Youth want more input
COMPULSORY national youth service must be considered seriously.
So said Mandela Kapere, Acting Secretary General of the National Youth Council, at a public lecture in Windhoek on Thursday.
During this lecture, the youth leader took a look into ?the meaning of [the] 20th independence anniversary to the Namibian youth?.
According to him, the youth need to be more proactive in enhancing ?national unity and inclusion?. Moreover, the empowerment of women must be advanced ?more seriously?.
At the same occasion, Kapere also called on Government to increase the ?political space for youth?, impose ?term limits for local and regional councillors, MPs and the executive or at least quotas for [the] youth?.
In the same vein, the activist requested the more aggressive implementation of the Basic Income Grant (BIG) ? which he called the ?best proposal on the table? ? and more economic participation.
Although he commended Government?s efforts regarding health care, he said access to quality still needs to be improved. Accompanying this, he said, consistent condom use by young people ? ?one of the critical factors in HIV-AIDS infection? ? is equally important.
?Always remember one condom, one round,? he said.
Housing support for youth, leadership training and access to tertiary education are other burning issues which need urgent attention, Kapere told a packed auditorium at Unam.
Said Kapere: ?We must continue to recognise and strive towards using institutions to change the lives of young people for the better.?
The next lecture in this series to commemorate the 20th Independence anniversary takes place on Tuesday evening when the LAC?s Dianne Hubbard will talk about women?s empowerment and development in Namibia.
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