By Frederick Philander WINDHOEK Countries that do not have a knowledgeable and highly skilled workforce will be perpetually limited to low investments, low growth rates and thus low personal incomes. This was said on Saturday during the 12th graduation ceremony of the Polytechnic of Namibia by the Minister of Education, Nangolo Mbumba, on behalf of the Head of State. The graduation ceremony, which was presented under the theme of Leadership in the 21st Century, yielded 1 469 certificates, diplomas and degrees. “Countries whose workers posses high knowledge and skills will attract global investment, high valued-added business enterprises and high wage jobs. In Namibia there are still great strides to be made in many areas of our economy to appreciatively improve the standard of living for all our people and to compete effectively in the global market,” Mbumba warned. The minister told the graduates that the sustainable future development of the country is in their hands. “Our objective of transforming Namibia into an industrial nation by 2030 requires the best brains and hard work to deal with the many problems we still have to overcome. It requires young people like you to be forward looking and resolute in your determination, and it requires you to be imaginative pioneers,” he said encouragingly. He further stated that the nation has unique challenges that must be managed properly. “Balancing sound economic policies with environmental protection will continue to pose a special challenge due to our fragile ecosystem. Global warming is threatening the very existence of human kind. In the Namibian context global warming can potentially lead to frequent and longer drought spells that can have devastating effects particularly for most of our citizens deriving their livelihood directly from the land,” Mbumba asserted. According to him a transformational, visionary, developing, inspiring and empowering leadership is considered the most viable approach to resolve the country’s problems. “We must encourage more young people to pursue careers in science and technology, enhance programmes in our educational system that encourage and nurture creativity, and strengthen and provide support for the Polytechnic of Namibia’s research capacity,” he urged. A Finnish guest speaker, Professor Yrjo Neuvo, at the same occasion highlighted technological development in the global market. “We are daily reminded about the challenges and threats mankind is facing on our home planet Earth such as the shortage of alternative affordable energy sources and a number of serious diseases that are by no means under control. We also have the uneven distribution of wealth resulting in hunger and poverty, all issues that cannot be solved at once,” he said. In his view some very promising research is being done to discover numerous ways to reduce energy consumption globally. “Due to technological development we will be able to reduce by at least 50% the gasoline consumption of cars in the next decade or so,” he said optimistically, also referring to technological wonders such as the mobile phone and the Internet.