Recruitment of local experts halted

The youth ministry has cancelled an advert sourcing local experts to train children of the liberation struggle, who have already completed their civic training at the Berg Aukas training centre near Grootfontein in the Otjozondjupa Region.

The ministry said cancelling the advert is an internal matter, contributed to by various factors, with the approval of the Public Service Commission (PSC).

It did not say what would happen next to the 350 youth are waiting to undergo skills development training.

The ministry was initially looking for an unspecified number of Namibians with technical expertise in agriculture, bricklaying and plastering, carpentry and joinery, hospitality and catering, welding and fabrication, tailoring and fashion design and computer and office administration.

They would have been recruited as instructors for a period of five months.

Namibian Sun was informed last month during a visit to Berg Aukas that training had ground to a halt amid crippling financial difficulties.

The trainees said the skills training was supposed to have prepared them for entry-level jobs at state-owned enterprises.

They said they had only received civic training offered by members of the Namibian Defence Force (NDF), since there was no money to recruit other trainers.

At the time, youth permanent secretary Emma Kantema-Gaomas refuted this in a newspaper advertorial, saying the special training programme consists of two phases, which are civic and skills development training.

She said the civic training, which is conducted by the NDF, was completed at the end of last month, while the ministry was busy recruiting locals experts so they can start with the skills development component.

“The skills development training requires the appointment of instructors who need to receive remuneration for their services. An advertisement for the sourcing of local experts has already been placed in local newspapers and the hiring process is soon to be finalised. It is anticipated that the instructors for the second phase of the training programme will be on site, rendering the discussion on instructors an invalid point,” Kantema-Gaomas said at the time.

She said it should be noted that the nature of the training is unique, in the sense that it does not follow the conventional technical vocational education and training calendar. Therefore, instructors are appointed on contract for five months, in line with the programme design and implementation. This temporary employment opportunity was to have been granted to young Namibians with qualifications.

However, this week the ministry cancelled the recruitment advert Kantema-Gaomas was referring too.

A well-placed source told Namibian Sun that Berg Aukas has been without instructors after the ministry failed to retain an agreement that saw volunteers from Nigeria equipping Namibians with various skills.

It was reported the centre stopped taking in ordinary trainees in 2015 to 2016, when President Hage Geingob approved the release of N$11.3 million in Social Security Commission (SSC) funds to only train children of the liberation struggle.

At the time, the release of the money from the SSC Development Fund caused a public uproar, as these funds were supposed to have been used for unemployed young people to advance themselves by training for specific jobs.

The development funds were also to have been used for grants, bursaries, loans and other forms of financial aid to tertiary students.

Government said at the time the money would be used to train 1 000 children of the liberation struggle at Berg Aukas and Du Plessisplaas in Omaheke. The trainees were also to have received a N$375 monthly allowance.

“While being appreciative of the technical assistance the Federal Republic of Nigeria has given to Namibia, one must consider the high rate of unemployment amongst qualified young Namibian artisans, equipped to offer similar training. As the ministry mandated to ensure youth empowerment it will be simply irresponsible and a neglect of duty not to consider young Namibians for positions they are rightly qualified for,” Kantema-Gaomas in reaction to the Nigerian agreement not being retained.

She said through a cabinet decision the government deemed it necessary to address the plight of the children of the liberation struggle, by mandating different offices, ministries and agencies to prioritise their welfare.

This culminated in the rolling out a special training programme aimed at imparting technical skills to this vulnerable segment of society, aimed at enhancing their chances of employment.

Towards this end, the ministry was directed to facilitate their training at Berg Aukas and the Kai//Ganaxab youth skills training centre in Mariental.

Kantema-Gaomas added the special training programme started at the end of 2016.

To this end, 793 children of the liberation struggle have successfully completed their training at various centres such as Berg Aukas, the Simon Mutumba Police Training College and at the Namibia Institute for Mining Technology (NIMT).

“A further 299 children of the liberation struggle are currently undergoing civic training at Berg. What is true is that the Social Security Commission together with the government considered it a national priority to allocate the funds specifically to the programme of the children of the liberation struggle,” she added.

ILENI NANDJATO