Harambee alive and well

STAFF REPORTERS The Namibian House is stable. The Namibian House is resilient. The Namibian House is secure. With these words President Hage Geingob ended a well-crafted and honest outline of the state of the nation yesterday.The head of state focused on the achievements of his administration during the past year, especially in the areas of health, education, economy, housing and other socio-economic challenges. He also did not shy away from admitting to the failures of his administration and other challenges facing the nation.CORRUPTIONGeingob reiterated his administration’s commitment to fighting corruption and enhancing transparency. He spoke at length about asset declarations and performance agreements for cabinet ministers.He also made mention of the remuneration of all public office bearers. “As promised, we have publicly released the remuneration of all public office bearers. The negative short-term trend of sensationalising information obtained due to these and other disclosures will hopefully translate into a positive, long-term trend of a culture of transparency.”In combating corruption, Geingob listed the cancellation of the N$7 billion airport tender, saying: “The Supreme Court’s decision to set the tender award aside enabled us to restart a transparent, cost-sensitive procurement process.”He also listed the investigation into the national oil storage facility to contain costs, the action taken against the SME Bank and the investigation into the money laundering and tax evasion case.He told parliament that a “friend of the president was implicated. If the president were not serious about fighting corruption, why did he not intervene to protect his so-called friend from arrest?”Other matters including Avid, the Offshore Development Company, the GIPF saga and the Kora Awards were also mentioned as being investigated by the authorities.The Public Procurement Act is also in force and was described by Geingob as a concrete action to strengthen governance architecture.“Unfortunately, the Whistleblower Protection and Access to Information bills were not finalised timeously. We anticipate their enactment this year. The honourable ministers of justice and information and communication technology are enjoined to take the necessary action.”Finally, he said the ministerial performance contracts were available on the website of the Office of the Prime Minister. “Apart from quarterly performance reports by offices, ministries and agencies, we have also introduced one-on-one performance discussions between myself, as president, and individual cabinet ministers.”INFRASTRUCTUREThe president emphasised the development of water infrastructure for the central regions following acute shortages at the start of this year. He highlighted borehole development in the Windhoek area as well as infrastructure to pump and extract water not only from the Von Bach and Swakoppoort dams, but also from the Berg Aukas and Kombat mines near Grootfontein. Further water infrastructure will be developed, including the expansion of existing carriers, improved desalination capacity and the completion of Neckartal Dam near Keetmanshoop.“Competitive infrastructure is the backbone of our economic development. Investors look for reliable and affordable water, electricity and functional distribution networks. Infrastructure is also a crucial catalyst in uplifting the living standard of our people,” Geingob said.Electricity supply had stabilised and several renewable-energy projects were under way, he said.Other major projects he discussed include the expansion of the port of Walvis Bay and the addition of 463km of tarred roads added to the road network.In terms of the Harambee targets, he said that 159km of dual-carriageway roads were added to the network from a four-year target of 526km.“This represents a completion rate of 30% and suggests this target is attainable over the remaining period of three years.”While upgrading of the rail network formed part of the Harambee goals, none of these were achieved. “Six new locomotives and 90 fuel tankers have been commissioned. Going forward, focus will be on upgrading the railway tracks on the basis of PPPs.”LAND/HOUSINGGeingob called for proposals and submissions from stakeholders for land reform and related the inequality levels in Namibia to the skewed land distribution. He emphasised again that a second land conference would be held in the third quarter of the year.“Land should be one of our most productive assets. The land question should therefore not be confined to redistribution, but also take into account the need to increase agricultural productivity.”He discussed mentorship programmes between retired and emerging farmers, saying a management company could be established where resettled or emerging farmers gradually took over from retired farmers.“Armed with valuable skills and knowledge, resettled farmers could be encouraged to gradually assume management control while the retired farmers exit the company. Resettled farmers could then form cooperatives to better participate in the agricultural supply chain. This will be highly beneficial for our country and a significant step towards our shared prosperity.”In a bid to improve the productivity of agricultural land, Geingob stressed that the resolutions of the first land conference, along with their implementation, must be looked into.He added that open dialogue should be held on the willing-seller, willing-buyer principle, ancestral land claims, land expropriation and urban land reform.He called for a calm response to the land issue, saying that “we are on the same page” but adding that the government would not condone lawlessness, settling illegally on land or grabbing land.“Nations go to war when dialogue fails. In our democracy, we have sufficient room for frank and open dialogue. All those born in Namibia are Namibians, irrespective of race or colour, and are entitled to own land legally.”Turning to the delivery of serviced land and houses in urban areas, a burning topic in the country for the past two years, Geingob told members of parliament: “I am pleased to report that we have made good progress with servicing residential land, especially in Walvis Bay, Swakopmund, Outapi and Oshakati. In Windhoek, we are also making progress, albeit at a slower pace. In total, 7 754 plots have been serviced countrywide, surpassing the annual target of 6 000.”Last year, Geingob promised 26 000 serviced plots over four years.According to the head of state, 5 554 houses were completed nationwide with a target of 5 000 in the first year of Harambee.Geingob included the municipalities, GIPF, Development Bank of Namibia, National Housing Enterprise, Shack Dwellers Federation, with support from its partners, the Built Together Programme and private property developers in the housing figure.“Unfortunately, some houses remain unoccupied for too long due to the bureaucratic process involved in the transfer of ownership of land. We are following up on those cases and working with the partners to expedite the process.”One of the most important targets was the elimination of the bucket toilet system by the end of this year. According to Geingob, “progress with regard to the elimination of the bucket system has been less than satisfactory”.Some 2 367 households are still using this system and 780 households have been identified in the Hardap and //Karas regions where construction work has commenced to replace this system.“I have directed the implementing offices, ministries and agencies to step up delivery of this essential social need and ensure that by the end of this year, we eliminate this demeaning system from Namibia.”INEQUALITYNamibia remains one of the most unequal societies in the world and the Namibia Statistics Agency says the income of the top 1% of Namibians is equal to the combined income of the bottom 50%. The Gini coefficient has remained static at 0.5972.“It is for this reason that we have proposed the introduction of an economic empowerment framework, NEEEF. Public consultations on the framework have been completed and the Office of the Prime Minister has consolidated the report, which will soon be tabled in Cabinet.”Geingob admitted that the framework may be imperfect but added that there had not been any significant transformation in sectors such as mining, tourism and financial services in the past 27 years. “The majority of Namibians remain structurally excluded from meaningful participation in the economy.”Without deliberate policies, he said, the economy would not be able to correct these structural imbalances itself.Highlighting land distribution as a role player in economic inequality, he added that “Namibia has the advantage of enjoying positive race relations which lends itself to a frank, difficult and necessary conversation on the solutions to reduce inequality”.He called on the private sector to consider employee share and home-ownership schemes, saying it was “disheartening” that workers, many of whom had worked as long as 40 years for a single employer, only received a long-service award upon retirement.He elucidated the plight of farmworkers.“It is an issue close to my heart and the deplorable conditions that many of them face compels all farm owners to take a moment and re-examine their sense of humanity. Many farmworkers are working under slave-like conditions. This is not acceptable in a free Namibia, which prides itself on upholding the values of human dignity and decency.”

Harambee alive and well

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Namibian Sun 2024-11-15

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Harambee alive and well

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Namibian Sun 2024-11-15

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