Prime minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila urges African young people to embrace the spirit of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement to realise an economically integrated Africa.
She says well-organised youth leaders can play a significant role in fulfilling the aspirations of the African leaders who brought about political emancipation to achieve the economic growth and development of their nations.
Kuugongelwa-Amadhila said this at the second Pan-African Renaissance Young Africans Leadership Summit (YALS) 2023 in Windhoek on Friday.
The summit was held under the theme ‘Building an Ecosystem of Transformative Leaders’.
“It is time that young Africans participate in decision-making and move to the forefront of Africa’s economic development agenda.
“We are going to assist you to be able to play a role in ensuring that Africa is emancipated economically and takes its place in the global community.
“Before Europeans came to Africa, we were just one people. We did not have to apply for a visa. If our development had not been interrupted by colonialism, imagine where we could be today.
“We should move forward in building our economies. Let’s stop discriminating against one another and work together. It is the only way to develop the African economy,” Kuugongelwa-Amadhila said.
The prime minister said Namibia has prioritised and streamlined youth leadership in line with Agenda 2063 in areas such as education, innovation, agribusiness, research, entrepreneurship and the economy, and has introduced internship programmes to support young leaders.
She said the government spends close to N$200 million per year to fund internship training in the public service through the National Internship Programme Policy to reduce the number of unemployed graduates in the country.
The founding matron of the Pan-African Renaissance, Mildred Jantjies, said most African young people on the continent remain neglected and underserved due to a lack of unity, tribalism and other internal divisions among African states.
Jantjies said these divisions impede the region’s development progress regarding the fourth Industrial Revolution, artificial intelligence, fintech and climate change.
“These areas are critical in empowering communities and ushering them into a new era of prosperity. We must embrace these concepts, adapt them to our context, and harness their potential to drive our economic transformation,” he said.
The chairperson of the Pan-African Renaissance, Sarah-Leigh Elago, said the organisation believes in goal-oriented leadership.
“We want a leadership that advances humanity, and that needs to deliver a united, self-reliant and independent Africa,” she said.
The summit aims to create a platform that harnesses the African voice and brings young African leaders to the realisation that they can bring positive change to the continent.
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