The Freedom March Movement's Kavango West branch has accused the Ministry of Youth, Sport and National Service of excluding young people in the region from benefiting from youth development.

At a media conference at Nkurenkuru, the movement's chairperson, Modestus Kupembona, alleged that the Ministry is denying young people in Kavango West the opportunity to benefit from development, saying the move is equal to the institutionalised separate development that was prevalent during the apartheid era. 

He specifically referred to tenders of the Ministry to renovate youth infrastructure in other regions, saying there are no such projects at the envisioned site of a multi-purpose youth centre in Nkurenkuru. 

Kupembona further cited as an example the land which the Ministry was allocated by the Nkurenkuru Town Council. 

The land in question, Kupembona says, was fenced off, and during the site handover, former Youth Minister Erastus Utoni revealed that N$24.6 million was budgeted for the construction of the center over two financial years. 

However, he says this never happened. 

Kupembona also called for the immediate dismissal of a youth officer in the region, accusing the officer of incompetence and having failed to run youth programs effectively.
 
He also demanded that the minister visit the region within 14 working days. 

Speaking at the recently held Kavango West Regional Career fair, Youth Development Director Nicholas Tembwe acknowledged that Kavango West lags behind in terms of development, but he sent a mixed message on the construction of the multi-purpose youth centre