Irimari to focus on youth enterprises

Irimari to focus on youth enterprises The newly appointed governor of the Oshana Region, Elia Irimari, says he will strive for socio-economic development, environmental governance, regional environmental planning, and youth development.

Irimari called for support from his regional councillors in order to transform the regional economy into an industrialised economy guaranteeing economic freedom and prosperity for all inhabitants. At his first meeting with regional councillors and administrators, Irimari said he would focus on building public-private partnerships (PPPs) to support local small and medium enterprises. The former regional councillor for the Ondangwa Urban constituency said he had earmarked N$550 000 for youth enterprise development.

“We have a daunting task before us and we need to build a PPP arrangement in order to improve the livelihood of our people. We need to have confidence in the local SMEs.

“All we need to do is to always put them first and empower them to do better, otherwise they will never get the opportunity to grow,” said Irimari.

“It is with this conviction that the office of the governor has put aside N$550 000 toward youth enterprises development in the region, which is N$50 000 per constituency among all our 11 constituencies.”

Last month President Hage Geingob appointed Irimari, a teacher by profession, as the governor for Oshana to replace the newly appointed Namibian ambassador to the Russian Federation, Clemens Kashuupulwa.

Irimari told the regional councillors that he would not be a spectator but would play an active role in initiating development projects.

He said as leaders of the region, they had a task to lead the people towards sustainable prosperity.

He said the region faced the challenges of youth unemployment, poverty, income inequality, gender inequality, and slow economic growth.

“I need your support to transform the regional economy into an industrialised economy that will guarantee us economic freedom and prosperity.

“I would like us to focus on our competitive and comparative advantages at local [and] national [level] and beyond the borders of our country and capitalise on those local opportunities,” said Irimari.

ILENI NANDJATO