MINISTER of Youth, National Service, Sport and Culture Jerry Ekandjo has rejected a request of N$40 million by the Swapo Party Youth League to host an international youth event.
The SPYL, in collaboration with the National Youth Council (NYC), is gearing up to host the 70th anniversary of the World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY) Congress scheduled for May, but says it does not have the financial support from the ministry due to budgetary constraints.
Ekandjo could not be reached for comment yesterday as he is out of the country, but SPYL secretary for international affairs Eddie Kafita told The Namibian that they forwarded the request to the Department of Youth Development and received a response last week that the ministry was not in a position to fund the event.
Swapo’s top four, including President Hifikepunye Pohamba, Prime Minister Hage Geingob, Swapo secretary general Nangolo Mbumba and his deputy, Laura McLeod Katjirua, were also given a submission of request from the SPYL last year in June and are yet to respond. The request by the SPYL follows the controversial trip to Ecuador towards the end of 2013 for the 18th World Festival of Youth and Students that drew criticisms from opposition parties’ youth leagues after the ministry had sent more than 265 delegates to a similar event in Equador at a cost of N$10 million on a chartered plane.
Kafita said Namibia was chosen to host the event because the WFDY was “impressed with the Land of the Brave” during a General Council Meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam last year. The event is expected to take place from 12-15 May 2015.
He said former South African president Thabo Mbeki is expected to be a guest speaker at the event, which will also honour the Founding President Sam Nujoma. Three hundred young people from all 14 regions in Namibia will assist in organising the event.
Kafita is adamant that the event will go ahead and refuses to take no for an answer from government, saying the ministry should commit itself where the youth are concerned.
A National Tripartite Committee consisting of the ministry of youth, NYC and the SPYL has already been set up, with Kafita as the chairperson.
He said the team will travel to Venezuela, Egypt, Ghana, the Middle East and some SADC countries between March and April to lobby for support for the event.
“Namibia has never hosted a youth event of this magnitude. I have trust in the leadership to commit itself to supporting the youth,” said Kafita.
With the event scheduled to take place in two months, Kafita said the timing was not a worrying factor.
“We have the infrastructure and the capacity. What we need now are the funds,” he said.
Over 5 000 youth activists from different parts of the world are expected to participate at the event, which will take place for the first time on the African soil.
While saying the ministry has “funds lying around”, Kafita said the event will boost the country’s economy and empower its youth.
He further said the money they were asking for is an insignificant amount compared to the N$80 million the ministry pumped into the 2014 African Women’s Championship.
“We have much more to lose if we do not host this event than if we host it. The returns that will be generated through hotel bookings and other means by the visitors far outweigh the N$40 million we are asking for,” maintained Kafita.
He said the ministry claims it does not have funds but it returns unused millions to the government coffers every year.
“Why not use these funds to host an event that will put Namibia on the map? We keep attending events hosted by other countries. It is high time we hosted an international event ourselves,” argued Kafita.
SPYL secretary general Elijah Ngurare said the ministry has said the request was made at a short notice and is not included in the current budget.
Ngurare also said the country might not get another opportunity to host an event of this nature.
“It is not every country that qualifies to host this event and Namibia is among the honoured few to be chosen,” he said, adding that the event’s total expenditure might also end up being less than N$40 million.
Ngurare said they might be forced to postpone the event if the ministry fails to come through.
“There are conflicting priorities within any organisation and we might be forced to look at other options,” he said. He also concurred with Kafita that sometimes ministries return unused funds to Treasury.
“This is a world class event that will be beneficial for the country. We appeal to government to consider financing it,” he said.
Deputy minister of youth Juliet Kavetuna said she had not been informed about the event, but confirmed that the ministry does not have funds.
“We have only budgeted for specific programmes,” she said, adding that there is no room for extra expenditure.
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