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EDITORIAL: SPYL youth quota highlights Swapo leadership challenges

The Swapo Party Youth League's (SPYL's) plea for the party to introduce a youth quota at next year’s electoral college is a clear example of how young people in the party are nothing more than water boys.

Either the party’s inner mechanisms do not promote youth advancement or the youth themselves are not well-equipped to be trusted with key responsibilities.

It also boils down to the quality of leaders the youth wing churns out.

This perhaps explains why SPYL members are finding it hard to make it to parliament and other senior government positions. Those who have managed to make it to parliament as well as ministerial positions have done so mainly by entering through the backdoor as presidential appointees.

Not so long ago, several youth leaders from the Namibia National Students Organisation (Nanso) were catapulted to lucrative positions in government at the expense of SPYL leaders.

Swapo’s elderly support base continues to be the bedrock of the party, a phenomenon that might explain the advanced age of those spearheading the party.

After all, the average age of the party’s top four leaders stands at 70.

It is an open secret that any organisation that does not prioritise youth empowerment faces a challenging future that could threaten its existence, and Swapo is no exception.

The party is not new to quotas – a few years ago, the lack of women in top positions forced the party’s leadership to introduce a gender quota to ensure that women make their way to the top.

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Namibian Sun 2023-12-03

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Premier League: Forest 0 vs 1 Everton | Burnley 5 vs 0 Sheffield United | Brentford 3 vs 1 Luton Town LaLiga: Real Madrid 2 vs 0 Granada | Athletic Club 4 vs 0 Rayo Vallecano | Girona 2 vs 1 Valencia | Las Palmas 2 vs 0 Getafe SerieA: AC Milan 3 vs 1 Frosinone | SS Lazio 1 vs 0 Cagliari | Genoa 1 vs 1 Empoli | Monza 1 vs 2 Juventus European Championships Qualifying: Swansea City 1 vs 1 Huddersfield Town | Southampton 2 vs 0 Cardiff City | Plymouth Argyle 2 vs 1 Stoke City | Millwall FC 1 vs 1 Sunderland | Sheffield Wednesday 3 vs 1 Blackburn Rovers | Hull City 1 vs 2 Watford | Leeds United 3 vs 2 Middlesbrough | Ipswich Town 2 vs 1 Coventry City | Birmingham City 0 vs 0 Rotherham United | West Bromwich Albion 1 vs 2 Leicester City | Preston North End 0 vs 2 Queens Park Rangers English Championship: Swansea City 1 vs 1 Huddersfield Town | Southampton 2 vs 0 Cardiff City | Plymouth Argyle 2 vs 1 Stoke City | Millwall FC 1 vs 1 Sunderland | Sheffield Wednesday 3 vs 1 Blackburn Rovers | Hull City 1 vs 2 Watford | Leeds United 3 vs 2 Middlesbrough | Ipswich Town 2 vs 1 Coventry City | Birmingham City 0 vs 0 Rotherham United | West Bromwich Albion 1 vs 2 Leicester City | Preston North End 0 vs 2 Queens Park Rangers Katima Mulilo: 22° | 38° Rundu: 21° | 36° Eenhana: 21° | 32° Oshakati: 24° | 30° Ruacana: 20° | 31° Tsumeb: 22° | 33° Otjiwarongo: 18° | 30° Omaruru: 22° | 32° Windhoek: 19° | 28° Gobabis: 21° | 32° Henties Bay: 16° | 20° Wind speed: 20km/h, Wind direction: S, Low tide: 12:19, High tide: 06:27, Low Tide: 00:26, High tide: 18:32 Swakopmund: 16° | 18° Wind speed: 25km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 12:17, High tide: 06:25, Low Tide: 00:24, High tide: 18:30 Walvis Bay: 16° | 22° Wind speed: 28km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 12:17, High tide: 06:24, Low Tide: 00:24, High tide: 18:29 Rehoboth: 20° | 28° Mariental: 23° | 31° Keetmanshoop: 19° | 35° Aranos: 24° | 30° Lüderitz: 17° | 29° Ariamsvlei: 20° | 34° Oranjemund: 14° | 22° Luanda: 26° | 27° Gaborone: 19° | 37° Lubumbashi: 17° | 20° Mbabane: 13° | 30° Maseru: 17° | 33° Antananarivo: 16° | 27° Lilongwe: 19° | 32° Maputo: 19° | 32° Windhoek: 19° | 28° Cape Town: 17° | 22° Durban: 19° | 29° Johannesburg: 20° | 33° Dar es Salaam: 26° | 31° Lusaka: 19° | 33° Harare: 17° | 32° Currency: GBP to NAD 23.62 | EUR to NAD 20.25 | CNY to NAD 2.61 | USD to NAD 18.62 | DZD to NAD 0.14 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.33 | EGP to NAD 0.59 | KES to NAD 0.12 | NGN to NAD 0.02 | ZMW to NAD 0.77 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.81 | RUB to NAD 0.2 | INR to NAD 0.22 | USD to DZD 134.22 | USD to AOA 827.79 | USD to BWP 13.56 | USD to EGP 30.85 | USD to KES 153.08 | USD to NGN 788 | USD to ZAR 18.63 | USD to ZMW 23.82 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index 75705.88 Up +0.23% | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1630.14 Up +0.81% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 11748.19 Down -0.28% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 24735.39 Down -0.1% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI 8879.08 Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.51 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 2.00% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 3.91 UP 0.30% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.97 SAME | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.2 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.48 SAME | Paratus Namibia Holdings 12 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.5 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 63.66 UP 0.80% | Local Index closed 675.32 DOWN 0.41% | Overall Index closed 1631.36 UP 2.13% | Osino Resources Corp 17.1 UP 2.52% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 071.88/OZ UP +1.56% | Copper US$ 3.87/lb UP +1.66% | Zinc US$ 2 537.50/T DOWN -0.3% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 79.29/BBP DOWN -1.58% | Platinum US$ 936.41/OZ UP +0.50% Sport results: Premier League: Forest 0 vs 1 Everton | Burnley 5 vs 0 Sheffield United | Brentford 3 vs 1 Luton Town LaLiga: Real Madrid 2 vs 0 Granada | Athletic Club 4 vs 0 Rayo Vallecano | Girona 2 vs 1 Valencia | Las Palmas 2 vs 0 Getafe SerieA: AC Milan 3 vs 1 Frosinone | SS Lazio 1 vs 0 Cagliari | Genoa 1 vs 1 Empoli | Monza 1 vs 2 Juventus European Championships Qualifying: Swansea City 1 vs 1 Huddersfield Town | Southampton 2 vs 0 Cardiff City | Plymouth Argyle 2 vs 1 Stoke City | Millwall FC 1 vs 1 Sunderland | Sheffield Wednesday 3 vs 1 Blackburn Rovers | Hull City 1 vs 2 Watford | Leeds United 3 vs 2 Middlesbrough | Ipswich Town 2 vs 1 Coventry City | Birmingham City 0 vs 0 Rotherham United | West Bromwich Albion 1 vs 2 Leicester City | Preston North End 0 vs 2 Queens Park Rangers English Championship: Swansea City 1 vs 1 Huddersfield Town | Southampton 2 vs 0 Cardiff City | Plymouth Argyle 2 vs 1 Stoke City | Millwall FC 1 vs 1 Sunderland | Sheffield Wednesday 3 vs 1 Blackburn Rovers | Hull City 1 vs 2 Watford | Leeds United 3 vs 2 Middlesbrough | Ipswich Town 2 vs 1 Coventry City | Birmingham City 0 vs 0 Rotherham United | West Bromwich Albion 1 vs 2 Leicester City | Preston North End 0 vs 2 Queens Park Rangers Weather: Katima Mulilo: 22° | 38° Rundu: 21° | 36° Eenhana: 21° | 32° Oshakati: 24° | 30° Ruacana: 20° | 31° Tsumeb: 22° | 33° Otjiwarongo: 18° | 30° Omaruru: 22° | 32° Windhoek: 19° | 28° Gobabis: 21° | 32° Henties Bay: 16° | 20° Wind speed: 20km/h, Wind direction: S, Low tide: 12:19, High tide: 06:27, Low Tide: 00:26, High tide: 18:32 Swakopmund: 16° | 18° Wind speed: 25km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 12:17, High tide: 06:25, Low Tide: 00:24, High tide: 18:30 Walvis Bay: 16° | 22° Wind speed: 28km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 12:17, High tide: 06:24, Low Tide: 00:24, High tide: 18:29 Rehoboth: 20° | 28° Mariental: 23° | 31° Keetmanshoop: 19° | 35° Aranos: 24° | 30° Lüderitz: 17° | 29° Ariamsvlei: 20° | 34° Oranjemund: 14° | 22° Luanda: 26° | 27° Gaborone: 19° | 37° Lubumbashi: 17° | 20° Mbabane: 13° | 30° Maseru: 17° | 33° Antananarivo: 16° | 27° Lilongwe: 19° | 32° Maputo: 19° | 32° Windhoek: 19° | 28° Cape Town: 17° | 22° Durban: 19° | 29° Johannesburg: 20° | 33° Dar es Salaam: 26° | 31° Lusaka: 19° | 33° Harare: 17° | 32° Economic Indicators: Currency: GBP to NAD 23.62 | EUR to NAD 20.25 | CNY to NAD 2.61 | USD to NAD 18.62 | DZD to NAD 0.14 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.33 | EGP to NAD 0.59 | KES to NAD 0.12 | NGN to NAD 0.02 | ZMW to NAD 0.77 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.81 | RUB to NAD 0.2 | INR to NAD 0.22 | USD to DZD 134.22 | USD to AOA 827.79 | USD to BWP 13.56 | USD to EGP 30.85 | USD to KES 153.08 | USD to NGN 788 | USD to ZAR 18.63 | USD to ZMW 23.82 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index 75705.88 Up +0.23% | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1630.14 Up +0.81% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 11748.19 Down -0.28% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 24735.39 Down -0.1% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI 8879.08 Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.51 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 2.00% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 3.91 UP 0.30% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.97 SAME | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.2 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.48 SAME | Paratus Namibia Holdings 12 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.5 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 63.66 UP 0.80% | Local Index closed 675.32 DOWN 0.41% | Overall Index closed 1631.36 UP 2.13% | Osino Resources Corp 17.1 UP 2.52% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 071.88/OZ UP +1.56% | Copper US$ 3.87/lb UP +1.66% | Zinc US$ 2 537.50/T DOWN -0.3% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 79.29/BBP DOWN -1.58% | Platinum US$ 936.41/OZ UP +0.50%