Works ropes in jobless artisans
Works and Transport Minister John Mutorwa on Friday handed over four dilapidated government houses for renovations to the Association of Unemployed Artisans and Skills Development Hub in Namibia.
Mutorwa, while handing over the houses in Windhoek, said the association, which has over 5 000 unemployed members, has signed a memorandum of understanding with the ministry to give young artisans an opportunity to participate and benefit from the government’s capital projects.
For the four houses, the association will use 53 young artisans, whose outputs, according to Mutorwa, will determine whether government – where possible – can start to directly work with them (association) or continue putting projects on public tender.
“We are giving you this opportunity once-off, but if you utilise it well and deliver, then you will create more opportunities for you and others. This is a test, a pilot project – if you fail, then you have closed bigger opportunities for you and others. Use your skills and education practically and give us quality work,” he said.
He pleaded with government officials, who will be supervising the project to be more handson and help groom the young artisans.
“Without compromising on quality, keep in mind that these are young people, recent graduates with less experience. Do not wait for them to fail so you can report that they are not good but rather help them, guide them and uplift them every step of the way so that they learn and deliver standard and quality work,” Mutorwa advised.
The initiative came after the association reached out to Mutorwa earlier this year, requesting the ministry, the custodian for government capital projects, to create opportunities for their members, most of whom have been home without jobs for over five years now.
Chairman of the association Florian Mwetulundila, in his acceptance speech, said the initiative has sent out hope and positive energy to hundreds of unemployed ar t i sans countrywide.
“This is an important opportunity for us to demonstrate to our government that we are indeed ready and are able to deliver quality work output. My appeal is that the initiative is spread out to other regions in order to maximise the creation of more jobs for the youth,” Mwetulundila said.