The youth of Tsumkwe say they are still waiting for job opportunities promised by NaTIS officials more than a year ago.

Tsumkwe youth activist Paulus Ndara said when the NaTIS Office in Tsumkwe opened in 2023, residents were told that the centre would bring services closer to the community and create jobs for local youth with the required qualifications. 

But more than a year later, Ndara said the promise remains unfulfilled.

"I'm very disappointed in the office and the department for making promises about training the youth within the constituency so they could benefit from this opportunity, but none of that has been fulfilled since then. Even if they could not fulfil everything, they could at least meet the youth halfway."

The service operates two weeks per month, staffed by workers who travel from Grootfontein.

"Isn't it too expensive for them to send staff from Grootfontein to work here, considering they have to pay for their own fuel and accommodation? How is that different from them employing the new employees that are going to be basically in Tsumkwe that are going to work here throughout the month for us only receiving a service one week in a month, which is not fair enough?" 

In response, the Executive for Transportation at the Roads Authority, Sydney Boois, said Tsumkwe's status as a settlement means its institutional arrangements remain unclear. 

Boois explained that funding and administrative structures are not yet in place, and it is not yet defined under which authority new employees would be appointed.

The matter will be considered in the next financial year, and Boois said the situation will be explained to the community through engagement sessions.