TIRI MASAWI
Chief Executive officer of the Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI) Titus Nampala says Namibia needs to find lasting solutions to secure power supply in future to drive industrial growth.
Speaking at the Inaugural Public -Private Sector Forum on Thursdal Nampala said it is challenging to achieve rapid industrial growth without security of power supply.
“Your excellency industry asks for three issues. We want a favorable environment for doing business. What does this mean? We need our regulatory bodies to work together and make it easy for investors to deal with. We also want fair and predictable legislation.If regulation is not predictable businesses will hold back on investments and this has an effect on how much tax we collect and how much investment we attract,”he said.
According to Nampala Namibia needs to grow at about 6% per annum to be able to deal with the unemployment challenges it faces.
“It has been a long time since Namibia achieved such growth. But this does not mean it cannot be achieved,” he said.
Speaking at the same event President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah rallied both public and private sector to work together to find urgent solutions to the country’s teething problems including unequal distribution of wealth, high levels of poverty, unemployment and slow economic growth.
“Let me reiterate what I have often said: as a nation with this volume of resources, we are too few to be poor. Our God-given wealth must become a mechanism for shared prosperity, not for a few, but for all, but this requires a paradigm shift. We can no longer afford to do things the same way and expect new results.
She said Namibia’s future demands courage, innovation and action.
“The government has identified seven key priority areas, namely; Agriculture, Sports, Youth Empowerment, Quality Education and Training, Creative Industries, Quality Health and Social Welfare, and Land, Housing and Sanitation.
“To power these priorities, we have also identified enabling sectors, these are; Mining, Energy, Water, Agriculture, Tourism, Fisheries, Oil and Gas, Infrastructure Development and Transport and Logistics” she said.
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