By Mbatjiua Ngavirue Windhoek President Hifikepunye Pohamba has called on all Namibians to become involved in the implementation of the country’s national development strategy, Vision 2030. Pohamba made the call yesterday when he opened the National Consultative Conference on a Vision 2030 Implementation Strategy. The conference is being held in Windhoek from July 19 to 21. Participants include top government officials, members of parliament and representatives of regional governments, business leaders and non-governmental organisations. The President told the conference the implementation of Vision 2030 should not be left to the government or public institutions alone. “We strongly believe that the best approach for the implementation of Vision 2030, and indeed other government programmes, is through consultation, information sharing and maximum participation by our people.” Vision 2030 was initiated by former president Sam Nujoma in 1998 and then launched officially on June 4, 2004. Pohamba commended the National Planning Commission, particularly members of the Vision 2030 Technical Team and the Millennium Development Goals Guiding Coalition, for organising the conference. The aim of the conference is to allow delegates to chart the best way forward and identify strategies for implementing Vision 2030. The president restated the aims of vision 2030, saying it was designed to enhance prosperity, harmony, peace and political stability in the country. “Our goal is to eradicate poverty, reduce the rate of unemployment and provide our people with social amenities such as housing, potable water, health services, quality education and to build more resilient communities. “We also want to strengthen and expand our communications infrastructure such as roads, harbours, airports and railway systems as a way of facilitating commercial trade within the country, SADC and other trading partners.” He urged delegates to ensure that key elements of Vision 2030 were translated into tangible benefits for the Namibian people. Pohamba acknowledged the important role played by Dr Nujoma in the formulation of Vision 2030. He paid tribute to Nujoma, saying he had provided the Namibian people with the inspiration to strive for their collective national development goals and objectives. Speaking at the same occasion, Director General of the National Planning Commission, Helmut Angula urged Namibia’s development partners not to abandon the country at the critical stage when it was putting all its efforts and resources into realising the development goals set out in Vision 2030. Angula drew attention to the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness that called on donors to align their overall support and development strategies with national development strategies.