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Economist calls on Govt to take youth unemployment seriously

Economist Omu Kakujaha-Matundu has called for immediate action from the government to address Namibia’s high youth unemployment rate.

According to the 2023 labour force statistics released on Wednesday by the Namibia Statistics Agency, the percentage of young people (aged 15 to 35) who are unemployed has dropped slightly from 46.1% in 2018 to 44.7% in 2023.

Within that group of unemployed youth, about 54% are between the ages of 15 and 24.

“We are talking about youth unemployment that is hovering above 54%. So, what you are saying is that you are having a potential powder keg that can explode any time.

“You are talking about hopelessness among your youth,” Kakujaha-Matundu told Desert FM.

He said many young people are left questioning the value of education.

“You can’t even tell your children to go to school, because if you tell them to go to school they ask you ‘to do what?’.

“This calls for the government to wake up and do something about this,” he said.

The economist said high unemployment stifles economic growth and with limited economic activity, tax incomes decline, making it harder for the government to provide essential services such as healthcare and education.

“If your economy is not growing and you are not collecting enough taxes to deliver services like your health services, education and the like, definitely your economy or your people are going to be miserable, and we have seen that.

“You don’t even need to look at statistics. Just drive around Windhoek and you see young people standing at traffic lights, struggling to find a way to survive.

“They go the whole day without food, only to return home to sleep on an empty stomach,” Kakujaha-Matundu said.

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