WINDHOEK – European Development partners plan to provide more than N$3.5 billion in grant funding between now and the end of NDP4 in the year 2017.
In addition, European financial institutions, mainly for large infrastructure investments and private sector development, may offer loans.
The European Union (EU) and its member states represented in Namibia, together with the Government of the Republic of Namibia, yesterday presented their Joint Response Strategy for Namibia for 2014 to 2017.
In addition, presently ongoing development cooperation programmes financed by European Development partners and European financial institutions have a value of approximately N$5.6 billion.
“The Joint EU Response Strategy aims to enhance the effectiveness of European development cooperation by providing a single framework to guide all European development partners’ support to Namibia. By acting together, pulling in the same direction and eliminating gaps and overlaps, the EU and its member states stand to increase their impact and to achieve more than the sum of their parts,” read a statement from the European Union.
The EU statement explains that the joint programming started with an analysis of Namibia’s fourth National Development Plan by the EU and its member states and was followed by consultations and a policy dialogue involving the Namibian Government and civil society organizations in order to work out a joint and coherent response by the EU and member states to Namibia’s fourth National Development Plan.
The main elements of the EU’s Joint Response Strategy for Namibia 2014-2017 will focus on the sphere of economic priorities where the EU and Germany will provide assistance to the agriculture sector, while the tourism sector will be supported by Germany and the UK.
An indicative amount of N$700 million in grant funding has been allocated to these sectors.
In the area of basic enablers Germany, France, Portugal and Spain have planned to provide assistance for the education sector.
Support for the institutional environment and public infrastructure is planned to be provided by Germany.
An indicative amount of N$2.4 billion in grant funding has been allocated to these basic enablers.
With regard to crosscutting issues, Germany, Finland and the EU are set to provide support to capacity enhancement, HIV/AIDS prevention and civil society through grant funds amounting to N$450 million.
By Staff Reporter