A need for youth leadership in Walvis

KONRAD Barnes was elected as the new Walvis Bay Junior Mayor.
In his acceptance address, Barnes noted that although he was keen to be part of the Junior Council, it was still a daunting responsibility.

‘When I approached the Council Chambers I realized that this honour carried a heavy responsibility, not only to be a leader, but to set an example for other youth.’ He lauded the council members for their positive attributes and described the experience as being in a family ‘where members of the house support each other in every aspect of our duties.’ The outgoing junior mayor, Johann Otto, highlighted projects and challenges that the previous council faced, adding that the members felt tackling larger and more difficult projects would reap more rewards. These included hosting Miss Teen, paying the school fees of a student, a youth dialogue about drug and alcohol abuse as well as other charity work. ‘We started as a Council with N$400 in the bank and many uncertainties about how to take on our responsibilities. Today we hand over the reins to a new group with more than N$7 000 in the bank and a legacy of successes. This has been a wonderful learning experience, and we are proud that we were able to give to the community. I believe that when you decide to start a project, you have already achieved half of what you intend.’ The Mayor of Walvis Bay, Uilika Nambahu, also attended the proceedings and praised the youth and their parents for their commitment to the programme and pledged the support of her office to the Junior Council. ‘Our doors are always open to assist where we can. The Junior Council is an important opportunity to build leadership skills and at the same time contributing to the welfare of our community,’ she said. The new Junior Council members are: Junior Mayor – Konrad Barnes; Deputy Junior Mayor – Natalie Prins; CEO – Leonard Hamunyela; Deputy CEO – Michaela Fredericks; PRO – Curby Kahman; Deputy PRO – Hanas Nenkavu; Secretary – Sudene van Zyl; Deputy Secretary – Martha Nepandao.