By Magreth Nunuhe
WINDHOEK – Germany has so far contributed close to N$10 billion to Namibia in government and non-governmental development programmes since independence and will continue to be a reliable partner for the country, the European country’s ambassador said.
Onno Hückmann was speaking at a press conference on Monday to mark the embassy’s year-end reflection on projects regarding human rights, economic development and sports, where he remarked that in per capita terms, Namibia is the largest recipient of German development cooperation in Africa.
He said since independence Germany has supported the Namibian Government in its policy of national reconciliation and in dealing with the legacy of apartheid, while the main goal of German-Namibian cooperation is to dismantle the social disparities which resulted from Namibia’s history.
The ambassador further stated that although donors have been dwindling over the years, the German Government would continue to expand cooperation with Namibia in three focal areas, which are natural resource management, transport and sustainable economic development, while also delving into areas outside their focal areas, such as HIV/AIDS and energy efficiency.
“German cooperation supports the medium and long-term objectives set by Namibia in her Vision 2030 and the Fourth National Development Plan (NDP4),” he added. He identified Deutsche Gesellschaft fűr Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), German Entwicklungsbank, German Investment and Development Company, Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources and International Centre for Migration and Development as German organisations in cooperation with their Namibian counterparts.
The Namibian-German Special Initiative Programme, which was to end this year will also continue until the end of 2015, according to Hückmann with funding having increased from N$200 million to N$440 million.
The special initiative was conceptualised by the Namibian Government and headed by the Namibian Planning Commission (NPC) to improve economic standards of communities that had suffered during the German colonial period.
Among other highlights, Hückmann said the German Government has added the Sustainable Urban Transport Master Plan for Windhoek, which has been developed with the support of GIZ towards their developmental focus.
He added that tenders for additional buses have been already advertised, but he could not say when exactly the master plan, which is intended to alleviate traffic congestion and improve traffic safety, would be implemented.
Annegret Al-Janabi, Counsellor of German Development Corporation, said they were still developing implementation plans, but she could also not say how much the project would cost.
She added that they were also looking at alternative ways to build more affordable housing with the United Africa Group and were studying different construction models with alternative construction materials.
Other highlights on German development cooperation, include a Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering started this year at the University of Namibia, and an industrial development plan dubbed ‘Growth at Home Strategy’ with the Ministry of Trade and Industry, among others.
Other plans include development in vocational training, literacy initiatives, mining, climate, de-bushing, ground water use, sports and HIV/AIDS awareness efforts.