By Catherine Sasman
WINDHOEK
The first draft of the National Development Plan 3 (NDP 3) for the period 2007/08 to 2011/12 currently under discussion at a four-day consultative meeting, is geared towards the acceleration of economic growth and deepening of rural development.
The five-year plan, which is being considered by a high-level Government delegation, parastatals, regional councillors and local authorities, members of the private sector and civil society, as well as diplomatic corps and international partners, is considered as the first systematic attempt to translate Namibia’s overarching growth plan, Vision 2030, into concrete policies and actions.
NDP 3 also draws from the 2004 SWAPO Party Election Manifesto, the directives from the November 2005 Cabinet Retreat, as well as the Millennium Development Goals adopted during the United Nations General Assembly Session in 2000.
“Rural development is close to my heart,” said President Hifikepunye Pohamba.
“The majority of our citizens in rural areas depend on underdeveloped subsistence farming for their livelihoods. We cannot afford to continue to ignore their harsh realities.”
He said the country cannot expect to achieve broad-based development if a significant sector of the population remains poor.
“This is a challenge facing all of us, therefore, we should seek ways and means of uplifting the living conditions of all our people,” Pohamba urged.
The plan further addresses and mainstreams programmes dealing with HIV/AIDS, gender equality, poverty reduction, pro-poor interventions and environmental sustainability.
In Africa, the expected growth rate is 6.2 percent in 2007 and a moderate 5.8 percent in 2008, with much of the growth momentum driven by oil-exporting countries.
In Namibia, an economic growth of five percent is expected under the baseline scenario and 6.5 percent under the growth scenario.
These, Pohamba said, are dictated by the relatively low capital efficiency in both the public and private sectors, and the high unemployment rate currently pegged at 36.7 percent, with huge rural-urban disparities (44.7 percent in rural areas; 29 percent in urban areas).
“However, we need to substantially improve our performance in order to achieve higher economic growth, create more employment opportunities and promote value addition to our natural resources. Without such improvements, it would be difficult for us to achieve Vision 2030,” added Pohamba.
The baseline growth scenario is based on sub-sector growth rates during the NDP 2, while the higher growth scenario also takes into account new developments and significant new policy and programme interventions.
The new interventions for the agricultural sector include an accelerated implementation of Government’s Green Schemes, and land reform with a tilt towards communal areas and improved implementation of resettlement schemes, effective agricultural credit delivery, expanded education and extension services, control of bush encroachment to protect rangeland for grazing, and intensified measures aimed at moving the Red Line North to the border of Angola.
Not much improvement in the fisheries sector is anticipated over the next five years with climatic conditions and international prices expected to remain the same as was during the NDP 2 period.
In the manufacturing sector, the plan urges more and diversified value addition in the primary sectors, including the diamond industry.
To substitute energy imports from South Africa, NDP 3 envisages increased investment in electricity generation, which includes the Kudu Gas Project and expansion of hydroelectric power generation.
An increased demand in the hotel and restaurant sectors are also expected, particularly with the positive impacts expected from the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Angola and the World Soccer Cup in South Africa, and growth in private consumption.
In the transport and communications sector, the expansion of the Walvis Bay Port is envisaged, as well as the construction and rehabilitation of the railway link to the northern parts of the country, and the arrival of locomotives and other railway equipment from China.
An accelerated growth in the telecommunications sector is predicted with the full operation of Namibia’s second mobile operator, Cell One.
The target exports growth under NDP 3 is seven percent per annum, which is the same as NDP 2 at the baseline scenario, and nine percent per annum in the higher growth scenario.
Again, based on the NDP 2 performances, growth of imports are targeted at an average of six percent per annum under the baseline scenario, and eight percent under the higher growth scenario.
NDP 3 further has as its goal the transformation of the banking and insurance industries through increased ownership of banks by formerly disadvantaged groups including women.
The National Planning Commission (NPC) with this plan introduced a new planning approach with a central focus on development results, which has facilitated thematic working groups to work around certain areas.
The draft plan spells out the institutional responsibilities for implementation, and incorporates a system of regular and continuous monitoring, reporting and evaluation of progress and results.
To implement the goals of NDP 3, Prime Minister, Nahas Angula, said the Government would muster the support of Namibian and foreign private investors, as well as international development partners for funding.
The developmental directions of NDP 3 set out 21 goals derived from domestic and international sources.
It establishes the need for partnerships between the different branches of Government with the private sector, non-governmental organisations, community-based organisations, and the international community, as well as partnerships between urban and rural societies.