Africa-Press – Eswatini. The Eswatini National Youth Council (ENYC) supported by the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs is currently coordinating and finalising the renovation of the Ntfonjeni Youth Centre with an aim to fully operationalise the Youth Centre.
The renovation is done jointly with the Ministry of Public Works and the Ntfonjeni Inkhundla. This seeks to transform the site into a vibrant, self-sustaining youth hub. The focus is on decentralising youth programs by providing digital skills training, business incubation, mindset change programs and leadership development.
Project Objectives
• To establish a fully functional, youth-friendly hub in the Hhohho region (Ntfonjeni).
• To equip local youth with 21st-century digital and entrepreneurial skills.
• To create an ecosystem for youth enterprise through affordable business space.
• To implement a cost-recovery mechanism ensuring the Centre’s long-term sustainability without reliance on government subventions for operational costs.
According to ENYC Communications Officer Sibongakonkhe Mamba, the Council has also ensured a Youth Inkhundla Committee is fully established to oversee youth programmes in the community.
“I think it is just worth mentioning that the structure had already been renovated to an extent. The main aim was to actually move it from being non-operational and non-functional to actually being operational because it lacked utility connections and we wanted to put in place and attend to those logistics such plumbing, installation of electricity as well as fencing so that the facility could be functional. We want to move it from being a rehabilitated shell to a functional center,” she said.
The youth in Ntfonjeni and surrounding areas often travel long distances to access digital infrastructure, business incubation space, or vocational networking opportunities. While the physical structure of the centre is now rehabilitated, it remains non-operational due to a lack of utility connections and startup capital for programming. Without activation, the asset risks dilapidation and fails to serve the intended demographic.
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