Edgar Brandt
Windhoek-Namibia is to establish a National Productivity Organisation. This was revealed on Monday by Minister of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment Creation, Erkki Nghimtina, when he officially opened a human resources development training course focussing on development of advanced productivity practitioners.
“Namibia embraces the promotion of productivity as a catalyst for economic development and the upliftment of the standard of living of her citizens. In line with the SADC declaration and our national development plans such as Vision 2030, NDP5 and Harambee Prosperity Plan, Namibia is in the process of setting up a National Productivity Organisation,” Nghimtina stated.
He further noted that this new training course will assist national productivity organisations (NPOs) and their associates, in capacity building and in developing qualified productivity practitioners and trainers.
Productivity growth is a fundamental factor that enables a country to increase its wealth through an optimum utilisation of available resources (human resources, technology, raw materials, finance and energy) to produce quality goods and services. Productivity can also play a critical role in fast-tracking economic growth and social development in Africa. Sustained productivity growth can be achieved through active participation, collaboration and commitment of all key stakeholders in enhancing productivity levels in all sectors of the economy.
The training session was officially opened by Nghimtina on behalf of Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila while Nghimtina’s welcoming remarks were delivered by his deputy minister, Tommy Nambahu.
“As you might be well aware, productivity is socially defined as a mindset that embraces the value of ‘doing what I do today better than I what did yesterday and even better tomorrow’. It is a continuous process of finding better ways of doing things with less or with the same resources for better and quality results. The importance of improving productivity cannot be underestimated, as this (improved productivity) can lead to economic growth, employment creation, job opportunities and job security, and moreover, improves the standard of living,” said Nghimtina.
The new training course is in line with the Productivity Agenda for Africa which is aimed at “increasing the productivity levels of all African countries by mobilising all relevant stakeholders at national and regional level and on the continent, to work together in promoting a productivity culture amongst the people, as well as increasing value-addition and Africa’s competitiveness”.
In collaboration with Pan African Productivity Association (PAPA), the Japanese Government, through the Asian Productivity Organisation (APO) have organised a series of training courses for productivity practitioners at both the basic and advanced levels for NPO staff, training more than 190 individuals since 2007.
“This effort built up a pool of productivity practitioners, which is an important initiative in the development of a productivity culture but not sufficient to create the critical mass of activists required to lead the productivity movement in Africa. Therefore, continuous effort with broader coverage of deeper exposure to productivity skills and knowledge is imperative,” Nghimtina noted.