EDITORIAL BOARD
PRESIDENT Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has set the right tone for her five-year tenure at the helm of the country.
She launched Namibia’s last economic blueprint, the National Development Plan 6 (NDP6) in July, inching towards the elusive Vision 2030 of an industrialised Namibia that thrives and competes with other economies while citizens live in comfort.
Vision 2030 has been called many things in the past, but the reality is that the dreams pegged in this ambitious economic plan, including industrialisation, making a huge dent on poverty, housing provision, and creation of sustainable employment, are still elusive and perhaps a far-fetched dream.
What is commendable, though, has been the push by Nandi-Ndaitwah to focus on four pillars, aligning the NDP6 with the ruling Swapo policy document (Swapo Manifesto) and indeed to call for nothing short of strict implementation.
NDP6 is hinged on improving agricultural production, eliminating middlemen in the procurement of medical drugs, and creating opportunities for the youth.
Speaking at the launch, Nandi-Ndaitwah was the first to admit that the industrialisation dream has fallen behind target and needed serious commitment from the government as well as the private sector to be salvaged.
Perhaps that is a trait worthy of a leader who is keen on making an impact.
While her predecessors have excelled in policy formulation, including all the other NDPs, they have struggled to tame the beast of poor implementation.
As a result, they all left a legacy of a country that has some of the best policies on paper. As a result, their legacies rest in polished white papers, policies and strategies. However, as polished and as comprehensive as they remain, they gathered dust. Youth employment, improved healthcare and the ambition to make Namibia the land of milk and honey all lay minimally touched growth targets.
NDP6 is premised on four pillars: economic growth, transformation and resilience, human development and community resilience, environmental sustainability, and good governance and effective public service delivery.
The government says to achieve this, they must follow three strategies of wealth creation, improved equality and employment creation.
“It must be pointed out that our unemployment rate is high because, among other drivers, our industrial capacity remains limited. It is for this reason that NDP6 aims to propel the country towards an advanced industrialised stage, placing due policy emphasis on mineral resources beneficiation and value-addition to stimulate economic growth and development.
“With the Namibian population currently just over 3 million people and expected to reach 3.5 million by 2030, predominantly young adults of working age. This Youth population presents an opportunity and not a burden for the Namibian economy,” Nandi-Ndaitwah said.
The NDP6 document says Namibia has made commendable strides towards achieving the national ideal of becoming a “Developed and Prosperous Nationˮ.
The President said by June this year, green schemes produced 9,947 tonnes of maize, 300 tonnes of potatoes and 39 tonnes of sunflower.
Nandi-Ndaitwah said the decision by the World Bank to downgrade Namibia to a lower-middle-income country is an indication of the challenges faced due to high levels of income inequality.
A zoom into the plan also showed that Namibia has reduced income inequality as represented by a Gini coefficient of 0.701 in 1993 to 0.697 in 2016. However, the country still remains one of the most unequal globally.
The NDP6 also highlights challenges brought about by unemployment in the country.
Nandi-Ndaitwah said the government will pursue active policies to enhance local participation in the mining industry in future.
In principle, all these promises are solid and have the potential to take Namibia to the promised land. But, as the old adage goes, talk is cheap.
What Namibia requires is a paradigm shift from business as usual, where policymakers prioritise releasing speeches and cutting ribbons. Deliberate efforts are necessary to see through the implementation of the proposed programmes.
There has to be honesty and introspection on the challenges of the past and a deliberate stance taken to remedy said challenges for progress.
Nandi-Ndaitwah also has to recognise that for industrialisation to happen, power generation must be more than sufficient. That is one area where Namibia has struggled.
In the past, there has been a genuine push to improve power production through hydro-power and renewable energy. Now we are talking of green hydrogen and nuclear power.
One wonders which option Namibia favours, and can this be given the priority it deserves?
It is imperative that we wish President Nandi-Ndaitwah well in her challenging goal of turning around the fortunes of this great nation. However, we must not be oblivious of reminding her that others have come and fallen short, and she needs to crack the whip hard and consistently until the end should she seek unquestionable success.
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