On the 16 September 2025, prime minister Elijah Tjitunga Ngurare announced through social media that “ministry of education, innovation, youth, sports, arts and culture and the ministry of health and social services entered a memorandum of understanding with the Namibia Training Authority (NTA) to facilitate TVET trainees repairing schools, clinics, construction of sanitation facilities, classrooms, etc. Other OMAs will follow suit.”
In 2024, the Namibia National Students Organisation (Nanso) launched a programme called Fix My School, which also aimed at partnering with technical and vocational training trainees to improve the dilapidated state of schools, which is a reality they discovered during various school assessments ahead of national examinations.
The Namibian case has been that whenever a need is identified, in this context for renovations or upgrading of government facilities, that need is addressed through a tender process with the contract being awarded to one of a few contractors who has leveraged his network. Resultantly, ballooning costs, delays and truly, work that does not stand the test of time have become the order of the day, much to the dismay of citizens who are in dire need of these public goods and services.
By deploying TVET trainees to tackle renovations and construction of sanitation facilities and classrooms, Honourable Ngurare has thrown a curveball and signalled what could be a massive shift towards not only empowering the vocational skills sector but further, opening up the conversation regarding procurement culture in Namibia.
Perhaps this is an indicator that the government no longer considers minor works as the exclusive domain of contractors. Or maybe, this is another quick-fix rescue mission and merely meant to expedite what has already been a growing concern that cannot wait for the gears of bureaucracy to be engaged.
Nevertheless, the real question that remains is whether this approach is part of the envisioned structural reform promised by the 8th Business Unusual Administration?
If institutionalised, this is an approach that will certainly dismantle the monopoly of the well-connected few who for years have treated tenders as personal entitlements. It would also attract investment into the vocational skills sectors and centres, which have been overlooked for years and considered second best to universities and higher learning platforms. This is a decision that, if properly executed, could instil a higher sense of patriotism within the trainees as well, extending to their communities of guardians, family and friends.
Whether it’s a stratagem or the ushering in of a new era of procurement, TVET trainees organised through their respective centres are the perfect rapid deployment unit. Of course, this is not to endorse their replacement of experienced contractors for major projects but simply to acknowledge how imperative they are for plugging holes where neglect has festered for years.
