EDITOR
Life for many young, unemployed Namibians is not a bed of roses. Far from it.
Many live with the painful reality of being chastised by family members for sitting at home, as if their situation is self-inflicted. Others have, at times, contemplated taking their own lives. Some have tragically followed through, overwhelmed by the weight of unemployment and despair.
Others walk long distances, CVs in hand, only for those applications to end up in the next dustbin. Many have simply given up hope, slowly losing faith in the degrees and diplomas they once believed would open doors.
This is the reality eating away at our youth today. For many, life feels like being trapped in a dark hole with no visible way out.
Yes, there is always light at the end of the tunnel but for a growing number of young people, that light feels increasingly out of reach.
Namibia is a young country, with more than 60% of its population under the age of 40. Yet unemployment remains one of the most pressing and persistent challenges we face. It has long been described by parliamentarians as the biggest threat to our social and economic stability.
We must stop treating it as a talking point. Unemployment is a ticking time bomb, and it demands urgent, sustained, and practical intervention, not empty rhetoric.
At present, there is far too much promise and far too little delivery. What young people need is certainty: assurance that their education and skills matter, and that they will one day translate into meaningful livelihoods.
Last week, President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah delivered her State of the Nation Address, which was rich in commitments but light on concrete solutions to the unemployment crisis. It reflected, once again, a sense of business as usual, rather than a bold shift in approach.
According to the President, the government continues to prioritise youth development as a key pillar of national progress, with several programmes targeting young people from different angles. She also emphasised the government’s commitment to equitable access to quality skills training.
She highlighted that 504 youths were empowered through sustainable livelihood initiatives. This included 104 young people trained in mushroom cultivation across all 14 regions, with six regions already receiving start-up materials. A further 400 youths were trained in biomass production and prepared for deployment to production sites.
Under the Youth Credit Scheme, 1,034 young people received training in business management to strengthen entrepreneurial skills. In addition, eleven youth enterprises across //Kharas, Hardap, Khomas, Erongo, Kunene, Omusati, Oshana, Oshikoto and Kavango West were financed under the 121 Rural Youth Constituency Enterprises Initiative.
Through the National Youth Service, 1,030 recruits were trained, while 600 recruits from the 16th and earlier intakes of the 2025/26 financial year were enlisted. The list of interventions continues, including opportunities created through the Namibian Defence Force, the Police, and the Correctional Service.
Yet, despite all these programmes, the scale of unemployment suggests that much more is needed. Incremental interventions, while important, are not enough to match the urgency and magnitude of the crisis.
More transformative partnerships such as the N$11 million collaboration between GIZ and Hyphen Hydrogen Energy to train local entrepreneurs for Namibia’s emerging green hydrogen industry may offer a glimpse of what real opportunity creation could look like, particularly for youth-led enterprises.
Ultimately, we must move beyond rhetoric and towards real, measurable impact. Our young people need more than hope they need pathways, opportunities, and proof that their future is not being postponed indefinitely.
Because in the end, it is not over until the fat lady sings.
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