MP demands that NYC and NYS merge following infighting

Stefanus Nashama

Maximalliant Katjimune, a Member of Parliament of the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM), has announced that he will be presenting a motion to merge the National Youth Council (NYC) with the National Youth Service (NYS) to the National Assembly next month.

He has also declared that on the same day, he will ask the assembly to refer the motion to the relevant Parliamentary Standing Committee for further scrutiny and report its results back to the National Assembly.

Katjimune expressed his reasons for re-tabling the motion, stating that the recent developments and infighting at the NYC have caused him to take this action.

He told the Windhoek Observer that he believes that there is no need for the NYC because the NYS can perform all its functions.

According to him, the NYC is a wasteful expenditure, with factions fighting each other at the expense of taxpayers and young people.

“It is costing the taxpayer a lot of money while young people are deprived of much-needed services due to the fact the funds allocated to the institution are never put to good use. The funds are rather used to fight factional battles within the organisation,” he stressed.

Katjimune reiterated that the entity requires a complete overhaul, and merging it into the NYS would be a good start.

He believes both organisations have similar mandates, making the existence of two youth organisations unnecessary.

The parliamentarian further claimed that merging NYC into the NYS would yield much-needed results and save funds that are currently being wasted.

At the same time, he accused the Swapo bench in Parliament of blocking his previous motion, which lapsed in September 2022, with general sentiment.

He hopes that the motion will be debated with professionalism and objectivity, and not along political lines.

Last week, Calista Schwartz-Gowases, the Director of NYC, was suspended with full remuneration due to serious allegations of misconduct made against her.

Simon Taapopi, the Chairperson of the Human Resource, Remuneration and Ethics Committee at the NYC, confirmed the suspension in a media statement last week Monday.

The decision to suspend Schwartz-Gowases was made to ensure that the disciplinary proceedings against her were conducted without interference.

This statement informs the public that Schwartz-Gowases is no longer authorised to represent NYC or act on its behalf until further notice, he said.