Young people in the Gam settlement say they are being left behind by other youth in Tsumkwe.

They have accused the youth office in the Tsumkwe Constituency of failing to provide timely information, support, and feedback on funding applications and development opportunities.

Speaking to NBC News, Jeffrey Hange says the last time he engaged with the Tsumkwe youth office was last year when officials visited Gam and invited young people to submit project proposals.

He says there has been no communication since then, and whenever they follow up on the progress of their applications, they are referred to Otjiwarongo.

Hange adds that different officials attend youth meetings each time, making it difficult to track the status of their proposals.

We were communicating last year over proposals that they brought to us. We have been all over that office, but there is no feedback up to now. The youth office in Tsumkwe, whenever you want to hear how far they are with our proposals, will tell us to proceed to Otjiwarongo or tell us that those people in Otjiwarongo are still coming. Last year Charlene came here. Gustaf came here from Otjiwarongo, they were having some promises, and we gave them proposals. Ever since that time there is nothing that has come back.

Another young resident, Kaanua Nganiva, says delayed access to information is preventing young people in Gam from benefiting from youth programmes.

He says they often hear about opportunities in other parts of the country only after deadlines have passed.

We don't receive information on time. We are not up to standard at all. There are no programmes moving within our area, but we are very much interested. We are even much too jealous, we often hear from other constituencies countrywide. People are talking about, 'Yeah, young people come today at two o'clock. Come where these programmes are out, they are getting results and so on.'

Nganiva says the only youth initiative he remembers is the 21/21 Enterprise project, through which young people were provided with a container equipped with tools to start small businesses.

According to him, while the project is benefiting youth in other parts of Namibia, it has yet to become operational in the Tsumkwe constituency.

Responding to the concerns, Tsumkwe youth officer Jeffrey Homeb says young people in Gam often fail to attend meetings when his office visits the settlement. He urged them to organise themselves and submit funding proposals, saying many have not done so.

On the 21/21 Enterprise project, Homeb says it is a catering initiative that will commence once outstanding paperwork has been finalised.

He also encouraged young people in both Gam and Tsumkwe West to approach the youth office with project proposals.