Staff Reporter
DIMAPUR, OCT 16 (NPN): Advisor for Industries and Commerce, Hekani Jakhalu, has urged youths to step out of their comfort zones and explore livelihood opportunities, while acknowledging that concerns surrounding the Protected Area Permit (PAP) and related issues have made it difficult to translate investor interest in Nagaland into actual investments.
Hekani was addressing the opening ceremony of the NPF 3 Dimapur-III Youth A/C Futsal-cum-Job and Career Fair, organised in collaboration with YouthNet at Toluvi Village Ground on Friday.
She said the job fair was an effort to bring employment opportunities directly to youths in the constituency, rather than expecting them to go elsewhere in search of jobs. Stating that she had dedicated her life to working for the welfare of youths, Hekani said she had made a personal commitment to do more for them after being elected.
She said her responsibility was to help create adequate opportunities, but youths also needed to take the initiative to make use of them. Informing that 12 job centres were participating in the fair, she encouraged job seekers to attend and explore the opportunities on offer. A medical camp was also being organised as part of the event.
Highlighting initiatives undertaken by her department over the past three-and-a-half years, Hekani said workshops, training programmes and awareness activities had been conducted across the state.
However, she stressed that such initiatives would have limited impact unless youths were willing to step beyond their comfort zones and take advantage of the opportunities available.
Pointing to the growing dependence on government employment, she said it was unrealistic for every young person to aspire for a government job.
“The future could look bleak if everyone continued to aspire only for government jobs,” she stated.
Emphasising personal responsibility and hard work, Hekani said there was no shortcut to success and youths had to help themselves through determination and effort.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the programme, she said engaging youths had been challenging despite efforts over the past three-and-a-half years to reach out to villages and understand their needs.
She said she had decided to bring companies to the constituency so that youths could directly explore the available opportunities.
“I can’t be good all the time. I am after all a mother of Dimapur-III,” she said, adding that she had urged youths to buckle up and recognise livelihood as a priority.
On the challenges facing industrial development in Nagaland, Hekani said attracting investors had been one of her primary responsibilities since taking charge of the Industries and Commerce department.
However, she acknowledged that the response had not been as encouraging as expected, despite her efforts to reach out to companies across the country.
She said companies had shown interest when Nagaland was presented as an investment destination, but converting that interest into actual investments remained difficult.
“Business is not charity,” she said, stressing that investors would commit money only when they were confident their investments were secure.
Hekani observed that while the state government projected Nagaland as one of the most peaceful states, concerns surrounding PAP and related issues continued to pose challenges to attracting investment. She said investors conducted due diligence before committing resources and that the state needed to address the factors discouraging them from investing.
Asked whether the three Dimapur legislators had jointly discussed traffic congestion and the need for flyovers in Dimapur, she acknowledged that they had not discussed the issue together, while adding that it was a genuine concern that required attention.
Earlier, the programme was chaired by NPF 3 DMP-III Youth Wing vice-president Simon Achumi, while Pastor of TGB A, Atoshe Awomi, pronounced the invocation. NPF Dimapur Division president Vihoshe Awomi delivered a short speech.
A special number was presented by Kivi H. Aye, while NPF 3 DMP-III Youth Wing president P. Hokivi delivered the vote of thanks.
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