Thursday, March 10, 2016 - 08:00
National strategies will have to be implemented this year and the inclusion of the Namibian youth in these plans is vital to the future of the country.
President Dr Hage Geingob inaugurated the National Youth Service Centre in Henties Bay and attended a parade where members of the service passed from one phase of training to the next. The 489 youths passed the civic phase of their training and will graduate to go on to voluntary service amongst communities in need of assistance before going on to receive training in various vocational fields in the final phase.
“2016 is the year of implementation and as a nation we have to execute our strategies to build and establish the Namibian House. The youth of the country from all walks of life must apply their training and execute their plans to lay a strong foundation on which the Namibian House can be built,” Geingob said during the passing parade.
The president said the youth will be entrusted to protect and maintain the Namibian House after the builders have gone.
The civic phase of the National Youth Service entails military style orientation and physical fitness training and many of the graduates of the programme go on to become police officers and soldiers.
“Training create real pride and patriotism amongst the Namibian people and ensure that the country has a bright future. Besides creating pride it also ensures that people are prepared for whatever might arise, be it conflict or any other kind of trouble. The training of this kind will keep conflict from our doorstep. It is therefore better to nurture the peace we know rather than to start fighting a war that we do not know.”
The president said NYS has become increasingly more self-sustainable by acquiring farms.
According to Geingob, the Chinese government is assisting financially with building of a new training centre for the NYS at Rietfontein. He called on the private sector to meet government halfway by offering employment opportunities to NYS graduates who completed all three phases of their training. Since the NYS started with the programme in 2008, 4 600 youths have benefited from the training and of that number more than 3 000 have found employment at various government institutions and in the private sector.