The fact that the majority of southern youth seemingly did not meet the requirements to qualify for Green Hydrogen scholarships took centre stage at the 13th Festival of the |Hai-|Khaua Traditional Authority in Berseba.

Vice President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwa, after hearing dissatisfaction from the Nama leadership at the celebrations, promised to look at all the facts and deal with the matter together with all parties involved. 

The vice president said if allegations of discrimination against some communities are found to be true, it would be deemed unconstitutional and must end.

The chairperson of the Green Hydrogen Commission, Obeth Kandjoze, recently stated that the southern regions are underrepresented, as most of the youth in the region do not meet the requirements to obtain scholarships to study in the field of emerging industries.

"And I agree with Gaob. There is no reason for anyone to say that in the ||Kharas Region, there are no people qualified to meet the requirements for further training. I am saying this because ||Kharas Region is one region where our learners walk the shortest distance, less than 5 kilometres, to their school, while in some regions you find children walking more than 5 kilometres, even 10 kilometres, before they reach their schools. But that is not the case here. So therefore, if there is something like that that I cannot believe, I think we need to interrogate it. Because the schools are there. They are just on the doorstep. And it is also one region—one of the regions. If we compare with others, not all the classes are overcrowded. So therefore, there should be no question of non-people qualifying in the ||Kharas region."

Gaob Johannes Isack, leader of the |Hai-|Khaua was one of the speakers who expressed concern about the state of affairs, calling for an urgent investigation into the type of education the youth receive in the south.

"While we welcome these benefits for the upliftment of young Namibians, the youth of the Hardap and ||Kharas regions visibly missed out on these training opportunities. Sentiments that were also expressed by both our departed President, Dr. Hage Gengob, may his soul rest in eternal peace, as well as the Chairperson of the Green Hydrogen Council, Honourable Obed Kanjodeh. The main reason cited was that they do not meet the entry requirements of the training programmes, which seriously begs the question, What kind of education are our children subjected to, that not even a handful are meeting the said requirements?"