Welcome youth involvement in decisions

By Josef JohannesThe truth is that something deeply disturbing is going on within our government and how they perceive the youth, and we should be talking about it. What is facing the Namibian youth are challenges that will make one wonder if the government even has a thought for what the youth are going through.The youth in Namibia are faced by a multitude of problems that the government itself cannot solve. Firstly, accessing land in Namibia has been a big problem for a while now. It is affecting college graduates who want to own land in their own country but the land prices remain far too high forcing such people to end up paying for a house which they will never own. Although resistance against high land prices has been formed many working people still do not have land which is something that should be addressed by the government. Other members of the youth stay in informal settlements on the outskirts of town, where diseases spread due to poor hygiene. There are no basic necessities or services and they are forced to use traditional means of living even when staying in the nation's capital. Those who have graduated from university are still unemployed hustling to get jobs since every vacancy requires experience in whatever field. The youth is being asked for experience that they do not have as they just graduated and should at least start off as assistants to positions that they qualified for. Where will they get the experience if they just graduated? Inequality in Namibia is amongst many complaints of the youth when it comes to opportunities. Only well-connected people are enjoying the fruits of an independent Namibia. Jobs and tenders are awarded only to certain people - you find people called for interviews from far corners of the country for a job interview without knowing that the job has been awarded to someone else. And this is continuing to happen but the government is not doing anything about it. That will contribute to unemployment in Namibia which will lead to even more poverty. Government only focuses on the youth when they are campaigning. Then they forget us. They have stopped car washes in Windhoek on which many youth relied on for an income. Budget cuts have affected us too. About 4 500 young Namibians had their hopes of employment in the police dashed following the announcement of a recruitment freeze until 2019. Why they did not cut the ministers' salaries to be able to recruit the youth?However, last year they wanted to build their N$2.4 billion parliament and there was an approved budget. Now they are saying the economy is not on a standard to be able to recruit until 2019. We thought last year that the government is rich when they wanted to build a phosphate mine and new parliament. When you are in a top position, you are there to serve the people, not yourself only. Ministers are running the government just for the sake of the money they receive. They are not doing it for the privilege of citizens. There has never been a thing that the government has done for the development of the youth but taking away their happiness. The youth shapes the future and also has a significant impact on the national economy with tendencies toward free enterprise, equal rights and humanitarian issues. The government is failing to consider those two facts and because of this young people reach adulthood and never take over from the veterans with a new leadership for the country. The government will not achieve Vision 2030 if it does not consider the youth in things like economic well-being and access to opportunities. So it is important to encourage civic responsibility among the youth so that they feel rooted in these roles.The youth are only provided with free knowledge regarding voting but they pay to be provided with vocational training skills to have knowledge on something to improve their living standard with a job and a business. But because of money many have no other alternatives but to steal to survive and it is the only government that can be blamed for that. Government wants to silence those who speak the truth in our country. Those who speak out understand the youth are struggling and are being blamed for disturbing the peace. We understand that we were not part of the fight against colonialism but our ancestors were. Why then should you enjoy freedom alone while we are fighting to survive in a situation that you have dragged us into?Why are there only youth-related leaders? Why are only the youth hurt by every government decision? Is there any love for the youth in the Namibian government? *Josef Johannes is a student at the University of Namibia's Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences

Welcome youth involvement in decisions

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-14

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Welcome youth involvement in decisions

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-14

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