Swakopmund Constituency Councillor Louisa Kativa says the town's high unemployment rate is worrisome.

Kativa handed over equipment to small and medium enterprises, valued at N$130,000, through the Constituency Development Fund.

Kativa believes that the high unemployment rate has the potential to cause serious social repercussions if overlooked.

One possible way, she says, to address youth unemployment is to support young people in creating their own businesses, as they have the interest and potential to become self-employed.

She says that she is well aware that the Swakopmund constituency is faced with a very high number of unemployed youth.

She says the objective of the fund is to encourage self-reliance within the local communities and to demonstrate that the regional council has an interest in the welfare and social development of the community.

"I, therefore, would like to encourage all beneficiaries who have received equipment to go and work very hard in order for you to earn an income and be self-reliant, and to create jobs for others."

She further appealed to the beneficiaries to properly manage their projects so that they could continue to make their businesses successful.

The fund has assisted over 60 SMEs in the past 10 years.