Shifeta says budget could not allow Nujoma’s vision for compulsory youth training

By: Envaalde Matheus 

Environment minister Pohamba Shifeta said the national budget could not accommodate the late Sam Nujoma’s dream of mandatory national youth training. 

Shifeta, a former youth deputy minister, said he was, among others, tasked with formulating the National Youth Policy by Nujoma, which gave birth to the National Youth Service which currently offers voluntary national service training. 

Pohamba said Nujoma believed young people would not indulge in unruly activities, such as theft, if they had undergone training. 

“His wishes were that every young person can be trained as a patriot. As I said, he was a nationalist. He said every young person can be trained as a patriot and go through this training.” 

“Once you put the young people through that training, they teach others after graduation,” he said. 

Shifeta recalled that Nujoma’s wish was that every young person should go there.  

“But of course the budget could not allow that. That every young person should have a compulsory service, national service,” he said. 

Shifeta added that Nujoma played a role in ensuring the establishment of conservancies for biodiversity protection and enforcing Article 95 of the Constitution, which mandates environmental protection laws. 

“He (Nujoma) gathered all the traditional leaders and I realized that some of us did not understand what he was trying to do. But much of what we have today, he brought it up and he discussed that with the community leaders, the traditional leaders.” 

“He said the enjoyment of these natural resources were much more one-sided. So now we have to spread this. Our traditional authority must now give land so that that land can be proclaimed as conservancies and also as community forests,” said Shifeta.