The Vice President of Swapo, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, has implored the party's youth league's national executive committee to focus on pertinent issues that will benefit Namibia and its people.

Ndaitwah identified these pertinent issues as high unemployment and a lack of clean drinking water, which she says should take centre stage during the ongoing deliberations of the central committee of the youth league.

For the upcoming elections, Nandi-Ndaitwah reiterated that the youth should channel their energy to tirelessly canvass for party support both in urban and rural areas.
 
''As SWAPO Party youth league members and SWAPO Party, what is the aim of where we are directing our efforts? For me, I believe that if everything we are doing and thinking about is development, what we are contributing to is development so that, at the end of the day, prosperity is achieved. Therefore, everything is for development and all is for prosperity, and this goes well with the theme of your central committee today.''
 
Also addressing the gathering, Swapo Party Youth League secretary Ephraim Nekongo called for a 15 percent youth quota on the party's parliamentary list.

He said this is the only way the youth can take up leadership positions as well as have an opportunity to be considered for ministerial portfolios.

''We are demanding our quota, comrade SG; the woman council did it; why can't we do it? So we demand, let's put that in motion, the youth quota in the electoral college. We want to be in parliament; we want to be ministers; unfortunately, we know you will overpower us. Please give us an opportunity.''

The central committee is expected to deliberate on the implementation of the Swapo Party and the youth league congress resolutions, as well as discuss other pressing national issues.