By William J. Mbangula
Oshakati
Founding President and Chancellor of the University of Namibia (Unam) Dr Sam Nujoma will officiate at the ground-breaking ceremony of the long awaited Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology at Ongwediva on Saturday.
Unam Northern Campus communications officer Linus Hamunyela confirmed the event to New Era.
Nujoma will be accompanied by Unam Vice-Chancellor Professor Lazarus Hangula, Minister of Finance Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, Director-General of the National Planning Commission Helmuth Angula, Minister of Education Nangolo Mbumba and members of the diplomatic corps, including the Indian High Commissioner and UN agencies.
According to Hamunyela, the land on which the faculty will be constructed has been serviced by the Ongwediva Town Council, thus enabling Unam to start with the first construction phase of the faculty which will include an administration block, hostels, lecture halls and laboratories.
The idea of establishing the faculty was launched in September 2004 by Nujoma, then Head of State. The main focus of the facility is said to be on training in the fields that are highly in demand by the private and public sectors such as civil, mechanical, electrical, electronics, telecommunications, information technology, chemical, mining and computer engineering. Some of the key lecturers and trainers are expected to be provided by the Indian Government.
“Unam being the only national university faces great challenges in providing this country with the much needed human resources in all sectors of the economy. One of the most pressing needs for Namibia is to ensure that the country has the capacity to train its own engineers and technologists.
“This is the most daunting task that Unam is expected to fulfill towards the realization of Vision 2030,” said Hamunyela.
He explained that the need to establish the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology has become more pressing following the recent notice received from South African universities that they will not renew the memorandum of understanding signed with Unam, from 2010.
In terms of the agreement, Unam pre-engineering students are guaranteed placements in South African universities.
Since South Africa is catering for most SADC countries and faces pressure from home to provide study opportunities for it own citizens, placements at its institutions are now limited.