By Moses Magadza

WINDHOEK, NAMIBIA – The SADC Parliamentary Forum (SADC PF) has called on political parties and public institutions to dismantle barriers that confine young people to the margins of political life and create credible pathways for them to influence policy, contest leadership positions, and help shape Southern Africa’s future.

SADC PF Secretary General Ms Boemo Sekgoma made the call in a statement delivered on her behalf by the Forum’s Director of Parliamentary Business and Programmes, Mr Sheuneni Kurasha, during a Capacity Building Workshop for Youth in Politics held in Windhoek on 3 September 2026.

Ms Sekgoma submitted that describing young people as future leaders while excluding them from present-day decision-making was no longer tenable.

“We cannot continue to describe young people as the leaders of tomorrow while excluding them from the decisions of today,” she said.

She stressed that genuine political empowerment required more than symbolic inclusion or inspiring rhetoric. Young people must be afforded meaningful opportunities to participate, influence decisions and exercise leadership within political parties, public institutions and governance processes.

“The future is being shaped now. If young people are absent from decision-making processes, they are effectively being asked to inherit a future they had little role in creating,” she said.

The Secretary General commended the Government of Namibia, through the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare and the National Assembly, for convening the workshop to equip, mentor and empower emerging political leaders.

She said initiatives of this nature were essential to developing a generation of informed, confident, and capable leaders ready to contribute to Namibia’s democratic development and that of the wider SADC region.

Ms Sekgoma also applauded Namibia’s investment in education, skills development, entrepreneurship, internships and public participation under its National Youth Policy. She cited the introduction of free tertiary education and the strengthening of work-integrated learning opportunities as evidence of the country’s commitment to empowering young people.

However, she cautioned that investments in education and skills must ultimately translate into greater youth representation and influence in leadership and decision-making.

Across Africa, young people constitute most of the population, but this numerical strength remains inadequately reflected in political institutions, she observed. The central issue was therefore no longer whether young people should enter politics, but whether their participation enabled them to shape decisions.

“There is a significant difference between being present and having a voice; between occupying a seat and shaping decisions,” she stated.

Ms Sekgoma identified political parties as the principal gateways to political leadership because they recruit leaders, develop policy platforms and select candidates for public office. She recommended that parties establish clear and sustainable pathways through which young activists could progress into positions of responsibility and influence.

She also called for deliberate measures to advance the participation of young women, who frequently encounter overlapping barriers associated with both age and gender.

“Creating inclusive political spaces requires deliberate efforts to ensure that young women have equal opportunities to participate, lead, and succeed,” she said.

She stressed that electoral success alone did not make a leader effective. Young politicians would need a firm understanding of institutions, law-making, budget scrutiny, government accountability and the translation of citizens’ concerns into public policy.

“Winning an election is only the beginning. Public office alone does not guarantee influence. Influence comes through knowledge, preparation, competence, and integrity,” the SG said.

She encouraged aspiring leaders to read widely, understand their constitutions, study public policy and national budgets, listen attentively to citizens and build credibility through hard work and public service.

“Our objective should therefore not simply be to increase the number of young people in politics, but to develop young leaders who are effective in politics and committed to public service,” she said.

Mentorship, Ms Sekgoma stressed, would be critical to bridging the gap between the region’s abundance of youthful talent and the unequal distribution of leadership opportunities. She pledged the SADC PF’s continued practical support for youth development through mentorship, internships and exposure to parliamentary and regional governance processes.

Three young Namibians who are enrolled in the SADC PF Internship Programme under the project on “Strengthening National and Regional Linkages – Enhancing Accountability and Citizens’ Participation in Regional Integration through Regional Parliament” funded by International Partnerships Austria through the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) and the European Union (EU) attended the workshop with Mr Kurasha.

They are receiving first-hand exposure to regional integration, parliamentary processes and intergovernmental cooperation under the Forum. The internship is open to all young SADC citizens. Their participation, the SG said, demonstrated that the Forum was translating its advocacy into practical opportunities for young people.

“We do not merely advocate for greater youth participation in governance and decision-making – we actively create meaningful opportunities for young people to learn, engage, lead, and contribute,” she stated.

Ms Sekgoma’s commitment to youth empowerment extends beyond her leadership of the SADC PF. As Patron of the Southern Africa Youth Forum, she has supported youth leadership development, policy engagement and mentorship across the region. SAYoF recently honoured her with the Excellence in Youth Empowerment and Mentorship Champion Award.

Ms Sekgoma urged young politicians to “compete politically, but cooperate generationally.”

While political parties naturally hold different views, she said, political competition should never degenerate into hostility.

She identified youth employment, education, entrepreneurship, climate change, democratic governance and gender equality as shared priorities on which young leaders should collaborate across party lines.

Ms Sekgoma also encouraged emerging leaders to adopt a regional outlook because the challenges confronting Southern Africa’s youth increasingly transcend national borders.

“Our economies, climate vulnerabilities, digital landscapes, and development aspirations transcend national boundaries,” she said, adding, “In this context, we need leaders who can think nationally, act locally, and cooperate regionally.”

She recommended that participants translate the workshop’s lessons into concrete action by strengthening youth participation within their political parties, advancing young women’s leadership, mentoring others and transforming party youth structures into genuine schools of leadership.

The success of the workshop, she said, would not be determined by the quality of its presentations but by what participants did afterwards.

She also challenged established leaders to measure their contribution not only by how successfully they occupied office, but by whether they prepared younger people to surpass them.

“Those of us already in leadership also have an important responsibility: not merely to occupy positions successfully, but to prepare others to go further than we have,” she noted.

She concluded with a rallying call for young people to begin exercising leadership immediately and to widen opportunities for others as they advance.

She said, “Do not wait for the future to arrive before you begin to lead. Prepare yourselves. Learn continuously. Build alliances. Challenge barriers. Serve with integrity. When opportunity comes, do not close the door behind you. Hold it open for others. That is how we build strong institutions. That is how we renew democracy. That is how we build the SADC we want.”

-Moses Magadza is the Media and Communications Manager at the SADC Parliamentary Forum.