[Music] ladies and gentlemen may you please rise for the arrival of his excellency the vice president of the republic of namibia momentarily i apologize that was a false alarm and now we can welcome his excellency the vice president of the republic of namibia his excellency in angola thank you please remain standing for the singing of the national and the au anthems [Music] love and loyalty [Music] [Applause] [Music] beautiful [Music] [Applause] [Music] beyond [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] thank you you may be seated your excellency dr nangolombumba the vice president of the republic of namibia and guest of honor honorable peter kashavivi speaker of the national assembly honorable christine huebes minister in the presidency honorable agnes shongarero minister of sport youth and national service honorable lucia pumbu minister of industrialization and trade honorable deputy ministers and honourable members of parliament your excellencies members of the diplomatic corps heads of united nations agencies ms chidon pepper the newly appointed african union envoy on youth ambassador ombeni se chairperson of the african peer review mechanism panel of eminent persons and lead panel member for namibia members of the national governing council of the aprm in namibia professor eddie maloka the chief executive officer of the aprm continental secretariat ambassador wilfred m volam chairperson of the african peer review mechanism national governing council ambassador linneke lamboti ceo of the aprm national secretariat senior government officials distinguished invited guests members of the media ladies and gentlemen a very good morning to all of you it is my pleasure and honor to welcome you to the state house of the republic of namibia from where we are streaming this event live across the country the continent and indeed the world my name is daisy mathias serving as advisor to the president of namibia on youth matters and enterprise development and for today your director of proceedings on behalf of the aprm secretariat and the government of the republic of namibia i thank you all for honoring our invitation this morning [Music] i was present on the morning of 17 january 2018 when his excellency the president of the republic of namibia signed the ascension of namibia to the african peer review mechanism in addis ababa ethiopia it was a milestone occasion to mock and to demonstrate namibia's commitment to strengthening our governance architecture through robust processes systems and institutions and to this end namibia has scored some important successes in the integration mainstreaming elevation and prioritization of the social developmental factors that affect young people today's launch of the targeted report on youth unemployment is a further commitment by the namibian government to better understand and to address the drivers behind youth unemployment the premium that is placed by the namibian government on the development and empowerment of young people is not purely rhetoric it is a matter of sustainable development and our president has often reiterated that prosperity that is not shared is not going to be sustainable and this is the reason why young people have this priority placed upon the sector in order for us to address the structural and economic impediments that undermine the participation of our large demographic majority it is a matter of democracy and sustainable development and it is a matter that will require a whole of society approach as represented by the diverse delegates in this hall this morning at this juncture ladies and gentlemen permit me to welcome to the podium the ambassador wilfred mvula chairperson for our national governing council to deliver a welcoming remark [Music] ambassador [Music] your excellency dr angola vice president of the republic of namibia honorable speaker honourable minister of sports youth and national service and other ministers present [Music] please accept that i abide by the protocol that has been observed by the director of ceremonies not to go through the long list of salutations and just to say ladies and gentlemen good morning to you all your excellency today i am a happy man and together with me all the members of the national governing council [Music] happy in the sense that we are launching a very important report on youth unemployment in our republic let me take this opportunity on behalf of the aprm namibia family to warmly welcome you all to the official launching ceremony over the last two days starting monday and tuesday the continental secretariat together with the national secretariat held a workshop on the integration of the national plan of action into the existing national development plans bringing together several stakeholders the aprm believes that the platform will pave the way for a continuous process of strengthening and engagement between policy makers and the representatives of the donor community the private sector and civil society the platform also promoted evidence-based transparent decision making as well as innovation and lessons learning to arrive at policies suited to the local context your excellency ladies and gentlemen namibia is one of the pioneers of targeted reviews as it is among the first countries of the aprm to undertake targeted review on youth unemployment in 2019 the report was successfully peer reviewed at the apr forum office of state and government in february 2010 with your permission therefore your excellency i welcome you all and seek your cooperation in monitoring and implementation of this plan that will lead to the development of our youth not only in namibia but also in the african continent [Music] asandesana thank you very much thank you very much ambassador for those warm remarks now as i move to introduce our next speaker a little bit of context would be useful namibia is scoring some important successes in the development and empowerment of young people and also in addressing gender inequities as at this year 2021 namibia is currently number one on the continent for the representation of women both in the executive and the parliament this year we have a historic number of 56 percent female policymakers in the namibian cabinet and 48 percent of our lawmakers in the legislature are women we're also scoring a very important success in the representation and inclusion of young people and as a historic first since independence we have up to six lawmakers who are under the age of 30 in namibia we refer to them as born freeze these are lawmakers who are born after independence and i think these are notable achievements that deserve your round of applause with that permit me to invite to the podium the honorable patience masuan a member of parliament who will deliver a reflection on behalf of young people [Music] thank you very much miss daisy matthias your excellency dr nangolombumba vice president of the republic of namibia honourable professor peter kashavivi speaker of the national assembly honourable agnes john guerrero minister of sports youth and national service honourable christine huebes minister in the presidency ambassador lineke lamboti aprm focal point in the republic of namibia ambassador ombeni saifue lead aprm panel member for the republic of namibia ambassador wilfried mvula chair of the national governing council in the republic of namibia the au youth envoy ms chidompemba all deputy ministers and members of parliament distinguished invited guests members of the media ladies and gentlemen good morning i am privileged to be addressing this august gathering on the launch of the aprm targeted review on youth unemployment and this is not only because i form part of the youth demographic but also because youth unemployment is currently being debated on the floor of the national assembly and i'm privileged as a member of parliament as a young member of parliament to be part of these discussions so it is it is indeed timely that we are launching this report now and it is warmly welcomed by the young people it is heartening to see such a high level gathering of senior officials and different stakeholders and this is really a reflection of the commitment of the government and other stakeholders to jointly promote employment opportunities and decent work for all in namibia and this is particularly for young people in namibia i sincerely congratulate ambassador sefue and his team on this excellent work i was also privileged to be able to work with the aprm delegation in kenya during the youth symposium to be able to add value to the contributions of young namibian voices and i commend all of you in particular the aprm partners for all contributions and efforts that were made to make such an achievement after many many months of the development and the consultation process of this targeted review the national development plan ndp 5 is an overarching framework that sets the stage for a coherent and integrated vision to balance productivity employment creation social protection and sustainability and as a member of parliament as a member of the legislature i believe that this development plan will play a critical role to promote and improve labor force employability and competitiveness of enterprises ladies and gentlemen achieving decent work for all and particularly for youth is a challenge shared by all countries across the world youth unemployment and underemployment are serious problems in all countries including namibia on average young women and men are two to three times more likely to be unemployed than other counterparts and in namibia youth unemployment is north of 40 and may be increasing as more and more school graduates are released from schools so for the republic of namibia the promotion of decent work for young people is a central concern we believe that integrated approaches are needed in view of the multi-dimensional and non-homogenous nature of the challenges facing youth and a strong appeal should be made for the fundamental change in approaches towards realizing the social justice ladies and gentlemen to address the youth employment crisis a number of approaches have been made and i just want to shortly highlight a few the development bank of namibia provides funding for young enterprises owned by youth and administers a skill-based lending facility for youth targeting artisans and other young professionals in different fields that relaxes the standard loan conditions such as owner's equity contribution and collateral similarly the agribank also has a number of loan schemes for women and youth and there was there was one particularly that was launched last year encouraging the participation and financial inclusion in the area of agriculture for women and young people likewise the national youth service is also doing exceptionally well in providing civic technical and vocational training for young people and particularly out of school youth who are not absorbed by the labor market and and these are just some of the many other interventions that are being taken by government to ensure that we are able to create opportunities to meet the requisite labor demands of our country during my contribution in parliament last week on this very important motion and in support of curbing the growing youth unemployment i proposed a four-point policy position to help craft our vision in combating youth unemployment these these four-point policy interventions were one fiscal incentives for youth-driven entrepreneurship fiscal incentives for youth employment upscaling of t-vet education to serve labor-intensive industries and the optimization of agriculture and food production ladies and gentlemen this policy plan complements the report by the aprm that promotes enhancing education training and skills and facilitating the school to work transition but also encouraging entrepreneurship and self-employment to be able to create more jobs goal eight of the sustainable development goals refers to the need for governments and other key parties to promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth employment and decent work for all i note with appreciation the commitment made within the ndp 5 for economic growth and by extension employment creation director of ceremonies ladies and gentlemen this report comes at an opportune moment when we are shifting into a high gear to advance the targets set forth under the economic advancement pillar of the harambee prosperity plan too we must therefore progress our policy interventions based on research that is able to give us scientific synthesis of the challenges that we face and yet formulate solutions which are informed by establishing benchmarking and proven interventions the emphasis on youth unemployment in the work of the aprm is commendable and it is timely given the global pandemic that has had an adverse impact on economic stability and consequences for young people transitioning from school to work ladies and gentlemen this launching event marks another incredible milestone in namibia's development let me also congratulate the ministry of youth and social services i see the minister and the deputy minister are present who are already working towards implementing recommendation two of this report through its recent announcement of partnership between the university of namibia to establish and construct a high performance sports center right here in namibia and i would also like to say in conclusion that this report is only the starting point for a long journey ahead and we have to move these policy recommendations into practice i am confident ladies and gentlemen that with the support from all stakeholders and strong partnerships namibia will pursue implementation of this policy with commitment and zeal let me conclude by pledging my full support and commitment to the implementation of this important policy recommendation thank you very much [Music] very much honorable masseur another round of applause please [Music] now ladies and gentlemen we're recording a number of firsts today this targeted report is a pioneering effort by the namibian government it is the first of its kind on the 29th of june 2015 we recorded another innovation by his excellency president geinkop where he created the position of our presidential youth advisor the incumbent being yours truly this was referred to by the african union commission as a governance based practice that should be emulated and informed the establishment and appointment of the office of the youth envoy at the african union commission and today we are pleased to have in our midst the second youth envoy for the african union appointed by his excellency musafaki the month of november in africa is an important month for young people it is africa youth month and the first of november africa day was also the occasion that the chairperson of the african union used to announce the appointment of his new envoy so it only makes sense that we have her in our midst 17 days on the job in her first official engagement on her first official visit to namibia to come back to where it all started miss chidompemba you are welcome to deliver your remarks thank you [Music] good morning i acknowledge the presence of all the distinguished guests and with all due protocol observed on the 1st of november and this year 2021 the au chairperson his excellency music appointed me as the african union special envoy on youth representing the voices of 55 member states of young people across the continent and this is something i did not take lightly i am very honored to assume this role and i promise to diligently serve the youth of this continent two weeks later i am here in namibia at the invitation of the government of namibia and the aprm continental secretariat to launch the targeted review on youth unemployment reports allow me to commend the aprm continental secretariat and the government of namibia for launching the aprm's namibia targeted review on youth unemployment report this report has rightly identified the core causes of high youth unemployment and proposes solutions that require both systematic and institutional changes within the namibian political economy the targeted review calls for an active and direct role of the state to achieve a structural transformation this is vital this is a vital recommendation and the directional trust of the state and the namibian economy is essential to transforming an economy this heavily depended on the export of unprecedented and low value mineral resources in addition the role of the private sector can never be understated dear fellow africans the condition of african youth is currently dire across the continent let me paint the picture clearly in the mediterranean sea young people are drowning enroute to europe as they escape the scourge of unemployment and conflict lack of access to internet and smart digital devices in the age of internet of things and digital economy thirdly our planet is heating up and we are faced with the issues on climate change more concrete actions then speeches are needed now we need governance from leaders who are in touch with the pulse of the needs and conditions of young people i truly support and believe that the following recommendations in dealing with namibia's youth unemployment will bear fruit the aprm report suggests the following establishment of the youth program coordination and implementation unit such as youth programs coordination and implementation unit under the office of the president number two to consolidate the funding across ministries and government agencies monitoring an evaluation of all targeted programs that will create youth employment to develop an information support system and database that will provide information on the composition of youth segments and groups in the country at national regional urban and rural levels this should be based at youth programs coordination and implementation unit reforming the education system strengthening technical and vocational training education legislation on procurement and local content strengthening agri-based value chains and value addition for youth employment and establishment of the sovereign wealth fund now namibia is a trailblazer and responding to youth challenges the willingness of the republic of namibia to open up to the aprm process is an effort to court to youth unemployment and find solutions to youth unemployment that shows courage and pan-african spirit that can never that can be emulated by other au member states there has been an increase in youth representatives in parliament and exit executive of the government the country was one of the first to appoint a youth presidential advisor their best practices that i wish to see emulated in other au member states in my tenure as the au youth envoy i will be focused on connecting ordinary young people to their governments regional economic communities and the african union solving the crisis of youth unemployment will be high on my agenda and we will join hands with all the stakeholders in taking the bull by the horns i will be working closely with all au organs and institutions to bring young people on decision-making tables and responding to the challenges faced by africa's demographic majority in this respect the aprm continental secretariat and its national officers will receive support from my office and i hope to work hand in hand with all the youth network stakeholders in closing i want to congratulate his excellency dr nangolon boomba his excellency hey gay gop part of my pronunciation the government and people of namibia on the launch of this report and thank them for prioritizing the needs of young people may the collaboration between namibia and the aprm continental secretariat and youth formations at large continue to grow and serve the needs of africa's youth thank you [Music] and thank you for answering the call to serve to elevate to advance a common youth agenda namibia reaffirms her support to the work of the african union commission and the office of the youth envoy towards the africa that we want at this juncture allow me to invite to the podium professor eddie maloka the chief executive officer of the african peer review mechanism continental secretariat office headquartered in johannesburg midrand also a friend of namibia who really needs no introduction [Music] thank you very much madam director of ceremonies excellency vice president doctor nam bomba vice president of the republic of namibia honorable ministers who are here today of course and the distinguished minister agnes tanganjero as well as the the the honorable speaker all present here kindly allow me to stand on the protocol that has been guiding us since this morning i also wish also to in that protocol of course we also recognize the ambassador safeway who's the lead of the aprm processes continental processes in the beautiful country and also take the opportunity to congratulate our newly appointed au youth envoy our dear sister from zimbabwe and wish you all the best and also to say that all the declarations that you made here you can always count on the support of the prm your excellencies ladies and gentlemen please allow me also to join everybody who has taken the flow before me to to really to thank his excellency the president president gengob and yourself the vice president of the republic for receiving and of course hosting us at the state house for the official launch of the targeted review report on youth unemployment your excellency on behalf of the continental secretariat of the aprm i take this opportunity to thank you for opening your country your excellency for targeted review just two years after acceding to the prm process in the year 2017 on the theme that interests the whole of the continent i also wish to recognize the contribution of my elder brother ambassador motti who's the focal point for for his leadership as well as my dear brother and also elder brother ambassador for for their leadership in namibia the relevance of youth unemployment for the continent cannot be overemphasized we know the figures we know the challenges and some of them have already been referred to by the previous speakers it is therefore important to know that the targeted review field mission conducted on december 2019 held comprehensive and spirited discussions with a myriad of youth and officials in various cities and towns across this beautiful country of namibia and all these regions the kind of the youth and the willingness of your officials to listen to their grievances was indeed exemplary and remarkable all aprm reviews seek to be objective and inclusive of all stakeholders in this regard the climate of openness that characterize the discussions contributed immensely to the success of the review and the report that we are launching today therefore excellencies let me congratulate the government of namibia for fostering the culture of freedom of expression and for being committed to offering redress to youth who are seeking meaningful employment it is also commendable to know that the government of namibia the minister of sports youth and national service has already adopted some elements of what is contained in this repute and are already working on the implementation and some of the programs that have been since initiated include the update on the national youth policy 2021 to 2023 2030 youth skill development youth employment with social skills youth management information system implementation of youth entrepreneurship programs sustainable development youth development index emphasizing coordinated framework to streamline the strategies and activities for effective and efficient delivery of services and indeed the monitoring and evaluation and periodic reporting on the implementation of the recommendations contained in this report it is possible to see rapid results as some of these recommendations do not require low hanging fruits they can be applied within the short term on pilot basis scale up and extended to the whole country although convert 19 has restricted participation from aprm member states today namibia proudly launches a targeted review report in addition the launch takes place on the heels of the first country review field mission of namibia which ended on the 13th of november 2021 under the leadership of ambassador safeway following the launch of the targeted review excellencies on youth unemployment which we are witnessing today it is encouraging to know that the minister of as i said is already demonstrated a lot of exam commitment significant commitment to implement the national plan of action in the short medium and long term for sustainable development which is the main objectives of the reviews excellencies i highlight this point because the biggest challenge in the aprm process is implementation implementation and implementations reviews uh i challenge and are difficult to do to conduct reports are hard to write spend sleepless nights but the biggest challenge is in making sure that the recommendations that are that come out of this efforts see light of day and they are implemented you can always count on us as the continental secretariat colleagues you can always count on our support we'd always be there to to work with namibia and to accompany the namibian our colleagues here in the implementation of this report today is just the beginning of the journey the successful implementation of these recommendations that are in this report will result in the improvement of the lives of our people youth unemployment is a cross-cutting issue is common as my sister said we find in many countries so in this way namibia is a trailblazer is a pioneer we hope that more countries can follow namibia's example and also conduct similar reviews around the same theme so namibia is a model to emulate and the recommendations that are also in this report can also apply to a number of countries in closing your excellencies i once again wish to thank and congratulate this excellency the president and yourself the vice president also for being here the focal point amazon ramboti the government and its agencies the national governing council under the ambassador the public and private sectors the people of namibia the civil service and the non-governmental organizations development partners the media and all stakeholders and all namibians and of course not last but not least the national continental secretariat and of on the launch of this highly significant report i thank you for for the spirituality that the government and the people of namibia accorded to ambassador safeway the lead panelists the member for this uhness delegation during the review mission made the collaboration between namibia and the prm continental chariot always flourish and serve as an inspiration to other member states within our growing family i thank you for your kind consideration very much professor maloka for the role that the continental secretariat has played in delivering this report and tabling it to the heads of state forum for adoption [Music] it is now my pleasure to invite his excellency ambassador obeni sefue who is the lead panel member for the aprm who is in charge for namibia to the podium ambassador your excellency dr nangolombumba vice president of the republic of namibia honorable speaker honorable minister deputy minister members of parliament [Music] ambassador ambassador vula prophecy and all protocols being observed good morning [Music] i should like to begin by thanking you your excellency dr angola mbumba vice president of the republic of namibia for so warmly receiving and hosting us at the state house this morning and for kindly agreeing to officially launch the report on the targeted review of youth and employment in this country secondly on behalf of the aprm panel of eminent presence i should like to once again commend and thank namibia for acceding to the aprm in early 2017 and for having embraced it so diligently since then within two years of accession namibia had already constituted the required national structures such as the aprm focal point and national secretariat as well as the national governing council which was inaugurated in this very state house on 6th november 2019. this opened the doors for the aprm processes in namibia and at the government's request we immediately embarked on a targeted review on youth unemployment in december 2019 and over the last three weeks my colleagues and i have been in namibia on a country review mission your excellency vice president ladies and gentlemen all this would not have been possible without the full commitment and support of the president of the republic of namibia his excellence dr hagee geingup and his government to aprm commitment to aprm is a tool to improve governance in africa and for his express desire to address the challenge of youth and employment in this country i believe the theme of youth and employment was chosen because of the potential contribution of young women and men of this country to its economic growth and social economic development we all know that namibia has one of the youngest and fastest growing population in southern africa it is wise to work hard to create space for them to be engaged constructively and to realize their dreams by removing most if not all obstacles in their path this is because economic development political stability as well as peace and prosperity of any nation depends on the active participation and involvement of all its people in the economy including the youth given the opportunity the youth can be the vanguard of progress and social change in any society and they do not come they come with new knowledge innovation energy and drive their active participation in socio-economic and political affairs will facilitate the transition and succession processes for the best interests of our countries your excellence vice president ladies and gentlemen [Music] if more than half of namibia's economically active young population is unemployed this poses a significant social political cultural and economic risk it can lead to negative trends and outcomes such as crime alcoholism drug use erosion of human capital death misery and general instability this targeted review report has well thought out and concise recommendations mitigate such negative effects of youth and employment i sincerely thank the government for impressing them we truly thank the president his government and all stakeholders who worked with us on this journey that culminates in this official launch of the report and its plan of action [Music] it was a great honor for me to lead a group of very competent african professionals in the aprm continental secretariat during this mission our team working so closely with the national governance council under the able leadership of ambassador wilfried and vula and the national focal point ambassador linnikel amboti conducted what in my view was a very successful targeted review on youth employment in this country and i thank them deeply over the last two days i was happy to participate in the technical workshop geared towards mainstreaming the national plan of action that emanated from this report in namibia's development plans and programs your excellency vice president ladies and gentlemen i thank the minister of sports youth and national service honorable agnes john guerrero and her deputy honorable emma kante mcgowan for taking the leadership and for being so deeply engaged in this process i also want to thank all the stakeholders we consulted during the targeted review including the young people across this land of the brave without their cooperation and support the report would not have been credible or up to standard during the field mission the targeted review team had opened conversations i repeat open conversations with stakeholders from various regions of this country [Music] uncomfortable vice president namibia should be rightly commended across our continent for being such a warm welcoming and open society we had no problem at all to get around or to get any information or opinion we wanted regarding our work thank you and congratulations as we launched the targeted report today namibia is achieving a major milestone as one of the first countries to officially launch his targeted review report thus making namibia one of the pioneers of the aprm targeted review process on the continent again warmest congratulations your excellence vice president ladies and gentlemen in our engagement with the stakeholders especially the youth we could see that they have put a lot of faith in this report and all its recommendations and that they believe their government will act in a manner that will have a positive impact on their lives and their future likewise our engagements with representatives of the government we have seen a clear demonstration of willingness and commitment to act on the report and its recommendations and to mainstream them into all their plans and programs i encourage such commitment and call upon all of namibia's development partners to show similar commitment to ensure that namibia has what it needs to realize its goals in this area together with all partners this is possible i thank you once again your excellence vice president and all present for your kind attention thank you very much [Music] [Music] thank you once again ambassadors for and congratulations to you as well for the tremendous work that and leadership that you have provided to deliver us to this point the three key words i think from your statement are commitment mainstreaming and coordination at this juncture as we move to the apex of our program allow me to introduce the honourable minister of sport youth and national service or to invite the honourable minister agnes young who will introduce the keynote speaker thank you honourable minister [Music] thank you disney your excellency dr nangalo boomba vice president of the republic of namibia professor peter kachevi speaker of the national assembly honorable christian hoibas minister in the presidency and all the ministers present all the deputy ministers present here ambassador on benny safeway it's a person of the aprm panel of imminent persons and lead panel member for namibia ambassador wilfred embola chairperson of the national governing council for namibia please allow me to say all protocol observed as established during the welcoming remarks my duty is very [Music] simple is to introduce the keynote speaker however please allow me to make a few annotations as a mandated minister for youth it is indeed an honor to witness a long-awaited launch of the targeted review report on youth unemployment it is actually indeed a historic time for africa that marks the beginning of a new chapter for the 38 countries participating ladies and gentlemen the africa peer review mechanism is done in death research they presented a detailed report on the current youth unemployment crisis that we are currently facing and has identified noteworthy recommendations therefore it is imperative that we take note of the work done to acquire this data and utilize report for the benefit of our youth without preempting the keynote address let me turn to the main task assigned to me and introduce to you our case speaker now to introduce someone of this magnitude isn't an easy task but i'll try my best he is a liberation struggle stalwart who has been serving the nation ever since the year 1985 as deputy secretary for education and culture for social party he also served as a personal secretary to the founding father of the namibian nation his excellency dr semyoma in 1987 and continued to serve in inter-party positions including that of joint administration for office bay during its hand over to namibia in 1994 and as usual i want to pause a little bit here when it talks when i talk about wolfy space many of our young people especially the namibians they go to wolfies bay but they don't know how it happened that wolf east bay we can go easily to wolfe's bay and for that i want to ask the young people patients in us and all of them make time and have a small discussion with our vice president so that he can teach you the the tricks i must say the tricks how to negotiate he knows it better than all of us he is assisting politicians with a resume and a knowledge we can only hope for this person [Music] our vice president has been a member of the national assembly since 1993 been a cabinet minister for several ministries since 1993 to 2010 and became the secretary general to our mighty support party in 2012 until his appointment as the vice president of this beautiful country ladies and gentlemen please rise and join me in welcoming our keynote speaker son of the soil his excellency the vice president of the great republic of namibia dr angola boomba to the podium to address us and i thank you [Music] [Music] honorable agnes john guerrero minister of sports youth and national service thank you very much for that comradely and friendly introduction [Music] i should not forget to recognize the director of ceremonies desiree mathias honorable professor peter ichavi kachavi speak of the national assembly honorable christine huebes minister in the presidency honorable orbit can jose director general national planning commission whether he or not [Music] honorable ministers and deputy ministers ambassador of benning selfway chairperson of the african peer review mechanism panel of eminent persons and lead panel member for namibia professor eddie maloka chief executive officer of the aprm continental secretariat ambassador wilfred embola chairperson of the africa peer review mechanism national governance council in namibia ambassador linda keller botti ceo of the aprm national secretariat [Music] miss chido pemba african union youth envoy distinguished participants ladies and gentlemen [Music] a very good morning [Music] i wholeheartedly welcome you all today to this special occasion the launch of the targeted review report on youth unemployment in namibia [Music] a special welcome [Music] is extended to ambassador safeway and his team equally to professor eddie maloka and i should not forget also miss chido pepper au's youth representative it's nice to be a representative you represent everything equally to our own honorable patients masuah it is the first time i see you speaking outside parliament equally to all those who are in namibia for the first time or are in this hall for the first time or for the first time this year effective governance is a precondition for sustained inclusive development democracy is an integral part of effective governance and that is why namibia decided to accede to the africa peer review mechanism in order to share her experiences and throw valuable lessons on governance best practices from fellow african states the aprm is described as africa's unique and innovative approach to governance with the objective of improving governance dynamics at local national and continental level [Music] thus used as a tool for sharing experiences reinforcing best practices identifying deficiencies and assessing capacity building needs to foster policies standards and practices that lead to political stability high economic growth sustained development and accelerated continental economic integration the aprm is a useful self-assessment tool and process ladies and gentlemen namibia subscribes to the notion that and i quote transparency plus accountability equals trust and is cinequinone to effective governance we are therefore committed to the apr mechanism reviews on our governance practices and related national policies we believe that search reviews will provide us an excellent opportunity for an inclusive and participatory process thus enabling us to take corrective action and improve where necessary our governance framework it is in fulfillment of this assessment process that namibia undertook a targeted review on youth unemployment in in 2019 and submitted a report on the same for review by the forum of heads of state and government in february 2020 the forum approved the report and urged namibia to spearhead its implementation namibia was further requested to report progress at the next africa peer review forum of head of state and government in february 2022 to that end the africa peer review mechanism national government council completed the national plan of action in consultation with the following key stakeholders a the ministry of sports youth and national service it is the first time i hear in an occasion where the ministry of sports and national youth service is on top of other ministries next is the institution as national youth council national youth service civil society all of us who are here and namibia statistical agency the national plan of action contains clearly articulated priorities and actions required to address the drivers of youth unemployment or youth employment in our country it underscores the need for balance coherence and complementarity across policy programs and institutions it is my conviction that its success lies in the involvement of public and private sector participants and partnership as well as civil society to take a proactive interest in addressing unemployment particularly among our youth [Music] ladies and gentlemen conversely the report acknowledges that the government of the republic of namibia has over the years adopted and implemented policies and programs specifically aimed to achieve youth development and employment indicators however the report also indicates also identifies several constraints and possibilities to realize high youth employment targets the report as such recommends that an appropriate institutional framework be established which will properly coordinate monitor and evaluate all employment initiatives with a focus on youth to that effect cabinet has directed the national planning commission to spearhead the mainstreaming of the national plan of action on youth employment into our national development plans and strategies for operationalization by the ministries the ministry once again of sports youth and national service the ministry of international relations will be responsible for popularizing its this report or this review across the african continent it cannot be over emphasized that the growth potential of namibia and the continent can only be developed through the inclusion of young people into the policy making mainstream and economic recovery efforts having said that it is on this note that i have the singular honor and pleasure to officially [Music] to officially [Music] to officially [Music] to officially [Music] to officially launch the africa peer review targeted the african peer review mechanism targeted review report on youth unemployment in namibia and its national plan of action is [Music] i don't know [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] is it [Music] [Music] thank you very very much once again your excellency the vice president i would like to announce to all the stakeholders that this report is available on the official websites of the national planning commission the ministry of sport youth and national service as well as our ministry for international relations and cooperation and we hope that you'll be able to access the digital copy we've come to the end of our program and i have been requested to move the vote of thanks and i should do so by beginning with an appreciation to his excellency the president of the republic of namibia dr hager genko for his demonstrated political will to this process of peer review as well as to our guest of honor and keynote speaker his excellency dr nangolon bomba the vice president of the republic of namibia and the entire government of namibia as well as the aprm secretariat allow me also to appreciate the aprm governing council under the chairmanship of ambassador wilfred mvula and the national secretariat under the stewardship of ambassador linneke lamboti and in addition many many thanks and appreciation to ambassador sefue who has been in the country over the past four weeks and is soon becoming a namibian resident i think we must offer him a new national id comrade vp for his stewardship and leadership for the country review mission that is currently underway and today for the targeted report on youth unemployment professor eddie maloka thank you to your team to your continental secretariat for your hard work and delivering us to this point our special envoy on youth from the african union commission my sister chidon pepper for making the time to be here with us today and to all esteemed colleagues and delegates ladies and gentlemen both in namibia and to our viewers who are following us abroad this brings us to the end of our official program your excellency the vice president honourable speaker honourable ministers and deputy ministers your excellencies senior government officials distinguished invited guests ladies and gentlemen i would now invite his excellency the vice president and the high table joined by the speaker and the members of the continental and national secretariat to the foyer for an official photograph and further extend an invitation on behalf of his excellency the vice president to all our invited guests to join us for a networking finger food lunch just by the fountain area to our right i would like to say thank you very much for your being a pleasant audience it was my pleasure to preside over this occasion and with that i now request you to please rise for the singing of the au and national anthems [Music] [Music] liberation let us dedicate ourselves to rise together [Music] let tree of us [Music] we have one our freedom we give our love and loyalty [Music] beautiful uh me thank you very much protocol will direct us you