The Youth Agenda

According to political commentary, and judging by the Local and Regional Authority elections the number of youth who voted this time around has dwindled.
The opposition is still undecided on grouping together or not and political commentary soon becomes a dry Topper biscuit conversation on what is owed to who. To the youth, its seem that Africa does not owe them anything, we owe the future.
Watching the Mo Ibrahim Foundations bestowing former president Pohamba with the good governance prize, Ibrahim himself mentioned that African governments need to be decide fast what to do with an added population of 260 million more youth by 2050.
That event in Ghana, the birthplace of African Renaissance, where the Ghanian Sankofa proverb “Go back and fetch has” echoes what many African youth leaders use to drive the youth agenda and ultimately African Renaissance. That advocates for adopting and reflecting back and creating a better future.
The story on the African Renaissance is linked to the struggles of the African youth in a the 21st century. Students in South Africa have vocally demanded free education, the #feesmustfall dominated twitter in a whirlwind of conversations forcing some politicians to show up at the scenes of student protest.
A discussion must be conducted on what to do in the not too distant future for Namibian youth. Struggle credentials and opportunistic middle man tenderpreneurhsip can only take us far to a point where resources are depleted and a small mining town of combat will play an insignificant role in the larger integrated super competitive economy of Southern Africa and the world.
Agencies like the United Nations are all in agreement that Africa is the only continent with a growing population. Youth led movements closer to home like the Affirmative Repositioning (AR) ability to gather 300 like-minded youth for a national conference on making affordable housing a government
agenda shows how educated youth with an internet connection can out manoeuvre clumsy Goliath movements of state machinery.
More urgently what of the current unemployed, in many instances educated unemployable irate Namibian youth who are left on the way side of the poorly communicated government youth interventions.
Again, another threat, this time, the AR is threatening to send 500 youth country wide to local police station as well as 500 letters to the Anti-Corruption Commissioners office, asking for investigations into, the Minister of Defences’ N$1 million hotel bill, where he kept asking for seconds with a daily food bill of N$700 per day equalling N$21,700 per month!
The youth agenda is blatantly clear, unemployable graduates, the mismatch of skills that will get worse as the knowledge based economy requires employees to have a globally competitive set of skills.
The youth agenda is not forgetting the rural reality. These rural youth could benefit from vocational skills training, investment into conservation smart technology driven agriculture. Even with some options many will ultimately end up seeking jobs where there are none.
Back home, youth movements like Affirmative Repositioning, and other more diplomatically inclined
youth groups are making their small contribution to the broad youth agenda and contributing to the African Renaissance.