who were positive, patriotic and able to contribute meaningfully to the country’s development.

Human resources

The MoU is expected to create a framework for cooperation between Namra and NYS, including the training of recruits and the possible consideration of graduates for opportunities within the revenue agency.

NYS commissioner Dr Felix Musukubili said the agreement should not gather dust.

“It is one thing to have a memorandum of understanding, but we are only going to be judged on what we have implemented,” Musukubili said.

Musukubili said bringing people from different regions together helps to break down regional divisions and strengthen unity.

“When you bring different youth to one centre, it brings people together,” he said. “People look at each other as Namibians and not as 'this one is from this region’.”

He added that Namibia’s prosperity would depend on investing in capable people, rather than relying only on minerals and financial resources.

“It starts first with human capital,” Musukubili said.

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