By Catherine Sasman
WINDHOEK
Prime Minister Nahas Angula says the Government performed “above average” over the year, ascribing this to President Hifikepunye Pohamba’s stewardship that was characterised by a “stable and pragmatic” leadership.
The main challenges that remain for the Government and other stakeholders to address, said Angula, are the high levels of unemployment, poverty and glaring income disparities.
“The combination of these remains a worrying feature in our country, especially in terms of social and economic relations. This means that we still have to work hard,” the Premier said in an interview with New Era.
Reflecting on the year, Angula however said that great strides were made in the education sector with the gradual implementation of the Educational and Training Sector Improvement Programme (ETSIP).
He also noted improvements in the economic sector, especially in the mining sector and better prospects for the fishing and agricultural sectors next year.
“The challenge now is to add value to our raw materials,” he said, adding that Namibia this year got its “foot in the door” with the quota system introduced in the diamond sector to boost cutting and polishing inside the country.
The tourism sector has also shown significant growth during the year.
He said under the Interim Economic Partnership Agreement (IEPA) reached between Namibia and the European Union, beef and grape producers can expect a “windfall” over the next year, but added that producers should maximise on this opportunity by increasing their production of exportable goods.
What marred the development efforts, he said, was the prevalence of gender-based violence, with the most macabre and brutal slaying of women by the yet-to-be-apprehended “B1 Butcher”.
“The case of the so-called B1 Butcher is very disturbing. I hope that our police are still on this case and that this criminal will be caught,” he said.
He said with the new integrated approach adopted by the National Development Plan 3 (NDP 3), which deals with developmental goals in clusters, increased cross-sectional communication and greater cooperation between Government agencies would be a prerequisite.
He was, however, doubtful if the political tension within the ruling party over the year had a lasting effect on the activities of the central government.
He expressed reservations about the impact at regional level.
“We should see how this has affected development in the regions. Have people been able to collaborate? Or have the differences become so antagonistic that people have not been talking to each other? We will have to watch this especially at the regional levels.”
What was also encouraging this year, he said, was the democratic transfer of power when founding father of the nation and president of the Swapo Party, Sam Nujoma, handed over the reins to President Hifikepunye Pohamba at the fourth congress of the party.
“As president of the ruling party and the Government, President Pohamba will now be in a better position to use his position to push the development agenda of the country.”
He, however, bemoaned what he called an apparent “bantustanisation” of Namibian politics with new – and old – political parties seemingly organising along tribal and ethnic lines.
“Thinking in narrow ethnic terms is very unfortunate. It will destroy the country for sure,” warned the Premier.