Africa-Press – Namibia.
Affirmative Positioning (AR) leader Job Amupanda has called for the further extension of the National Youth Development Fund (NYDF) and a change of its application terms.
In a letter to Prime Minister Elijah Ngurare on Thursday, Amupanda suggested the rerouting of the entire application process.
He suggests that the different application timeframes in various regions, such as Khomas, whose application closes on 25 August, and Oshikoto and Ohangwena, which close their applications on 21 August and 18 August 2025, respectively, be made uniform and applied nationally.
“Instead, the months of September and November 2025 [should] be dedicated to information sharing across all 121 constituencies and the 14 regions to ensure that all youth get the necessary information and reasonable opportunities to submit their applications. The new due date can be set as the end of December 2025 so that projects can start in the new year,” he stated.
The finance ministry injected N$257 million into the NYDF, which will offer loans at interest rates ranging from 2% to 4%.
It aims to support youth-owned enterprises, start-ups, cooperatives and innovative projects, with priority given to agriculture and agro-processing, green and eco-friendly initiatives, as well as manufacturing and value addition.
Amupanda has expressed frustration over the requirements, such as the youth ownership percentage asked on the application form.
He believes there is no need for a youth ownership percentage request if only youth eligibility and identification documents are required.
The form also requires an Environmental Compliance Certificate for green projects, “if applicable”.
Amupanda states that he struggled to understand this and could not locate the same in the Environmental Management Act.
He said the potential deceptions and impossible requirements require the premier’s interventions to safeguard the integrity of the programme.
He said information should be readily available for scrutiny, including the individuals who are assessing and approving projects and the records of declaration of conflict.
“You need to intervene to ensure that accountability and transparent measures are put in place to ensure that all applications received are recorded and successful applicants are publicly announced to ensure fairness and avoid corruption,” he added.
He said he suspects that older, politically connected individuals are manoeuvring and positioning themselves for the NYDF millions.
Meanwhile, the Landless People’s Movements’ national youth leader Duminga Ndala said the loan, which requires no collateral, should be flexible in repayment and not strain some of the youth already indebted to the Namibia Student Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF).
Ndala, who advocates that the NSFAF loan not be repaid, agrees that this loan should have been provided as a grant.
She said, however, repaying it after the business and entrepreneurial initiatives make a profit is viable and teaches young people to be responsible.
The loans range from N$60 000 to N$1 million.
The repayment period is five years with a grace period of one year.
“This Fund will provide an opportunity to address the very challenges that young people are facing. One of them is the lack of funding for those young people who are within the small and medium enterprise sector. It should be our appeal that the private sector should also come on board to fund these very young people,” she noted.
She said financial literacy and mentorship are necessary for these youth to successfully and sustainably run their business while creating employment for others as well.
“This fund should cut across all sectors of our economy and not just young people, perhaps within one sector of the economy, but we need to look at all sectors of the economy where young people could be or are represented. One of those sectors of the economy would be the arts and creative industries, which are usually neglected by the government. As a country, we can capitalise on or commercialise those very industries so that we promote young people who find themselves in that space. The fund is a step towards creating sustainable livelihoods, fostering innovation and promoting inclusive economic growth,” she stated.
Ndala hopes that through collaboration with the government, stakeholders will ensure that the fund will be effectively implemented, one that is long-term and not just short-term.
“We have had those funds, perhaps not at this magnitude, but perhaps the micro- and macro-loan funds through the [National Youth Council]. Those specific programmes have been hijacked because there were no strong evaluation mechanisms in place to ensure that young people benefit from such initiatives,” he said.
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