Windhoek
The Namibia Industrial Development Agency (NIDA) is expected to play the major role in the country’s industrialisation efforts as it is the implementation arm of Growth at Home, which is Namibia’s Industrial Policy Implementation Strategy.
“We are definitely making headway and the Namibia Industrial Development Agency Bill in in its finalisation stages, has been approved by Cabinet and is now with the Legal Drafters. This means that we can and will very soon be able to implement practically what we are talking about. No longer are we discussing ‘what if’……we are now discussing dates,” said Immanuel Ngatjizeko, Minister of Industrialisation, Trade and SME Development. Growth at Home has been described as a roadmap for the execution of the industrial policy within the context of Vision 2030 and the fourth National Development Plan (NDP4). Growth at Home focusses on three strategic intervention areas. These are supporting value addition, upgrading and diversification for sustained growth; securing market access at home and abroad; and improving the current investment climate and conditions. The Special Industrialisation Programme forms a second layer of Growth at Home. Its purpose is to increase the contribution of manufacturing to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by increasing growth in priority sectors, expand industrial output, diversify products, enhance value addition and develop new and strengthen existing value chains. Through the Industrial Policy, Growth at Home also promotes infant industry promotion where deemed feasible.
“Whether it is in the form of Vision 2030 or as National Development Plans, we all want and need to tackle the enormous challenges of unemployment, unequal wealth distribution and poverty, Not only because it is the right thing to do, but it comes right down to the very core of our survival as countries, our competitiveness at all levels and it is what we owe ourselves and our citizens,” said Ngatjizeko. The minister made these remarks as a public seminar on the Southern African Development Community’s industrialisation roadmap.