STAFF WRITER
DEPUTY Minister of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sports, Arts and Culture, Dino Balotti says the Daures Green Hydrogen Village Training Programme launched this week will train about 250 Namibians in the fields of agriculture, renewable energy and green hydrogen.
The programme is backed and funded by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO).
“I am proud to share that this program will train 250 Namibians in the fields of agriculture, renewable energy and green hydrogen – equipping them with practical skills & exposure to technologies that will define our economic emancipation trajectories,” Balotti said.
He said the programme came after President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah emphasised the need for youth employment when she launched the National Development Plan 6 (NDP6) on Monday.
“As the Ministry of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sports, Arts & Culture, we are deeply committed to aligning our education system with the realities and demands of the modern world. This program represents that alignment in action. It is our belief that education is not limited to the four walls of aclassroom, it must also extend to places like this, might I add in one of the most serene and beautiful untainted
locations in Namibia,” Balotti said.
Balotti said the programme is fully aligned with Namibia’s national development goals.
“From the former Harambee Prosperity Plan, to the National Hydrogen Strategy, to our SWAPO Manifesto Implementation Plan, and now integrated into our government blueprint, the NDP6. Allow me to add that as a caring and responsible government we have consistently affirmed our commitment to inclusive growth, youth empowerment and to ensure that this is sustainable,” he said.
He acknowledge the role played by the Daures Green Hydrogen Village, Africa’s first fully integrated green hydrogen community in making sure the programme came to fruition.
“One of the most exciting aspects of this initiative is the village’s venture into green fertilizer production. Jerome and team, please can we ensure that a minimum percentage of the end product is and must be made available locally. And we understand free market economics of willing buyer, willing seller, but we must also enjoy this product. By harnessing green hydrogen to manufacture ammonia-based fertilizers locally, Daures is pioneering a model of agro- industrialisation that can transform Namibia’s agricultural landscape,”he said.
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