Windhoek
A week before President Hage Geingob is expected to unveil details of his ambitious Harambee Prosperity Plan, producers in the agronomic sector have been urged to make constructive contributions to ensure greater prosperity and a life of dignity for all Namibians.
The request came from Minister of Agriculture, Water and Forestry John Mutorwa when he yesterday addressed a board meeting of the Namibian Agronomic Board (NAB), while reminding members about their important role in the fight against poverty eradication.
He says the NAB should contribute towards economic growth and employment creation. Namibia is expected to import some 150 000 tonnes of maize to supplement the expected 44 650 tonnes from local producers.
CEO of NAB Christoff Brock assured consumers that maize will be readily available on shelves in shops countrywide, despite the patchy and erratic rainy season.
Mutorwa stressed that agronomic producers have an indispensable role to play in President Hage Geingob’s Harambee Prosperity Plan.
“Producers in this sector have the responsibility in securing economic growth and provide food for the people, thereby contributing toward prosperity and a life of dignity for all. People in this sector are not just producers; they are also processors of agronomic crops, traders, marketing agents of controlled products, consumers of such products and they are importers, distributors and exporters,” he noted.
He said the Agronomic Amendment Bill is already listed on the parliamentary calendar. It is expected to be passed in July, which will approve the newly established Agro Trade and Marketing Agency (AMTA) and the Agricultural Business Development Board (Agribusdev).
AMTA is responsible for the practical implementation of marketing, processing, handling and trade of all agronomic products, while Agribusdev is responsible for ensuring actual production of agronomic crops at government’s Green Scheme Projects throughout Namibia.
Geingob’s ambitious Harambee Plan for Prosperity aims to turn around the country’s fortunes and make Namibia a new-look society by March 2020.
If implemented to the letter, Harambee would make Namibia the most competitive economy in southern Africa, government would be more accountable and ministries highly disciplined in handling taxpayers’ money.
Under effective governance and service delivery, Geingob intends to improve accountability in governance. The new Procurement Act, which will redefine procurement and tendering in the public sector, speaks to this aspiration.
The Harambee Plan also aims to secure improved financial management and effective cost controls. Under this sub-pillar, stricter control of expenditure by public institutions would be monitored, as well as the execution rate.
Under the economic transformation pillar, the Geingob administration hopes to maintain macro-economic stability – which would entail managing public resources in a responsible manner to curtail public debt and fiscal deficits.
In line with this, government will embark on an aggressive mission to diversify the economy by, amongst others, stimulating growth in the manufacturing sector.
The third pillar of the plan, “social progression”, aims to eliminate hunger and poverty, amongst others. The creation of the mooted food banks is part of that intervention, as is harnessing social safety nets for vulnerable citizens.
Infant and maternal mortality would also come under the Harambee hammer, with community health workers to be deployed countrywide to detect and treat any early signs of pregnancy complications.
The final pillar deals with infrastructure development and would address water infrastructure in the country.
Information and communication technology, with the primary aim of promoting broadband network in Namibia, will also be tackled under Harambee, as will transport.