Zorena Jantze
PRESIDENT Hage Geingob on Thursday at the opening of the 17th Namibia National Students Organisation (NANSO) Congress motivated the youth to not fight one another but rather focus on issues which they collectively face challenges with.
“As the Chinese saying goes: Ideals provide direction in life and convictions determine the success of a cause. Therefore, in the era of the second phase of the struggle, young people should hold nation-building ideals and resolute conviction, mirroring their forefathers,” the President said.
“However, the fight today is not against a physical enemy. In the absence of a ‘physical’ adversary, we may be at risk of expanding our energy towards wrongly fighting one another, as opposed to fighting the invisible forces that are against us, namely, poverty, inequality, unemployment, tribalism, bigotry, misogyny, violence, crime, climate change and diseases such as Covid-19 and HIV/Aids,” Geingob shared.
He stated that these are the common enemies of the second phase of the struggle and students must marshal their ingenuity, innovation and unity to overcome these forces and ensure ultimate victory.
Geingob said the government commits to continue providing the necessary support to the student movement, through the relevant Ministries, offices and agencies.
“We believe that young people cannot be empowered without their involvement in all sectors of society. We will therefore continue to provide the governance, policy, financial and technical support and platforms required for the discharge of your mandate.
“The priority that I personally place on the development and empowerment of young people is not merely rhetoric. It is a matter of sustainable development, because you, the young people of today, are going to become the custodians of our social, political, economic and governance architecture tomorrow,” Geingob stated.
The President applauded NANSO for not abdicating its historic position of fighting social inequalities, stating that without equal access to quality education, there can be no equal access to opportunity and prosperity.
“It is my hope that through this 17th National Students Congress which will discuss and deliberate on our education system, and where a new national leadership will be elected into office, you will remain committed to exploring and promoting ideas and policies that are both innovative and sustainable,” Geingob said.
